the Characteristic Palij for the Feast of St Albert

PIETRAMONTECORVINO (Fg) is a small municipality in the Northern Dauno Sub-Apennines, rich in history and with a great archaeological, artistic and natural heritage to be discovered and enhanced.

Due to the particular value of its historical centre, Pietramontecorvino has been an Orange Flag town since 2010 and the National Association of Italian Municipalities has listed the municipality among the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy. According to tradition, the name derives from 'la Preta': the large tuffaceous boulder on which the ancient nucleus stands, and from Monte Corvino, the nearby Byzantine town, an important bishop's seat that was definitively destroyed in the 15th century.

Pietramontecorvino is known for the patronal feast of Sant'Alberto, celebrated on 16 and 17 May. The feast dates back to the 12th century and is the most heartfelt by the Pietramontecorvino community and the emigrant population, who return in large numbers for the occasion. It is characterised by a mixture of religiousness and propitiatory rites linked to the agricultural world.

The causes that led to the penitential pilgrimage of 16 May to Montecorvino are to be found in the worrying drought that generally occurs in the spring period, when the fields would most need water.

In 1889, following a severe drought, the people of Pietra invoked the help of the patron saint with processions within the town, but the sky seemed to want to deny them the much longed-for water. Every year since then, on 16 May, the statue of St. Albert is carried in procession in Montecorvino to the ruins of the ancient cathedral, to emphasise and reinforce the belonging to its ancient origins.

The statue of the saint is accompanied all the way to Montecorvino by the characteristic palij, long wooden poles decorated with ribbons and multicoloured handkerchiefs.

The preparation of the Palij begins in April, when the various teams, with the authorisation of the Forest Guard, go to the municipal forest to choose and cut the tree, which is then dried until the date of the event.

Before the Second World War, the palio was unique and did not exceed 4 metres, while today it reaches up to 20 metres. The number of palij varies between 15 and 20, and in recent years there are also palij carried only by women and children.

A few days before the festival, the palij are decorated with handkerchiefs kept by the various groups. At the top of each palij are placed long coloured ribbons and a plume, which characterises the different teams of bearers. It is a festival, that of St. Albert, that represents the very identity of the people of Pietramontecorvino and their collective and cultural spirit.

Places to visit: the old village with its characteristic narrow streets, the Portella, the monumental complex consisting of the Norman-Angevin Tower, the Mother Church, the Ducal Palace and the hanging garden, the Church of the Rosary, the Church of the Annunziata, the archaeological site of Montecorvino 7 km from Pietra.

Text: Carolina Niro

Photo: Carolina Niro, Gaetano Armenio