Living Chess at Marostica
Crashing on into mid-September, it’s nearly time for one of the most curious cultural events in the international calender to come to the small Italian town of Marostica.
In a tradition that dates back to 1923, on the second weekend of September in even years (which will be 12-14 September in 2008) the townspeople - and a fair few travelers, too - gather around a giant black and white chessboard to watch a game of chess being played out… with people for pieces!
There’s heaps of history involved in this intriguing event, with the players dressed (and armed) in full medieval costume and the instructions to the ‘pieces’ still given in the old local dialect.
But there’s more to the event than just human chess. After WWII, Vucetich Mirko wrote a play inspired by the biannual games. Even though the play wasn’t based in historical fact, it’s become something of a legend surrounding Marostica, and now the story is re-enacted, accompanied by a large cast of actors and musicians.
Anyway, here’s a brief synopsis: Mirko describes an ancient rivalry between two suitors for the hand of the Lord of Marostica’s eldest (and very beautiful, naturally) daughter. Rather than have the two noblemen fight in a duel, the Lord decided it should be settled instead by a living chess competition in the presence of the townspeople.
Since the context of this legend became part of the chess game in the 1950s, it’s become something of a phenomenon, with around 4,000 people turning out each year to watch the four performances of games and celebrations. Tickets (ranging from €10 to €80) can be bought in advance online.
Outside the ‘chess season’, Marostica goes back to being a sleepily attractive medieval walled town that’s well worth exploring in a daytrip from a nearby hostel in Vicenza.
