Ascension Day 2022
The Ascension Day
The Ascension Festival is a popular equestrian event that has been held at the Royal Site of Carditello since 1792. It was established by King Ferdinand IV to involve the inhabitants of “Terra di Lavoro” in the Persano Horse races and in the sale of products from the Royal Estate .
On the occasion of the Feast, the doors of the Chapel were opened so that everyone could attend the religious function and – as reported by the poet and essayist Salvatore di Giacomo – every year the crowd flocked to participate and watch the equestrian event, which took place in the afternoon and had as a prize a cash prize.
The royals also took part in the Ascension Festival: in fact, in the Carditello Estate, the royal dimension met the agricultural and popular dimension.
The holiday
The Royal Palace of Carditello is ready to host the Feast of the Ascension – scheduled for Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May 2022 – the ancient equestrian event, organized since 1792, in the name of the horses of the Government Breed of Persano and historical re-enactments.
A great popular holiday, therefore, which also marks the return to the Bourbon site of the Altarpiece (dated 1788) by Carlo Brunelli – a court painter highly esteemed by Ferdinando who also entrusted him with important works in the other royal residences – originally located on the altar of the church dedicated to the Ascension, to then be inserted in the section dedicated to the Royal Site at the Royal Palace of Caserta.
The program
The 2022 program is particularly rich, offering many events for adults and children: Holy Mass with the display of the Altarpiece (Saturday 28 May); parades of caparisoned Persano horses with amazons and knights in costume, tastings of Campania’s excellent food and wine, special visits to the royal stables, pony rides, presentation of the Persano Government Breed, animations and theatrical forays with actors in costume, anchored flights in a hot air balloon with Volare con l’Arte and the evocative outing of the herd, which promises to become a fixed appointment in the Foundation’s annual program (May 28 and 29); Ecos presentation “The Journey of the Persano (Sunday 29 May). And not only.
Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the Bourbon Path (May 28 and 29), organized by La Mansarda – Teatro dell’Orco, which winds through some “paintings” where historical news and fantasy mix to bring scenes of popular life back to life in the Royal Site of Carditello: the story of the Horse of Persano and the sundials, the Queen’s habit of wearing peasant clothes, the King’s passion for good food and feminine graces. A curiosity: some costumes worn by the actors are inspired by the frescoes of Carditello.
On the occasion of the Ascension Day, will be presented Il Viaggio del Persano (May 29), an itinerant project of awareness and innovation on the subject of mental health, promoted by Ecos – European Culture and Sport Organization in collaboration with the Fondazione Real sito di Carditello, thanks to the contribution of the International Third Pillar Foundation. Esso, the name of the horse of the government breed of Persano, will leave next September from Carditello: a journey of over 1,500 km, through the communities and national services for mental illness in Italy, reaching Marco Cavallo in Trieste, symbol of the closure of asylums of the Basaglia law.
Just on Ascension Day, Esso will begin the hard training period that will allow the many young people of the communities that it will meet along its path to be assembled easily.
