Immagine a kaleidoscope of colours, the roll of drums , the silvered sound of clarions, the glittering blades of the foot-soldiers. You are in the second half of the XV Century together with "The Historical Society of Finale". To recreate the past, however briefly, helps us to understand the way of life of our ancestors. The Historical Society of Finale has created a glimpse of life in the splendid era of the Marquisate. Why the XV Century? First of all, because it was the richest and most independent era of the Marquisate and there were epic battles between the Marquisate, governed by the Del Carretto family and the Republic of Genoa. Also the chronicler Gian Mario Filelfo wrote in that period "Bellum Finariense", a detailed account of the war that took place between 1447 - 1451 the most important event was the signing of the peace treaty on 7th august 1451.
This heralded a century of peace and prosperity for the people of Finale. This date is also whwew "our" story ends, immortalized as in a painting with the nobility, the beautiful ladies-in-waiting andhis excellency, the Marquis Giovanni the First.
Now, let us have a look at our procession of richly-costumed figures. Our historical research is meticulous and constantly brought up to date. This is reflected in our costumes and armour, all hand-made by local craftsmen. At the head of the procession is the flag-bearer with a splendid red and gold banner, the heraldic colours of the Del Carretto dynasty: following this is the musical group with clarions, flutes and drums. They are skilled in the formation of geometrical designs whilst moving. They announce the arrival of the royal guard, composed of the most valiant men-at-arms in all the Marquisate. Among them is the magnificent Giovanni I° and his consorrt Biscontina Adorno. Behind them is father Lorenzino of Ceva, confessor and adviser to the Marquis, then comes Antonio Del Carretto, captain of the troops and head of the Del Carretto league which comprises of all the Carretto familes which have land in the ligurian and piemontese provinces. Then count Ludovic of Chalons, ambassador to Charles VII, king of France. After this, in a swirl of colours and rustle of silks and satins come the nobility of Finale, noble relatives of the Del Carretto family, dressed in their most opulent costumes. The soldiers with their cross-bows come next. Thanks to their unceasing fire during the war they forced open the enemy lines. Their armour is of particular interest at it is faithfully reproduced. The valiant men-at-arms follow, they are skilled swords-men and trained in the use of ancient traditional weapons. Last but not least are the archers they are called "The Archers of the Bastero Gate" which is one of the main gates to the old walled town of Finalborgo. They perform spectacular feats with their long-bows.
This is the end of our pegeant but not of the activities of our Historical Society, which include: a Medieval banquet to celebrate the annual History Literature Prize, awarded by the Mayor of Finale, the tournament of the "Rioni" which are the different quarters of the town and is held on the first Saturday in July, guided walks to our Castles on the hills above Finale, which for the occasion have "real" medieval in habitants. These are held every Friday evening throughout July and August in the summer we also have medieval evenings in Finalborgo where, for one magical night, the only way to buy food, drinks and other goods is to use the "Finarino", legal tender in the days of the Marquisate, Then we have the ancient archery tournament, held in the old quarter of the town. To end the year we have the Christmas Festivities in the XIV Century fortress of Castelfranco and the beautiful torchlight procession on Christmas eve.
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