The Counts Oliva Palio

A day in the Middle Ages

Some medieval reenactments are more famous than others, but the truth is that they are all tremendously fascinating. Colors, sounds and scents are those of other times. In Piandimeleto we find the Palio dei Conti Oliva, along the lines of the festivals they organized upon returning from military campaigns. The Oliva family was appointed Counts in 1233 by Emperor Frederick II. Over the years they expanded their domains, eventually arriving in Piandimeleto in 1375. They were men-at-arms and held various positions for the Podestà of Florence and the Republic of Siena.

The Count and Countess Oliva

It was precisely the many battles fought that ended in July with the grand return home, an event that inspired today's Palio, which has been celebrated in Piandimeleto for thirty years now. This festival is designed to be extremely engaging. If you come, you will not be an observer, but you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the medieval atmosphere of the festival, eating in the inns of the districts, interacting with the various characters of the market and the village, not only merchants and acrobats, but also guards, magicians, sorceresses, lepers and curators of time, pilgrims and flagellants. You can even exchange your money for baiocchi, the currency of the time. In short, a total immersion!

The main event of the period celebrations was an archery competition to decide which was the best archer in the village, who would get the Palio and keep it for a year, until the next feast, when he would return it to the Counts. And how does it work today? Exactly so: the correspondence between the current festival and the original one is truly amazing!

The Castle on Fire

Tradition evolves

There is one element in particular that was not part of the feast in the time of the Oliva Counts, but today is an absolutely unmissable event: the burning of the castle. This is a pyromusical show that ignites the castle with lights and colors in time to music. It may not be very medieval, but it adds a magical touch to the festival.

Finally, another indispensable element of any good medieval reenactment is the group of drummers, who set the pace of the event with the energetic and sparkling sound of their drums. Piandimeleto does indeed have its own large and skilled group of drums, but only women play them, which allows this village to boast the only all-female group in Italy , the Tamburine.

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