The event, held in Quattro Castella, commemorates the episode of the coronation of Matilda of Canossa at the hands of Henry V, which took place at the foot of the Castle of Bianello between May 6 and 11 in the year 1111.
The emperor was the son of Henry IV, who in 1077 obtained the pardon of Canossa from Pope Gregory VII through the mediation of Matilda.
The event includes the Medieval Dinner (May 22); taverns, markets and performances (May 23); and shows, markets and the Historical Procession (May 24).
Donizone of Canossa, Matilda's biographer and chronicler of the time, recounts that the emperor reached the castle of Bianello on his return from Rome and crowned the grand duchess with the title of "vice-queen imperial vicar of Italy." This episode was the decisive step toward the Concordat of Worms (1122). Historical sources report that the ceremony took place in the churchyard of the Church of Sant'Antonino, not far from where the event currently takes place.
