CASTELNUOVO SCRIVIA

The origins of this event involving many regions.

The historical display “Once upon a time ……in Castrumnivum” - The Palio of the Quintieri (quarters) has an established reputation due to its traditional events and street performances.
The well-planned organization of the Commemoration Committee, the care each quarter has put in setting up the spaces and areas for stands and shows as well as the cultural promotion of the different music shows, art and craft exhibitions have been the ingredients for the success of this event.
Starting from the idea of connecting the old village and birthplace of one of the most important story-tellers of the XVIth century, Matteo Bandello, to the splendour of the House of Este, this festival has achieved an increasing importance and has become popular as a historical display involving people from different regions.
During the fourth edition, the Commemoration Committee introduced the Palio in order to satisfy the desire of the representatives of the different quarters or Quintieri to compete in ancient games and tournaments and to be awarded an official banner called Palio each year.

The history of the old village
The first settlements in our territory date back to Roman Times, as shown by traces of the division of fields according to the Roman century and several archaeological finds in the areas of San Damiano, Bovera, Goide, Ova and Cadé.
The urban area was founded around 500 AD by the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric who ordered: “... communiri Castrum, apud vos positum... ut domos vobis praedicto Castro allacriter construatis” (… the castle to be fortified and houses to be built inside it). The village was expanded and boosted in 722 by the Longobard king Liutprand. The main events happened in the Middle Ages when Castelnuovo, a Ghibelline village, allied with Federick the Red-bearded and took part in the destruction of Tortona (1155); it obtained as a counterpart public works, immunity from taxation and other privileges such as the right to put a municipality flag (yellow-gold and white-silver), on top of the tower and to have a sole selling right for the gualdo, a plant used to dye cloth in blue. The rivalry with Tortona caused many wars untill the beginning of the XIVth century when Castelnuovo became a fief of the duckdom of Milan, after a short period as a free city, and obtained its own laws (Statuta), under the signoria of the Bandello, the Torriani, the Visconti, the Carmagnola and the Sforza families. The most important ruler was Borso d’Este who made economy prosper, between 1443 and 471 (dyeing, jewellery, iron and copper products) Among the main products we can remember there are swords, pans and small pans so that even today the inhabitants of Castelnuovo are called “padlé” (makers of pans) The Thursday street market, Saint Joseph and Saint Desire fairs, the Nativity Fair on December 8th were established and boosted. The exemption from military service was introduced as testified by the words on the tower flag: “A peste, fame et bello libera nos Domine” (our Lord, deliver us from the Plague, from hunger and from war) and “A fulgure et tempestate libera nos Domine” (our Lord, deliver us from the lightning and the hail). In those days Castelnuovo became a very important and rich centre which is testified by many mansions and traces dating back to that period. After the short Spanish domination of the D’Avalos family, Castelnuovo, which had at last modified its name from “of Tortona” to “upon Scrivia” in 1567, became a fief of the Marini Marchese in 1570. They ordered the building of Saint Ignatius’s church and college and of the present building of the City Hall.
In 1778, when the last Marchesa Giovanna died she was succeeded by her son, the Prince Carlo Centurione. On June 17th 1828 the old city walls were demolished, they were 3600 long and had protected Castelnuovo and made it a safe military post, thus drawing the attention of many troops of mercenaries and of French, Spanish and Austrian armies also because of its strategic position as a crossroads between the Salt Path and the Po valley.