Stilt Palio

Schieti, an ancient castle enclosed in a centuries-old wall, could be said to be the crossroads between Pesaro and Urbino and Montefeltro. It was an obligatory passage for the lime and brick kilnsmen on the left side of the river, for the sulfatari of the mines on the right, and for the many coal miners who came down to sell their wares on the coast. The town hugged by a bend in the Foglia, was the obligatory stop for some refreshment in the taverns, before resuming the journey by wading to the "Coalmen's Pass." These used stilts to cross it as did the farmers across the river, leaving the characteristic contraption under the loggia of the predio of Cà Matteo. The stilts did not remain inert, but in the hot season for boys and the not-so-young, they became a racing tool to race to the center of the Castle, giving rise to a village festival known as the "Palio dei sampp" (Stilt Palio). The winner was rewarded with a wheel of cacio cheese and a flask of wine. After the race, to the sound of popular instruments, there was dancing until late in the evening furlana, saltarello, palombina.... We want to reintroduce this contest, that festival, to breathe even today a little bit of the country and peasant air unpolluted by sophisticated noises, to revive and strengthen the roots of family, village and sociability.