DATE OF FOUNDATION
2001
MEMBERSHIP OF LITAB
2001
PRESIDENT
Bertuccioli Tiziano
The Compagnia Balestrieri San Michele of Mondaino was founded in 2001 by a group of enthusiastic members of the local Pro Loco association and the four districts of Mondaino (Borgo, Castello, Contado and Montebello), organisers of the Palio del Daino.
The Company takes its name from the patron saint of this land, located on the border between Romagna and Marche.
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the Malatesta family of Rimini and the Montefeltro family of Urbino fought bitter battles over the mighty fortification that dominated these lands.
There are no historical records that specifically mention crossbowmen from Mondaino (much of the parish archives were destroyed during the Second World War), but their presence is certain, as the fort itself was guarded by an armed garrison, stationed there to control and protect these borderlands. The banner of the Company features the Malatesta rose, one of the symbols of the Malatesta lords of Rimini.
The Company, composed of 14 crossbowmen armed with manesca crossbows, interacts with the Mondaino Historical Procession Musicians’ Group, consisting of 12 drummers and 8 trumpeters, and has been registered with L.I.T.A.B. since November 2000.
On a high hill in the middle of the Valconca valley, 10 kilometres from the Adriatic Sea, where deer once grazed and a temple dedicated to Diana, goddess of hunting and protector of the forests, once stood, a village was born.
The ‘monte dei daini’ became a stronghold of the Malatesta family on the border with the lands of their rivals, the Montefeltro family, dukes of Urbino.
Fortified walls and gates, a powerful fortress and the entire structure of the village tell us about this past, which is relived every year in one of the most carefully organised and engaging historical re-enactments in the entire Signoria and the whole of Emilia Romagna.
But history has also given Mondaino beautiful things in the centuries that followed, such as its unique circular square, its palaces and churches.
The landscape of countryside and scrubland is still unspoilt and rural, ready to be explored and enjoyed in all seasons.
Headquarters
Via Roma 6
47836 Mondaino (RN)