Historical Re-enactment » Events and Festivals » La Festa del Renaixement de Tortosa

La Festa del Renaixement de Tortosa

Població: Tortosa (Baix Ebre)
Dates: 24-07-2008 / 27-07-2008
Època: Època Moderna
Pàgina web: http://www.festadelrenaixement.org

Tortosa Renaissance Festival is a striking social gathering with over 3.000 people dressed in XVI century costumes, 50 daily shows and more than 500 actors that take visitors to Tortosa 500 years back in time.

Over the last 12 years, on the third weekend of July, the city of Tortosa makes a surprising journey into the past. The town's oldest district becomes a big stage welcoming the revival of one of the most distinguished moments in the town's history: the 16th century. Streets are embellished and citizens set up taverns, sell products or simply dress themselves in Renaissance costumes, remembering one of the most important cities in Catalonia in full splendour.

Some of the activities visitors will enjoy in Renaissance Tortosa are a crafts market, street shows, flageolet players, music, theatre, jugglers or swords fights. Also worth visiting are tavern shows. At La Taverna d'Enrico, a show is performed by the Catalan group "Quico el Cèlio, el Noi i el Mut de Ferreries". At the "Cantorum Tavern", everything uttered has to be sung. At the "Sword of the Pilgrim", the impossible love between Joana Despuig and Ignasi de Loyola is narrated and at other taverns the gloomy "Domus Horribilis" or hilarious farces are performed. Traditional dances can also be seen and joined in the streets. Finally, pikemen and lansquenets camps from Germany and France can also be visited.

In the Middle Ages heavy cavalry was the elite military unit. In 1499, however, Swiss troops made obvious infantry companies could halt the best of cavalries if armed with 6 meter-long pikes. From then onwards, units of pikemen started to turn up all over Europe. One of the most successful units was the so called Lansquenets, mercenary "German" soldiers who offered their services to European sovereigns.

The Spanish Catholic Kings also adopted the Swiss pikemen model creating mixed units of pikemen and arquebussiers, the so-called Tercios (Thirds). They consisted of combined infantry units of corselets or heavy pikemen (protected with armour and helmet), light pikemen (pikemen without body protection) and arquebussiers. Corselets stood in first row, behind them stood light pikemen and arquebussiers moved in and out the formation to shoot and reload their weapons. Arquebusses had an effective reach nearly 50 meters and reload time was approximately 2 minutes. So, arquebussiers were very vulnerable units without the protection of a body of pikemen.

The appearance of the musket in the 16th century, with an effective reach of nearly 100 meters and the possibility to shoot 3 bullets per minute, allowed musketeers to confront infantry and cavalry troops by themselves. Besides, when bayonets were incorporated into muskets in the 17th century, musketeers became highly powerful soldiers. This meant the beginning of the end of pikemen and lansquenets units, which eventually disappeared along the 18th century.

In the 2007 edition, the historical re-enactment group Lansquenets of Bretten displayed military pikemen units.

Over 30 artistic companies attend the Renaissance Festival and, there are moments when more than twenty shows run in an hour. Visitors can listen to erudite music -performed with instruments of the period such as wheel violas, lutes or "tiorbas"-, as well as the most festive music played by itinerant street music groups, such as the French "Alauda la Muzaï" or "In Taberna". For visitors wishing to dance, joining the so called "Balls y Bollícies" is an excellent option.

Visitors strolling along the streets might come across an Ourobouros (a fantastic creature in the tarot world), magicians, armed companies or Comedia dell'Arte shows. The bonds established with other European festivals like the Roi de l'Oiseau Festival www.roideloiseau.com (Le Puy-en-Velay, France) or Peter-und-Paul Fest www.peter-und-paul.de (Bretten, Germany) is undoubtedly one of the Festival's major assets and allows the Renaissance Festival to welcome re-enactment groups from all over Europe.

Worth mentioning is also the presence of Italian sbandieratori flageolet player groups. Two or three high quality Italian companies yearly attend the Festival. In the 2007 edition, highly elaborate choreographies by Gruppo Alfieri e Musici Storici Servigliano, Sbandieratori de San Luca and Citta della Pieve delighted the visiting public. Apart from foreign groups, local "Young Group of Tortosa" of flageolet players -the only existing group in Catalonia and Spain- also entertain the Festival.

Another singularity of the Renaissance Festival are the self-produced shows. An oath of attorneys, escorts of noble families and other ceremonials are performed the same way as in renaissance times. Attorneys were members of the city municipal government. For the purpose of the Festival, Tortosa's current town councillors dress themselves in 16th Century costumes. Noble families are also re-enacted by volunteers who self-make their precious dresses. Replica models have been copied from pictures and engravings in 16th century noble houses and are faithfully reproduced, being, most of them, truly craft work.

Saturday is the central day of the Festival, with the Arms Exhibition, a great parade with more than 1.000 participants commanded by the municipal consistory. It represents the way ancient attorneys were followed by local nobility in their most luxurious dresses. Other associations and citizens groups taking part in the Festival also parade.

Tortosa Renaissance Festival has gained an outstanding recognition. It has been awarded Festival of National Tourist Interest, Festival of Local Tourist Interest and the Plaque of Honour of Tourism in Catalonia. Attending this Festival is the perfect excuse to enjoy a four-day-holiday and to discover the rich historical, cultural and countryside heritage of Tortosa and its surroundings.

Finally, tens of complementary activities are organised such as lectures, music and Renaissance dances workshops, games or renaissance cooking courses that round up four intense days of Renaissance life.

Parallel to the Renaissance Festival, a Gastronomic Conference of the Renaissance takes place. A local gastronomy association representing several restaurants offers a 16th Century menu. Also, pastry cookers and bakers' join in putting on show and delighting visitors with the most traditional confectionery.