Chess challenge with living characters in period costumes

Every year, on August 12, the town of Cutro, in the province of Crotone, hosts an evocative event that combines history, culture, and entertainment: the Chess Game with living characters in period costume, an exciting historical reenactment inspired by the famous chess match that took place at the Spanish court in 1575 between Ruy López de Segura and Giovanni Leonardo di Bona from Cutro, known as “il Puttino”. 

The challenge takes place in August 1575 and the winner is promised a prize of 1,000 ducats. The scene is immortalized by the art of Luigi Mussini in the famous painting "A Chess Challenge at the Court of the King of Spain" (1886, now owned by the headquarters of Monte dei Paschi di Siena). "Il Puttino" deliberately loses the first two games, and it is only at this point that with theatrical guasconery, he issues to the sovereign who, somewhat disappointed, is about to leave, an invitation to stay and witness his triumph: "Majesty deign to stay, the whole thing was done artfully, so that my skill would shine more clearly." Leonardo, to the lively satisfaction of his great admirer Don John of Austria, easily won the remaining three games. Philip II, in a letter dated August 22, 1575, congratulated his brother and acknowledged the defeat of his protégé. In admiration, the king also wished to make a gift to the victor of a jewel depicting a salamander adorned with precious stones and a sable fur coat. "The Puttino" took advantage of the sovereign's willingness to gain credit for his fellow citizens, demanding and obtaining for his native Cutro the title of city and exemption from paying taxes for 20 years. Beyond the challenge between the two, this is also the chronicle of the first major chess event in history, a veritable world championship desired and sponsored by Philip II in his Court in Madrid, where, for the occasion, all the strongest chess players of the time had gathered: Leonardo Di Bona and Paolo Boi for the Italian school, Ruy López, Escovara and Alfonso Cerón for the Spanish school. "Il Puttino," who surprisingly triumphed in the confrontation, is now considered the strongest chess player from 1575 to 1587, the year of his death.

The event, which takes place in Piazza Giò Leonardo di Bona starting at 9:45 p.m., recreates the atmosphere of Philip II's court with theatrical rigor and philological attention to detail, involving participants in Renaissance costumes who animate a giant chessboard transformed into an open-air stage. An event that combines tradition and identity, capable of involving visitors and citizens in an immersive experience with a strong symbolic value.