Experience again the magical atmospheres of a period even today! It’s possible in the Vicenza area thanks to the Medieval Historical Group " Romeo and Juliet ", a free association founded in 2000 due to the enthusiasm and the will of a group of friends from Montecchio Inferiore currently amongst the most industrialized towns of Europe, but which is rooted in history.
In fact, if it was still a simple rural village at the end of the Roman era, Montecchio laid the foundations to become a village that developed in the centre of an important handcraft-producing and trading area. It is exactly this period that the group intends to bring to life again, taking the entire country back about ten centuries in order to discover once again the past that too many times had remained obscured and subject to prejudice. Besides the merely historical factor even outside its city walls, the objective of the members of the group is to make Montecchio known and above all make known the legend set there.

On the hill that overlooks the town there are, in fact, two imposing rocky hills that rise up and which inspired a literary nobleman of Vicenza, Luigi Da Porto, for the drawing up of novel well-known all over the world: "Romeo and Juliet".
Obviously the story has its present thanks to the genius of W. Shakespeare, but Da Porto’s intuition cannot be omitted. The Castles have therefore gone down in history with the name of „Castles of Romeo and Juliet ". On 1st May of every year therefore, in a festive and particularly charming atmosphere, the noble figures of the two famous sweethearts are chosen from confident young men and well-brought up girls, who are candidates to represent Montecchio and its history for a whole year. Alongside the election the challenge between the lineage of the Montecchi and Capuleti finds worthy space. They dispute in courtly game and convincing clashes the highly desidered “palio”.

All of this is inserted into a manifestation that attracts over 15,000 people every year, and in which every single aspects of the medioeval age is recalled and reproposed: musicians, court jesters, armigers, merchants, dancers, artists, friars, archers, alchemists and beggars fight for the attention of the bystanders by representing the simple but fascinating life of the XIII century.