Piantamaggio of Ussita

The Piantamaggio, a spring rite in the Sibillini

The Piantamaggio of Ussita is an ancient May Day tradition that the community of the small Marche municipality, in the Province of Macerata, celebrates every year on April 30th. It is a pagan rite of welcome to spring and a hymn to fertility, once widespread in many villages of the central Apennines and rediscovered here through a community-led participatory writing project. The heart of the rite is il maggio: a beech tree chosen from the forest for being the tallest, most slender, and most harmonious, between sixteen and nineteen meters high.

How the day unfolds

The festival is entirely self-managed and simple. It begins in the morning with breakfast with friends at the Madonnella in Frontignano, a hamlet of Ussita overlooking the ski area: broad beans, wine, and pecorino cheese, as the elders who kept this memory alive used to enjoy. Then, they head to the woods for the selection and cutting of the beech tree, which is then carried to the village on shoulders, all together.

In the afternoon comes the most anticipated moment: the bark stripping, entrusted to the women amidst songs and folk verses, and the raising of the tree by the men in Piazza dei Cavallari. The May tree is then decorated with the colors of the rainbow, as a symbol against wars, inequalities, and discrimination, and a tour of the village with singers takes place. The day concludes with a communal dinner filled with songs, folk verses, and dances.

A festival of community and rebirth

The Piantamaggio is organized by the association C.A.S.A. (Cosa Accade Se Abitiamo - What Happens If We Live There) with the support of the Pro Loco of Ussita. More than an event, it is a collective gesture of belonging for a village in the Sibillini Mountains severely affected by the 2016 earthquake: coming together around the May tree means reaffirming the bond with the territory and with those who continue to inhabit it. The rite is also linked to a recovered hymn of May, brought to light thanks to the collaboration with the poet-shepherd Renato Marziali.

For those visiting the Marche in spring, the Piantamaggio of Ussita is an authentic opportunity to discover the popular traditions of the Macerata hinterland, far from the most beaten tourist routes, immersed in the landscape of the Sibillini Mountains National Park.