June is the month where in Pisa Giugno Pisano takes place, a month of appointments between shows, concerts and cultural initiatives to celebrate the day of the Patron saint, San Ranieri. At the conclusion of the events there is the "Gioco del Ponte" , as in every city that maintains strong its ties with the past, which has its roots in the distant 12th century.
Brought back in 1983, after some long interruptions, 150 years the first time and 19 the second, now the game is more famous than ever and it calls thousands of visitors and tourist from all over the world.
But the Game of the Bridge is not just a tourist "call" and this is proved by the participation of the city to the event: just think, for example, of 750 men in historical costumes dating back to the Spanish Five hundreds.
The city divides in two rioni corresponding to the two banks of the Arno river: south is Mezzogiorno, the great rione made up of the neighbourhoods S. Antonio, S. Martino, S. Marco, Dolphins (Marina di Pisa), Lions (Porta Fiorentina) and Dragons (Porta a Mare - S. Pietro); north is Tramontana, made up of neighbourhoods S. Maria, S. Francesco, S. Michele, Mattaccini (Jesters) (Porta a Lucca), Satiri (Satyrs) (Portanuova) and Calcesane.
The figures' pageant belonging to the two rioni parade along the roads of the centre arriving at the Ponte di Mezzo where, after retiring in their "campsites", the two enemy rioni will duel in this particular and inspiring game called the "Gioco del Ponte".
The game was once held in the piazza dei Cavalieri, whereas today the cart, which is almost twelve meters long and 80 centimetres wide, placed on two rails, is placed halfway on the bridge which is right in the middle of the city. From here the men from the two territories face each other in various challenges, trying to push it as much as possible to the adversary's side, leaning with their shoulders against some beams perpendicular to the cart and heaving back with their legs.
The teams are divided according to a military hierarchy with a General Lieutenant as chief chosen by the Council of Elders, which has the responsibility of directing the strategies of the battalion of the bridge. In the tactical choices the Lieutenant is supported by two Councillors, one playing the role of military strategist and the other the political one. Each side, made up of six neighbourhoods, has six teams to participate with, so it is all about judging the adversary and sending in the most suitable team for that particular clash , which can sometimes last hours, in a tense atmosphere and concentration between the supporters and the incitement of the crowd, crammed full along the shoulders of the Arno.
It is a show you cannot miss, set like a pearl among the stirring and stately decorations of the Lungarno, where the challenge is repeated and sublimates itself in the great palaces games of light reflecting in the waters of the river. Appointment every last Sunday of the month of June. The next clash will take place on the 30th June 2002.
(Image taken from Pisa Municipality)
Pisa Municipality
