Feast of Saint Cerbone

Every October 10, the town of Massa Marittima solemnly and evocatively celebrates the Feast of Saint Cerbone, patron saint of the town and a central figure in local spirituality. The day is a perfect blend of religious devotion, millennial history and spectacle, thanks in part to the presence of the Balestro straordinario, a solemn and rare variant of the famous crossbow shooting competition.

The event opens with a historical procession through the streets of the center, composed of more than 150 figures in medieval costumes: officers, flag-wavers, drummers and crossbowmen parade among drapes and banners, evoking the solemn and chivalrous atmosphere of the Tuscan Middle Ages.

The highlight is represented by the Balestro del Girifalco in a special edition, in which crossbowmen compete by simultaneously shooting toward the corniolo, a target that on this occasion is placed on the parvis of the Cathedral of San Cerbone, and not on the usual facade of the Town Hall.

The religious ceremony follows with a blessing in the cathedral, where the marble Ark of Goro di Gregorio, containing the Saint’s relics miraculously found in the cathedral’s high altar, is kept.

Who was Saint Cerbone?

Born around A.D. 493 on the coast of North Africa, an ethnic Berber, Cerbone was appointed bishop by Regulus, a North African evangelist. Because of Vandal invasions, he fled to Tuscany and became bishop of Populonia, then took refuge on the island of Elba, where he died in 573.

Numerous legends are passed down around his figure, including the famous meeting with Pope Virgil, to whom he demonstrated his holiness with miracles and visions: including deer offering milk, miraculous healings and angelic choirs during Mass.

A not-to-be-missed event that combines devotion, historical re-enactment and identity pride in one of Maremma’s most beautiful villages.