GIOCHI DE LE PORTE ENGLISH VERSION
(25-26-27th of september)

It is the event that recalls the ancient Palio of St. Michael the Archangel, which during the Middle Ages took place on the eighth of May on the occasion of the celebration of the patronal feast: the veneration of the Archangel has ancient and deep roots, having originated in the territory, probably at the time of Byzantine and Lombard rule.

The palio certainly refers to the ancient equestrian jousts that characterized the patronal recurrences that the city of Gualdo celebrated, with a large gathering of people, in honor of St. Michael the Archangel on May 8 and September 29 each year.

Of this ancient Palio, we have news for the first time in a Decree under the date of August 29, 1519, signed by the Cardinal Legate in Gualdo, Antonio Ciocchi del Monte, issued with the purpose of regulating civil life and reordering the administrative and political life of the city.

Of the Palio, which disappeared at the beginning of the 17th century, there was no more memory until the 1970s, when a more careful re-reading of historical sources facilitated its re-enactment in a modern key as a challenge between the four city districts whose names, Porta di S. Benedetto, S. Donato, S. Facondino, and S. Martino, derive from the presence of as many extra-urban churches corresponding to the gates of access to the ancient city.

After more than five centuries of interruption, therefore, on the last Sunday of September, with the ‘Games of the Gates’, the city challenges itself to the ‘singular contest’ through the performance of four races: cart races pulled by donkeys, slingshot shooting, archery, and bareback donkey races.

It is the largest folkloric event that takes place in Gualdo Tadino and lives thanks to the rediscovery of the taverns, the characteristic places brought to light for the occasion, where in the three days prior it is possible to taste the products of the typical cuisine of Gualdo.

The four gates return to challenge each other with a real competition alternated by archery, slingshot, and bareback donkey races with carts. The eternal companion of man’s work, he is the king of the festival and today, due to progress, risks extinction, partially averted by this event.

The festival that takes place in the last week of September begins with the opening of the four taverns, suggestive locales that preserve their original layout and offer delicious dishes of the local typical cuisine.

At the hour of vespers on Friday, small processions of victualers move from their districts, offering on the square the fruits of the fertility of the land exchanged between the gates as a sign of friendship.

Euphoria, joy, and the desire to live are the factors that make up the Friday, transfigured by the characters in costume in anticipation of the Palio.

At the approach of evening the next day, an incessant roll of drums announces the entrance onto the main square of the four grand processions and behind the waving of their own banners represented by the austerity of the crenellated gates opens a spectacle of incomparable beauty and suggestion, there is what it takes to best reconstruct the atmosphere of a bygone era; Priors, gentlemen and ladies, drummers, standard-bearers, and commoners, in their clothes reconstruct slices of life from then, thus reviving the corporations, the arts, the myths, the legends, and the fears of a time, represented by the mystical figure of the Bastula, a malevolent woman practicing magic and witchcraft who set Gualdo on fire in the distant year 1237.

The reading of the proclamations and the throwing of the challenge inflames the spirits and raises a great roar due to the shouting of the crowd inciting their own prior.

On Sunday morning, the carts are weighed and checked, so that everything happens within the limits of the established rules, after this the games of the afternoon are drawn to determine the order of start and in an atmosphere of deep tension, preparations are made for the much-awaited races.

In the afternoon, the characters in costume descend from the Flea fortress onto the square of the Games, which transforms into an authentic amphitheater, animated by the cries and enthusiasms of the crowd interrupted for a few moments by the blessing of the weapons and donkeys after which the trumpets sound to announce the beginning of the event.

The games, true re-enactments of the races that used to be contested in the squares on the occasion of festivals and fairs, alternate in four phases: first the donkeys with both charioteer and brakeman, run a timed lap of the historic center ring in the exceptional time of about two minutes, a remarkable performance considering that it is a donkey galloping for eight hundred meters. The second game consists of hitting a ceramic plate depicting the heart of the witch with a slingshot or frombola, with a series of five shots the winner is the one who scores the most centers. The third game, archery, targets a board with concentric circles each with a different score, victory smiles on the one who earns the most points. The fourth race, which is the most beautiful and exciting, sometimes decisive, involves the bareback riding of the four donkeys, that is, without a saddle, retracing the ring in the opposite direction. It is at the finish line of this race that the assignment of the palio is no longer in doubt; it will go to the gate that has totaled the highest score.

It is the epilogue of the festival, and the victorious porters burn the effigy of the Bastula as revenge for the affront suffered. They dance and sing around the fire that consumes.

Meanwhile, the sun sets on Gualdo and falls in love with it too, coloring the whole city pink and gold.

From the next day, everything will start over again; people will talk about the palio and who won it and work for the next September.

September, so long-awaited and desired, September, the month of wine that cheers the festival, the month that brings the colors of the earth to this square, the month of the Games of the Gates, and therefore the month in which hatred and rancor turn into love and joy in the soul of every person from Gualdo who for this waits a year before immersing themselves in this ancient tale.

Friday:

18:00 Historical procession of victualers and tavern-keepers – exchange of gifts
19:00 The Mayor hands over the keys of the city to the Gonfaloniere – singing of the anthem of the Games of the Gates – opening of the taverns
21:30 Performance by the drummers of the Ente Giochi and the drummers of the four Gates
22:30 Performance by the flag-wavers and musicians of the City of Gualdo Tadino

Saturday:

14:00 Procession of jugglers and archery and slingshot practice
18:00 Individual shooting competition of the Waldum crossbowmen’s company. Handover of the palio to the winner for safekeeping.
21:30 Historical procession, over a thousand figures in 15th-century period costume along the streets of the city’s historic center
23:00 Proclamation of the challenge between the gates

Sunday:

10:00 Weighing of the carts and drawing of the order of the races
11:45 Proclamation of the winning gate of the best historical procession award
14:00 Start of the historical procession from Rocca Flea. Figures in 15th-century period costume along the streets of the city’s historic center
15:30 Blessing of the jugglers and donkeys
16:00 Palio of Saint Michael the Archangel: donkey cart race – slingshot shooting – archery – bareback donkey race
24:00 Closing ceremony of the Games of the Gates

Collateral Events 2026 and Detailed Calendar for the Current Year
📅 UNTIL 6 SEPTEMBER
(with additional dates to be announced in the coming days)
📸 Photography Exhibition “Obiettivo… Giochi de le Porte”
🕒 Every day: 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
📍 Piazza Garibaldi (former Stilmoda venue)

📅 SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER
🏆 Second official trial and Presentation of the 2026 Palio and Bussolo
🕒 From 2:30 PM — trials followed by the presentation
📍 Piazza Soprammuro

📅 WEDNESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
🎙️ Press Conference for the Presentation of “I Giochi de le Porte”
🕒 6:00 PM
📍 Birrificio Flea

📅 SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
🏹 Official Archery and Slingshot Trials
🕒 1:50 PM – 6:00 PM
📍 Piazza Martiri della Libertà

📅 SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER
🍽️ Portaiolo Lunch and Third Official Trial
🕒 From 1:00 PM
📍 Taverns and Piazza Martiri della Libertà

📅 25–26–27 SEPTEMBER
🏅 GIOCHI DE LE PORTE
🕒 Various times
📍 Historic Centre of Gualdo Tadino

📌 Note: For further information and updates regarding schedules and logistics of the various initiatives, you can follow the official social media channels of the Municipality of Gualdo Tadino, the Ente Giochi de le Porte, and the four Porte.