Flag Festival

The Flag Festival is a historical commemoration that takes place every year in May in Morano Calabro (CS), one of Italy's Most Beautiful Villages.

The Feast of the Flag in Morano Calabro is linked to the celebrations for the patron saint, Bernardino da Siena, and the episode of the so-called "Beheading of the Moor", of great historical and iconographic importance. The Flag Festival refers to the historic Battle of Petrafocu (1096) for the conquest of the territory, which saw the village of Morano Calabro (also known as ‘Crib of the Pollino’, in the heart of the National Park of the same name) victorious over the Saracen pirates who besieged it, with the subsequent beheading of the ‘Moorish’ captain, hence the municipal coat of arms of Morano (‘Moor's Head’).

Loaded with rituals and symbolism, the historical re-enactment renamed the Flag Festival takes place every year at the end of May (the 2025 edition from 23 to 25 May) and reproduces an ancient rite: the three key characters are the Mastrogiurato, the Castellano and the Notaro, around whom other typical figures of the local Middle Ages revolve; the main scene takes place at the Castle of Morano, guardian of the ancient ‘Bandiera Regia’. Sacred and profane rites are reunited in a solemn mass in honour of San Bernardino.

With the passage of time, the Flag Festival in Morano Calabro has been enriched with scenery, figures in Renaissance costumes, flag-wavers and men-at-arms, becoming one of the most eagerly awaited events for the local population and visitors who come to the village from all over the region.