It is run next Sept. 7, as always on the first Sunday of this month that opens the gates of autumn, but it is a tradition that has its roots in Roman times and over the centuries has evolved by bringing together the pagan and the sacred: it is the Pacentro Gypsy Run. It is an extreme race that is run barefoot, a competition in which competitors challenge each other but above all challenge themselves in honor of Our Lady of Loreto. Young people from this beautiful town in Majella National Park climb up a rocky ridge of the Ardinghi hill and, at the sound of the bell of the Church of the Virgin, they scramble down the steep path to the Vella stream, then up the village streets until they reach the altar of the Madonna. That is the finish line where the bloody sores of the feet are dressed and where the proclamation of the winner takes place.
In the old days, the winner was given the Palio as a prize, namely cloth to have a dress sewn. Today it is different, but the attachment to a rite of ancient origins remains intact, which is intertwined with the legend according to which boys who owned nothing, neither shoes nor clothes, defined for this reason as “gypsies,” especially participated in this race. A very tough test that, according to the narrative, was used by the leader Jacopo Caldora to choose the most valuable young men to enlist in his mercenary army.
Special godmother of the 2025 edition is RAI anchorwoman Eleonora Daniele flanked by official testimonial Giuseppe Cederna along with journalist Gioacchino Bonsignore, storyteller Nicolas Zappa and chef-influencer Davide Nanni who will curate a special culinary moment directly along the race track.
Information and contacts: Gypsy Race Cultural Association
Cover photo: Eduardo Gentile
