Monselice's Quintana Will Follow a Historical Parade of More Than Two Thousand Five Hundred Performers on Sunday
The 41st Giostra della Rocca recalls Emperor Frederick II's visit in 1239 and has already staged chess, archery and millstone contests between nine contrade.
The 41st Giostra della Rocca in Monselice, near Padua, will end on Sunday 20 September 2026 with a historical parade through the town at 9am and the Quintana at 2:30pm, a contest of skill and precision in which horse and rider aim at a ring, on the games field in Via Piave.
The parade is billed as the largest in Italy, with more than 2,500 costumed participants, PadovaOggi reported. The festival recalls the visit of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia to Monselice in 1239, although the procession also features figures such as Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarca.
Nine contrade take part: Ca' Oddo, Carmine, San Bortolo, San Cosma, La Torre, San Giacomo, Monticelli, Marendole and San Martino. This year's programme, which began on 11 September with a medieval banquet in Piazza Mazzini, has included a historical archery contest, a chess tournament with international grandmasters, a messengers' race, a millstone contest testing strength and technique, and a living chess final in costume.
On the evening of 17 September, a drumming competition called the Tenzone dei Tamburi is due to finish in Piazza Mazzini, where the contrada holding the palio will lay down its challenge. Nicola Fabbian of the Armamentis association said the festival began 41 years ago when three friends at a bar imagined an event to bring the town's history back to life.
The Giostra della Rocca association is led by president Paola Signoretto, and the Veneto region supports and sponsors the event. The festival has also built links with Jesi, Enna and Altamura through the figure of Frederick II.