The Palio of the Normans, also known as palio of Piazza Armerina, is the biggest medieval festival and historical reenactment of Southern Italy. It takes place in the town of Piazza Armerina every year in August, and it’s one of the oldest medieval fests in Italy. If you are staying at one of our villas in Sicily with private pool in mid-August joining the palio could be a lovely detour.
The palio is also related to a religious motiv, a celebration for St. Mary, but today it is more of a folkloristic event, inspired by the holy liberation war that the Norman Count Ruggero d’Altavilla started in 1061 to free Sicily from the Arabs, who occupied the island for about 150 years.
The Palio of the Normans takes place every year in Piazza Armerina from 12 to 14 August, in the beautiful setting of the historic center where ladies, knights, troops and militias create an evocative “return to the past”, with sounds and atmospheres of the medieval period. A unique and unrepeatable experience that the entire city lives with passion. Every day is dedicated to a specific event: on August 12 will take place the Delivery of Weapons and Blessing of the Knights; on August 13 the Delivery of Keys, and on August 14 the “Quintana del Saracino”, the reenactment of the Norman victory with a real medieval joust.
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