Dama Vivente (Castelvetro)

Under the two towers, in Castelvetro’s checkerboard square, a unique game of living draughts has come to life for over 50 years. Young men and women become pawns and queens, while nobles, ladies, and knights dressed in Renaissance-style costumes recreate a feast once organized by the Rangoni family in honor of Torquato Tasso.

Legend has it that in 1564 the great poet, restless and fleeing from Bologna, found refuge in Castelvetro, where he drew inspiration to compose some verses of Erminia among the Shepherds, the seventh canto of Jerusalem Delivered.

Visitors can enjoy aerial and vertical dance performances, fire shows, and the traditional living draughts game, all guided by the narrator Simone Maretti.

Over the years, the Dama Vivente Association of 16th-century Castelvetro has drawn widespread interest in Italy and abroad, especially for its remarkable collection of Renaissance-style costumes, which can be admired at the “Fili d’Oro a Palazzo” museum in the historic center.