Museo dei Costumi della Partita a Scacchi

The Museum of the Costumes of the Living Chess Game occupies rooms in the piano nobile of Marostica's Lower Castle. It preserves costumes and objects created for the town's human chess performance.

Why it matters

The collection records a distinctive form of civic theatre: garments and props made for a recurring performance become material witnesses to Marostica's living-chess tradition. Its visual language draws on late-fifteenth-century dress and the legend associated with the town's chess match.

What to notice

Costumes are shown alongside helmets, carved chess pieces, medallions, swords and elaborate headdresses. The garments are reproductions of late-fifteenth-century clothing, while the castle's frescoed rooms provide a historic setting for the pageant's objects.

Context and history

Local legend places a chess match in 1454, when two young noblemen competed for Lionora. The modern performance was created in 1923 by Mirko Vucetich and Francesco Pozza and was revived and consolidated in the post-war decades. Its moves draw on celebrated historic games, including the Immortal and Evergreen, rather than a surviving record of the legendary match.