Just like last year il Palio di Bisignano yesterday saw the victory of the San Pietro district, represented by the knight Pierpaolo Turco, in his second Palio win: the sixth title brought home by the district since the Palio del Principe existed. Like every year, for over thirty years now, the commemorative event takes place every last Sunday of June and features the eight neighborhoods that compete every year: Cittadella Coscinale, Giudecca, Piazza, Santa Croce, San Pietro, San Simone, San Zaccaria, Piano.
It’s about a joust which has always attracted not only the citizens of Bisignano, who ‘face off’ for weeks based on their neighborhoods, but also attracts numerous tourists. The Palio del Principe is dedicated to a historical event, namely the arrival of the emperor Charles V of Habsburg in Bisignano in 1535, guest of Pietrantonio Saverino Prince of Bisignano. For the occasion, royal celebrations, knightly tournaments and hunting parties were held. As a sign of gratitude for the welcome received, Carlo V awarded the Prince of Bisignano, in the presence of the court of Naples, the Toson d’Orothe highest Spanish honor.
Il Palio del Principe is inspired by a seventeenth-century tradition, as can be seen from the sumptuous costumes, which recalls the ancient principality of the Sanseverino family, who Bisignano lived in the neighborhood Saint Zaccariaa, in the so-called New Palace. In essence, it is a tribute to Don Giuseppe Leopoldo, who on 7 April 1704, accompanied by his wife, Princess Stefania Pignatelli, took office in the principality of Bisignano with solemn celebrations.
Sunday 23rd, the third Sunday of June, the Palio di Bisignano has re-enacted the historic entrance into the town at the bridge and the gate of the neighborhood Pianowith a medieval procession involving dozens of participants in period costumes: the prince receives the keys to the city on a silver tray and reaches the cathedral parading under a canopy, followed by the brotherhoods.
The tournament (Palio of Bisignano) which took place yesterday, Sunday 30, the last Sunday of June, consists of a clash between two groups of knights, complete with standard-bearers and squires in tow. It retains all the charm of the ancient medieval jousts and involves the 8 districts of the town, competing to win the prize by taking some rings fixed to the towers with a lance.
