Spring and Summertime abound with Medieval Festivals in Tuscany, another fascinating reason to get around our beutiful land. Taverns, old games, fire-eaters, knights and ladies, parades and flag-flyers animate bigger and smaller towns and villages. Here’s a list for late Spring and Summer 2016.
MAY
- Serre di Rapolano (Siena) – Serremaggio, Festival of Ciambragina (7, 8, 14 and 15 May). Serre di Rapolano is an enchanting hamlet in the midst of the Sienese Crete, easy to reach from the freeway (highway) connecting Siena to the A1 tollway to Florence and Rome. The alleys and the little square of this tiny and lovely village come to life in May, when taverns, parades in Medieval costumes and a Medieval market attract a considerable number of visitors. The festival is dedicated to Ciambragina, a girl of French origin that got married to a rich merchant from Siena, who moved with his beautiful young wife to Serre where he transformed the old castle into her realm.
- Castiglion Fiorentino (Arezzo) – “Biancazzurra” Medieval Festival (27, 28, 29 May). In the upper part of the fortified hamlet between Arezzo and Cortona, the Festival this year comes to its 15th edition, with flag-flyers, falconers, musicians, jesters, and jugglers coming from different parts of Italy. A medieval market and several taverns will offer food and drinks to visitors and guests.
JUNE
- Castiglion Fiorentino (Arezzo) – “Biancazzurra” Medieval Festival (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 June). The Festival continues during the first weekend of June.
- Cortona (Arezzo) – Medieval Week and Archidado Joust (2 ,3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 June). The magnificent Cortona, the Etruscan and medieval jewel in the easternmost part of Tuscany, very near to the border with Umbria and the Trasimeno lake, is always a not to be missed destination in Tuscany. We definitely love this town and in June it is even more spectacular during an entire week devoted to its medieval history and traditions.
- Lucca – Medieval Lucca (4 and 5 June). The historic centre of another marvellous and elegant Tuscan city, Lucca, is the background of another Medieval Festival, revolving around Piazza San Francesco. Parades, falconers, street artists and the Tournament of Crossbowmen will animate the event, totally free of charge. A medieval menu based on the typical products of the territory (as “tordelli” pasta and “torta coi becchi ” cake) will make it all tastier!
- San Gimignano (Sena) – Harvest Fair (17, 18, 19 June). From beauty to beauty, we make it to San Gimignano, the gorgeous towns renowned for its medieval towers. In this enchanting scenario, the celebration of the season of the harvest dates back to the Middle Ages and is represented today thanks to the Association “Cavalieri di Santa Fina” (Santa Fina’s knights). The fair starts on Friday evening with the exhibition of musicians and flag-flyers, continues on Saturday with many medieval games, the taverns to have something to eat and drink, and the medieval markets in the two central squares Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Cisterna. The peak of the event takes place on Sunday, when representatives of the different quarters will be competing for the Joust of the Rods on the upper part of the town (the citadel, named Rocca di Montestaffoli) .
July
- Monteriggioni (Siena) – Arts, plays, festivals in the days of Dante (8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 July). The queen of all the medieval festivals in Tuscany takes place for the 26th year in the marvellous hamlet of Monteriggioni, perfectly surrounded by walls and towers, where the medieval context is recreated in detail. Artists, artisans, armed men, musicians, parades, jesters, dancers and street performances will take all the visitors right back to the Medieval times. Here’s the full programme
- Laterina (Arezzo) – Medieval Laterina (29, 30, 31 July). The lovely hamlet of Laterina, a few kilometres away from Arezzzo, celebrates its medieval past with weekend animated by jesters, historical parades, warriors, ladies and mistresses, and wonderful food.
As soon as the Festivals scheduled for the month of August are announced, we will update the post with more destinations and events.
