Incisa 1514 — Rievocazione Storica
A medieval reenactment that turns the Borgo Villa quarter of Incisa Scapaccino back to 1514 — crafts, flag-wavers, falconry, taverns and, at nightfall, the siege of the castle and the trial of Marquis Oddone d'Incisa.
Why it's special
It stages the town's own history: the 1514 conquest of the Marquisate of Incisa by Guglielmo IX Paleologo of Monferrato, re-enacted where it happened. Over a hundred costumed actors, pikemen battling under the castle walls, the marquis's procession and his condemnation — put on by the Gruppo Storico Incisa 1514, whose name the local Pro Loco carries too.
Programme · 2018
Borgo Villa transformed into a medieval village from the late afternoon (from 6pm), with taverns and refreshment points serving Piedmontese food and wine. Medieval camp with ancient crafts, flag-wavers, dances, sword duels and falconry displays The procession of Marquis Oddone d'Incisa through the borgo The siege of the castle: pikemen battling under the walls, with over a hundred costumed actors The trial and condemnation of Marquis Oddone d'Incisa and his son Badone, late in the night
- The reenactment runs late — the battle and the marquis's trial come near and after midnight — so it's an evening out rather than an afternoon one; the medieval camp, crafts and taverns open earlier in Borgo Villa.
- Recent editions have been irregular, so confirm with the Gruppo Storico Incisa 1514 (incisa1514.it) before making the trip.
Incisa Scapaccino takes its full name from a fortress and a marquisate, and once a year it plays its own downfall back. On the second Saturday of July the Borgo Villa quarter is turned into a 1514 village — the year Guglielmo IX Paleologo, Marquis of Monferrato, took the Marquisate of Incisa and ended it.
From late afternoon the borgo fills with a mercenary camp, ancient crafts, flag-wavers, dances, falconry and taverns where the local Pro Loco serves Piedmontese food and wine. Then the story turns: the procession of Marquis Oddone d'Incisa, the siege with pikemen fighting under the castle walls — over a hundred costumed actors — and, deep in the night, the trial and condemnation of the marquis and his son. It's the work of the Gruppo Storico Incisa 1514, the reenactment association founded in 2008 whose name the town's Pro Loco (Pro Loco Incisa 1514) now carries.
The series began in 2007 and built through the 2010s, and the group is still active — appearing at other towns' reenactments across Monferrato. The Incisa edition itself has run less predictably in recent years, so treat it as a fixture worth chasing rather than a locked date: check with the Gruppo Storico before you go. When it's on, it is Incisa's own night, staged where the history actually happened.