Marostica historical timeline

Origins

The site was settled early for the obvious reason -- a defensible spur where the plateau meets the plain -- and was held by the Ezzelini in the thirteenth century.

Turning points

Cansignorio della Scala, lord of Verona, built the walls and the two castles between 1372 and 1387, giving the town the form it still has. Marostica submitted to Venice in 1404 and remained Venetian until 1797.

Influential people

Four centuries of Venetian rule left the winged lion on the square and a settled, undramatic prosperity -- which is largely why the medieval fabric survived rather than being rebuilt.

Cultural evolution

The Partita a Scacchi was created in 1954 by Mirko Vucetich, based on a local legend that in 1454 two suitors for the castellan's daughter were made to compete at chess instead of duelling. The legend is not documented; the event is now a genuine tradition in its own right.

Present-day significance

The Ciliegia di Marostica received IGP protection in 2002, and the cherry harvest matters more to the local economy than the chess does.