The fortieth edition of the historical procession which commemorates the battle of Bitonto on 25 May 1734 took place yesterday. Born on the initiative of the first educational club “Nicola Fornelli” thanks to the intuition of the educational director Grandolfo, in 1998 the procession passed to the Accademia association della Battaglia, chaired since 2001 by professor Concetta Tota. The dream she nurtured and transmitted to all the members of the Academy is to make the historical procession an intangible cultural heritage of the city of Bitonto, reminiscent of a historical fact included in the macro European history of invasion and capture – the Polish blockbuster war – suffered from the Bitontini, our fathers. A battle that changed the face of the South, which subsequently gave prestige to the South, making it “a Kingdom that was great” in the words of Gianni Oliva, which then fell with the resistance of Gaeta and the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed in February 1861.
The historical procession, as well as giving prestige to our city for the role it has had in history, for which Bitonto is considered the “moral capital of the Southern Kingdom”, intends to remember and represent the Bitonto society in its varied socio-cultural productive expressions: peasants , artisans, bourgeois, nobles, families of feudal origin, counts and marquises, who came from various parts and settled in Bitonto, attracted by the flourishing of agriculture and derivatives.
«In the procession we present twelve of them, in reality they are not all, we hope over time to be able to represent the others too, about ten; just as we plan to represent the bourgeois in their subdivision. This is an economic commitment that exceeds the Academy’s resources.”, says Professor Tota. Over the years, under her management, the Academy created costumes for around 600 figures, including representatives of the clergy, nuns, novices, friars and monks of which Bitonto was full at the time, due to the law of the majorascato. «Figurations that are difficult to entrust as they are rejected by the participants who, instead, wish to wear noble clothes to feel like “nobles, princes, kings, queens”, a dream of a day»explains the president.
In the 2024 edition, around 400 participants marched, 250 belonging to the Accademia della Battaglia, of which 160 nobles. Another 150 guests came from outside: 50 pistonieri/arquebusiers from Cava dei Tirreni, 40 Fajanensis timpanists from Fasano, 30 extras from the Militia Sancti Nicolai of Bari. Each of these groups animated the procession with shows that thrilled the spectators. They are joined by 25 medieval figures from the Nundinae association of Gravina in Puglia.
«Considering the difficulties in planning the various initiatives celebrated in Bitonto May and the adverse weather conditions that raged and forced the postponement – Professor Tota sums up – we can be satisfied with the results obtained, documented by the many congratulatory messages received verbally and via social media from the citizens, very many of them, and from all the forces in the field who collaborated for the success of the event, guaranteeing safety and beauty. Our big thanks go to the organisers, administration and participants: Local Police, State Police, Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza, Red Cross and rescuers on foot, Public Assistance, Misericordie, Sanb, volunteers also recruited from neighboring towns, Consorzio Guardie Campestri , Whe Whork Security Service, some members of the University of the Third Age who responded to the call for collaboration. The commitment, the passion, the heart that animates all the members of the Academy have once again produced fruit. Thank you all!”.
Monday 3 June 2024
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