Pietralunga (PG) -
Pietralunga (Pg). The Palio della Mannaia of Pietralunga ranks as the town’s most important annual event and will take place this year from August 1st to 8th. The name of the contest, which is conducted entirely in Medieval costume, derives from a miraculous occurrence said to have taken place on September 11th, 1334. A pilgrim named Giovanni di Lorenzo di Picardia (in France) was passing through Pietralunga on his way to venerate the Volto Santo effigy in Lucca. Unjustly accused of murder, the wretch was saved on the point of death when the axe (mannaia in Italian) wielded by his executioner mysteriously twisted with the blade facing away from the condemned man’s neck. The weapon still hangs in the Cathedral of Lucca, by the sacred effigy, in remembrance of this extraordinary miracle.
The contest itself involves teams of young men from each of Pietralunga’s districts, who have to push a kind of cart through an obstacle course an total the least number of penalty points. Reminiscent of the bitter feuding that was wont to ‘colour’ the lives of those living in Italy in the 14th century, the Palio is also a chance to have fun in the taverns that open specially for the event in the old town centre, along with workshops selling local crafts.
Info: 075.9460721, 075.8554922, e-mail info@iat.citta-di-castello.pg.it.
