Scio' la Pica in Monterubbiano

A festival is held in Monterubbiano on Pentecost Day in which pre-Roman elements are interwoven with medieval and 16th-century elements. Its roots go back, in fact, to the ritual of the "Sacred Spring," when young Sabines - forced to leave their land by a vow to the gods - came to this area of Central Italy following the flight of a woodpecker, considered the bird sacred to the god Mars. "Scio' la Pica" is a grand festival during which there is an evocative historical procession of the Corporations, including that of the "zappaterra" who reenact the ancient event by chasing away the pica with a cane from a cherry tree. The historical procession, which starts from the Municipal Palace and reaches the field, is flanked by the procession of the Army of Pentecost-led by a Captain and made up of young men in uniform, sword and halberds-that celebrates the Offering of Candles to Our Lady of Relief. The festivities then continue in the field where the Joust at the Ring is played, where four knights - one from each guild - gallop with a lance in hand with which they must center some suspended rings.