Piantamaggio

A Spring Rite

The Piantamaggio is an ancient spring tradition that is renewed every year in the Campiano Valley, among the hamlets of Preci (in the province of Perugia) such as Corone, Castelvecchio, and Roccanolfi, and in the nearby municipalities of Norcia (Ancarano, Campi). It is a ceremonial of pagan memory, linked to spring festivals, which had among its purposes the entry of young people into the adult world.

The Tree Rite

On the evening between April 30th and May 1st, the young people of the village cut down (or rather, according to tradition "steal") a beech or poplar tree from the countryside, a symbol of fertility. The tree is stripped of branches and bark, brought to the village square, and erected. A flowering cherry branch is grafted onto its top – symbolizing the "marriage" between trees – and the tricolor flag is tied to it, an ancient memory of the trees of liberty from the late eighteenth century. The tree remains "planted" for the entire year, until the following May.

Community Celebration

The erection of the tree is accompanied by songs, music, food, and wine, in a night of celebration that unites the small communities of the Valnerina. The Piantamaggio is one of the most identity-forming traditions of this corner of Umbria at the foot of the Monti Sibillini: a rite of rebirth that, apart from interruptions due to the 2016 earthquake, has been passed down uninterruptedly from generation to generation.