There XXV edition of the “Renaissance Festival”, from Saturday 8 June to Sunday 23 June 2024, will propose a busy calendar of events focused on the re-enactment of the arrival in the city, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, of Prince Federico Cesi known as il Linceo. The city of water is a municipality in Umbria at the center of a territory rich in historical-artistic and environmental-landscape resources
Participation in the numerous initiatives proposed by The Renaissance Festival it will also be an opportunity to get to know each other the essence of the Acquasparta territory. A territory emblem of the Renaissance in Umbria, with the architectures of Cesi Palacethe fulcrum of the entire historic center, and the church of Santa Cecilia, which houses the tombs of the illustrious Cesi familybut it is located in the heart of an area capable of offering a wide range of visiting and leisure opportunities.
An area where you can appreciate: archaeological ruins of the ancient city of Carsulaea Roman settlement born in close correlation with the passage of Via Flaminia as a center of aggregation of the pre-Roman populations residing on the hills and in the nearby countryside; the scattered medieval villages in the surrounding area, like the village of Portariaa perched village immersed in a fairy-tale landscape, with the church of Saints Philip and James built shortly after the year 1000 by reusing the “spolia” coming from the site Carsulae; The nature itineraries in the Martani Mountains accessible on foot, by bicycle or on horseback, among dense forests of oaks, holm oaks and beech trees, with the characteristic presence of caves, sinkholes and sinkholes due to the erosive effect of the waters which has continued for centuries.
The center of Acquasparta, set in an area where ancient architectureshaped by centuries of history, integrate harmoniously into a natural environment shaped by the hand of manin a succession of olive groves, woods, vineyards and cultivated fields, from which the gastronomic treasures of the region, is strongly marked from the historical and cultural imprint left by the Renaissance season through the establishment in the city, during the sixteenth century, of the lordship of the Cesi family and in particular, of the protagonism of the figure of Federico Cesi.
Lord of Acquasparta and animator of a refined and sumptuous court, but also scientist and naturalist, expert in botany and astronomy, Federico Cesi he was able to create, by cultivating his numerous interests, a happy combination of Renaissance aesthetics And scientific knowledgeso much so as to associate his name with the foundation, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, ofLincean Academythe first scientific academy in Europe of which he was also a member Galileo Galilei.
The Renaissance Festival
There wave of innovation brought to various fields of knowledge by the Renaissance period, which left such marked traces in Acquasparta, will find its moment of maximum celebration on the occasion of XXVth edition of “The Renaissance Festival“, which this year too will propose a varied calendar of historical, commemorative, cultural, but also recreational and gastronomic initiatives, aimed at celebrating the arrival in the city of Federico Cesi known as il Linceowho moved to Acquasparta shortly after his marriage to the young Artemisia Colonna, which took place in 1614.
Main theme of the 2024 edition of The Renaissance Festivalaround which a dense calendar of cultural proposals will develop including meetings, conferences and in-depth studies, will be the “Revolutions“, a common thread that captures a qualifying aspect of the Renaissance season, considered an era of rupture compared to previous centuries and of great innovations in all fields of human knowledge.
Two decisive events: the discovery of the Americas by the navigator Christopher Columbus in 1492, who upset the existing structures and balances in the geopolitical, economic, military, commercial, but also agricultural and gastronomic fields, with the importation of new plants, vegetables and edible fruits, and the emergence of the Copernican heliocentric theory, starting point of the scientific revolution, strongly supported, among others, by the Pisan physicist and astronomer Galileo Galileiunited by solid friendships with Federico Cesi and with the Accademia dei Lincei.
In line with tradition, the XXV Renaissance Festival will open on the evening of Saturday 8 June with the “Great Procession of the Contrade”. They will be right there three districts of the village – Saint Christopher, Old Gate And The Ghetto – to compete for the “keys” to the city during the fifteen days of the festival, competing in a series of competitions, which the public will be able to watch.
There Gastronomic Competition, with the live preparation of one recipe of Renaissance cuisine, in this edition it will have as the protagonist ingredient is chocolatein homage to the discovery of the Americas, where the first cocoa beans came from.
There Drummer Competition will enjoy Amelia’s flag-waving interlude.
