San Gaetano Festival - Giostra del Maialetto

A neighborhood festival in the heart of Segni

Every year, in the first ten days of August, the San Pietro district of Segni dresses up to celebrate San Gaetano, whose liturgical feast falls on August 7th. The San Gaetano Festival is one of the most cherished events in the summer calendar of Segni, a village in the Lepini Mountains within the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the Lazio region. Organized by the San Pietro Committee with the support of the municipal administration and the Pro Loco, the festival combines religious celebrations with popular social gatherings, featuring an event that makes it unique in the entire region: the Giostra del Maialetto.

The 17th-century origins of the Giostra

The Giostra del Maialetto is deeply rooted in the history and community anthropology of Segni. Its origins date back to the early 1600s, when a long-standing controversy broke out between the people of Segni and the Sforza counts, the lords of the city, regarding the tax due for grazing pigs in the woods: according to the city statutes, the fee was to go to the community's coffers, while the dukes claimed it for themselves. When the people finally won a favorable ruling, the citizens of Segni decided to mock the dispute with the duke by inventing the Giostra del Maialetto, transforming a legal victory into a festive tradition passed down from generation to generation.

The Roman Cistern, a unique setting

The setting for the joust is extraordinary: the ancient Roman Cistern of Segni, an imposing hydraulic work from the Roman era built in opus signinum, the famous waterproof mortar that takes its name from Segni (ancient Signia) itself. The event is traditionally held on the first Sunday of August inside this archaeological site in the historic center, and it is even documented in period footage preserved in the Istituto Luce historical archive, testifying to its fame as early as the 20th century.

How the joust used to take place

In its historical form, the joust involved releasing a piglet inside the Cistern, where five teams—one for each district—composed of two blindfolded men tried to locate it by following the sound of the cowbells that everyone, including the piglet, wore around their necks. It was a popular game with an archaic flavor, a mirror of the Lepini peasant civilization, which was suspended in 1992 due to changing sensitivities regarding animal welfare.

From suspension to rebirth

In 2019, the municipal administration of Segni decided to bring the event back "with respect for all sensitivities," rethinking it in a cultural and commemorative key: photographic panels, projections, and a thematic path built thanks to archival materials made available by citizens through the municipal library. The joust has thus returned to being the identity-defining heart of the San Gaetano Festival, a true leap back in time that enchants residents and tourists alike.

The festival today

The 2025 edition, part of the "Segni d'Estate" program, took place from August 7th to 10th: four days of religious celebrations, music, and popular events culminating in the re-enactment inside the Roman Cistern. To facilitate visitor participation, the municipality provided free shuttles, security personnel, and information points. The festival is free to enter and involves the entire community, from families to the elderly, who are the guardians of the joust's memory.

Segni and the Lepini Mountains

Visiting the festival is also an opportunity to discover Segni, a city of art in the Lepini Mountains: the cyclopean polygonal walls, the acropolis with the Co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Porta Saracena, and the views over the Sacco Valley. An archaeological and landscape heritage that provides a natural backdrop to one of the most curious and authentic traditions in Lazio.