On Saturday 29 June in Pisa one of the most heartfelt and awaited historical traditions of the city will be staged, which will close the June Pisano, the unmissable event with the Gioco del Ponte. The part north of the Arno river (Parte di Tramontana) with that to the south (Parte di Mezzogiorno) will compete on the Ponte di Mezzo. At 6.00 pm the Armed Pickets will set up in the parade grounds, at 6.40 pm the Court of Judges will begin, at 7.00 pm the “Exhibition” of historical re-enactment with the magistracies who will parade along the Lungarni and then at around 9.00 pm the start of the fighting.
Competing for the Palio della Vittoria, created this year by Raffaele De Rosa, are the 12 Magistrature (districts) gathered in the parts of Tramontana (Santa Maria, San Francesco, San Michele, Mattaccini, Calci, Satiri) and Mezzogiorno (Sant ‘Antonio, San Martino, San Marco, Lions, Dragons and Dolphins). Each will try to become “master” of the Bridge and conquer the half occupied by their opponents, pushing a special trolley weighing seven tons which runs on fifty meters of rails and whose assembly is being completed in these days. The Magistrates will compete in six exciting duels, trying to force the opponent to relegate. In 2023, Parte di Tramontana managed to prevail in the final play-off, repeating the success of 2022, in that case achieved with 4-2. In 2023 the longest fight between the 6 was the one that saw San Marco prevail over San Francesco in almost 16 minutes. Previously, before the two years of suspension due to the pandemic, there had been a perfect alternation: in 2019 and 2017 Tramontana won, in 2018 and 2016 Mezzogiorno prevailed (in both cases in the play-off).
The Historical Parade, also known as the Weapons Exhibition, will start at 7.00 pm with the two parts traveling along the four Arno rivers that run along the central stretch of the Arno river in an anti-clockwise direction between the Solferino Bridge and that of the Fortezza. They will be preceded, at 6.40pm, by the Judges’ Procession, which will have a new location for dressing (the gyms in via Bovio). Over 750 participants will parade with the prestigious costumes, largely renewed before the 2022 edition thanks to important investments by the municipal administration, on foot and on horseback. Particular attention is paid to the protection of the 41 horses. Solutions will be adopted to reduce the stressful situations that precede the challenges, starting with the call to battle, and all measures have been taken in collaboration with the zoophile guards of the Auxiliary Rural Guard Operational Unit. The start of the fighting is scheduled for 9.00 pm.
What makes the event suggestive is the magnificence of the historical procession, which includes over 750 figures on foot and on horseback, with clothes that reflect the Spanish fashion of the 17th century. Due to their precious features, some helmets, plaques and period armor are today preserved and exhibited in important museums around the world, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, to the Art Institute of Chicago, and of course, the Palazzo Reale Museum in Pisa where the largest collection of original period armor is kept.
The Gioco del Ponte is a historical-reminiscent event that has its roots in the tradition of the city, without a precise starting date being known. It harks back to the historical game in Piazza degli Anziani (now Piazza dei Cavalieri) between the Gallo and Gazza factions.
In 1778, the great poet and playwright Vittorio Alfieri, a guest in the city, was so amazed that he composed the following verses:
«Me from the Arno on the bank
supra olympic bridge in fake Mars
He saw prodigies of value and art
therefore Pisa in Italy is the only one alive.”
In the 20th century, after a long suspension, the Bridge Game was resumed with mixed success along with the other important re-enactments that had been interrupted. The first time it was held again was on 29 June 1935, in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III. Then, after the break for the Second World War, it was resumed again on 13 July 1947 at the Arena Garibaldi, since all the bridges in the city had blown up. The Game returned definitively to the Ponte di Mezzo on 8 June 1950. Since then it had some breaks and also a trip to Rome, to the Circus Maximus, in 1960 on the occasion of the closing of the Olympic Games. Once again interrupted after the ’63 edition, it was definitively resumed in the current version on 27 June 1982.
Source: Municipality of Pisa – Press office