The Great Game of the Goose it will be a living, costumed revival of the board game whose origins, in its modern version, date back to the second half of the sixteenth century.
The Theater competitions will take place in each district: amateur actors will stage a free theatrical interpretation of a reworked and adapted text written before 1630.
THE Ladies’ Games they will be a series of tests reserved for women of all ages who will have to compete in games inspired by the daily activities of the time.
The theme of “Revolutions” associated with the Renaissance will then find its declination in a series of cultural in-depth events distributed over the fifteen days of the Festival.
We will begin Thursday 13 June with the conference organized by the University of Perugia entitled “The Colombian Exchange. The extraordinary journeys of animals and plants between the New World and Europe” in which the speakers will focus on faunal and botanical species imported from America with particular regard to the impact produced on the European ecosystem.
Saturday 15 Junethanks to the contribution of the Galileo Museum of Florence and the presence of Accademici dei Lincei we will talk about the “Rerum Medicarum Novae Hispaniae Thesaurus”, otherwise known as the “Mexican treasure”, a work published in 1651 by the Accademia dei Lincei, thanks to the commitment of Francesco Stelluti, which is configured as a collection of hundreds of colored and illustrated plates dedicated to plants, minerals and animals of the New World, with particular reference to “New Spain”, present-day Mexico, work deriving from research conducted on the territory, starting from 1570, from “protodoctor of the Indies” Francisco Hernandez commissioned by King Philip II of Spain.
On the same topic, linked to the importation of plant species from the New World to Europe, with the consequent impact on agriculture and the eating habits of Europeans, there is a program Monday 17 June there Lectio magistralis by Stefano Mancusobotanist and essayist, entitled “The incredible journey of plants“, While Friday 14 June the focus will be on history of chocolate with the meeting “From cocoa beans to the food of the gods”, which will illustrate the discovery and arrival in Europe of the “food of the gods” or “black gold”, whose first (cocoa) seeds arrived in Iberian land in 1528 thanks to the Spanish leader and soldier Hernán Cortés and then spread throughout the Old Continent. An American-produced alcoholic distillate, typical of the Caribbean area, made from sugar cane molasses, will instead be the center of attention Friday 21 June with the meeting on the theme “The history of Rum” followed by a tasting.
Other events will shine the spotlight on scientific revolution brought about by the Renaissance, mainly due to the affirmation of the theory developed by the scientist, astronomer and cosmologist of Polish origin Nicolaus Copernicus which, with its “De revolutionibus orbium celestium” published in 1543, accepted and developed the hypothesis advanced in the third century BC by Aristarchus of Samos, developing the heliocentric theory of celestial motions, destined to replace the previous one geocentric Aristotelian-Ptolemaic system, and thus questioning the traditional conception of the world and of man’s role in relation to nature and the universe. It will take place along this line Tuesday 11 June the Lectio magistralis by Piergiorgio Odifreddi entitled “You won Galileo”, centered on the figure of scientist Galileo Galilei who, with the support of his friend Federico Cesi and the Accademia dei Lincei, challenged the consolidated beliefs of the time by becoming a supporter of Copernican theorywith its innovative and revolutionary implications, and facing a trial for heresy in 1633 which will instead be retraced, in its salient phases, up to the condemnation and modern rehabilitation by the Church.
In addition to the disputes between districts and cultural in-depth meetings, the public will be involved in a packed calendar of events collateral appointments, which will range from leisure to musical entertainment to the discovery of the area and its environmental, historical-artistic and gastronomic resources. Among these: the initiative “Who is in the Palace today?”, mini-tours and creative workshops dedicated to the protagonists and extras of the Cesi palace in Acquasparta, organized by Amodì Servizi Educativi and Associazione Acqua; The Renaissance market organized by the Pro Loco with gastronomic and artisan products; “Kronos -The Flight of the Falcon”, falconry show; the performance of flag-wavers of San Gemini with the participation of small flag-wavers; the percussion show curated by Tiziano Tetro with the presence of the Bandao group.
To close the Acquasparta Renaissance Festival, Sunday 23 Junefinally, the show “The sin of the jesters” organized by the Acrobats of the Borgo and, in the evening, the final procession and the proclamation of the winning Contrada with the delivery of the keys to the village.
