Banco della Reson
Cavalese, Italy
The community gathered on this stone table to make important decisions, but it was also the site of witch trials.
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Until 1500, the Magnificent Community gathered around this stone table for its assemblies. It was a form of democracy ante litteram, with meetings chaired by the Scario (a sort of president elected annually) in which the fire chiefs, the representatives of the various communities from Trodena to Moena, participated.
In 1505, 28 people were accused of witchcraft, 18 of whom were condemned to the stake and burned alive. The public trials took place, as usual, at the Banco della Resón. Every year on January 5, there is a historical re-enactment of the trials for witchcraft that took place in Val di Fiemme at the dawn of the 16th century.
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