The historic 'Disfida'. Palio in Montechiaro. Bellotti named best archer.

FIVIZZANO: In the end, the Montechiaro neighborhood triumphed. With the threat of bad weather averted, the 2025 edition of the " Challenge of the Land and Court Archers " took place on Sunday evening, welcoming a multitude of visitors from all over. The event captivated and thrilled the public with its magical colors, sounds, and atmosphere.

The scenography created by the "Sbandieratori" (Flag-wavers) who performed in Germany last week was magnificent. Filippo Giannetti , among them, stood out. He alone captivated the audience by simultaneously using five flags. Then came the "Corteo dei Popolo" (Procession of the Common People), with its ladies, trumpets, and drummers. It was a truly momentous evening, where presenter Alessandra Grandetti , dressed as a sixteenth-century lady, along with Prior Matteo Bertazzolo and, above all, Magnificent Captain Pietro Cortesi, displayed their eloquence from the stage.

The highlight of the evening was the Disfida , the archery competition between the archers of the five neighborhoods: Terra, Fittadisio, Verrucola, Montechiaro and Guardia for the conquest of the Palio . The following competed: Fabrizio Furletti , Davide Simonelli , Marco Petricone , Jacopo Benelli and Daniele Bellotti for Montechiaro. For Guardia there were Emiliano Bianchi , Mattia Abate , Gianmarco Tonelli , Federico Sutti and Moreno Piastra . For the Verrucola neighborhood: Luca Gerali , Gabriele Rossi , Alessandro Mazzoni , Gianfranco Colombani , Matteo Rossi . Fittadisio fielded: Eleonora Agostini , Giorgio Tazzara , Manuel Rossi , Dario Tonelli and Fabio Cimoli . Terra: Damiano Serafini , Samuele Gianni , Fabrizio Domenichelli , Filippo Bianchi and Simone Sutti . The winner of the 2025 edition of the Palio della Disfida degli Arcieri di Terra e Corte was ultimately the Montechiaro district with 1650 points, followed by Guardia with 1470, Verrucola in third place with 1440 points, Fittadisio in fourth place with 1340 points and Terra in fifth place with 1050 points.

After five volleys, two archers tied for the title of "best archer": Gabriele Rossi for Verrucola and Daniele Bellotti for Montechiaro with 430 points. They were called to compete with one arrow each: the first tiebreaker was tied at 30 points, while the second saw Daniele Bellotti triumph with 100 points to 30. Daniele Bellotti was therefore declared "best archer of the 2025 Challenge." A veterinarian by profession with a passion for archery, he demonstrated—by shattering a sealing wax target measuring just a few centimeters with an arrow shot from 15 meters—that he is truly the new... William Tell of Fivizzano.

Roberto Oligeri