From 9–11 August, a delegation of the Order of St George the Martyr — Grand Master Robert Dryden, Grand Prior Richard Brown, Grand Chaplain The Right Reverend Monsignor Eugene Harkness (17th-generation descendant of King Charles II) and Knight Commander Piero D'Angelico Falco — completed a three-day visit to three Apulian hill towns that annually reenact the medieval arrival of Charles of Anjou. The tour, undertaken at the formal invitation of the Mayor Palma Maria Giannini (Celle di San Vito), Mayor Dr. Michele Pavia (Faeto), and Mayor Cavaliere Pasquale Marchese (Castelluccio Valmaggiore), and organized by Piero, blended liturgy, civic ceremony and living history—and sealed new bonds of promise of friendship and kinship with each municipality.
Day 1 — Celle di San Vito (9 August)
The delegation began at the municipio for introductions before processing with townspeople to Mass.
Mons. Harkness offered greetings, including a few words in Franco-Provençal, the historical language linked to Charles of Anjou, winning warm appreciation.
After the signing of the Order’s letter of promise of friendship and kinship in church, the party joined a procession to the city walls, where the mayor unveiled a carved stone bearing the Order’s coat of arms.
As one account put it, the gesture marked the Order being received as “protectors of the town”. The letter for Celle closes: “Saint Vincent! Pray for us! Saint George! Pray for us!”.
Refreshments followed, along with visits to the statue of Carlo d’Angiò and the local museum. A costumed procession restaged the medieval entry of Charles d’Anjou, complete with heraldic standards and Franco-Provençal banners.
The pageant ended beneath the city walls, where the Order’s arms now stand in stone.
Day 2 — Faeto (10 August)
Faeto welcomed the delegation at the municipio with speeches and an exchange of gifts. The town then presented a stone with the Order’s arms, symbolically recognising the Order’s protective bond with Faeto.
A procession followed to the church through applauding crowds—“it really felt as if the king entered again in town”, one participant recalled.
The Mass, partly sung in Franco-Provençal, culminated in the Mayor Dr. Michele Pavia’s official welcome and the signing of the promise of friendship and kinship.
In a deeply emotional moment, Mons. Harkness — speaking as a direct descendant of Charles of Anjou — looked across the congregation and said it was “so nice to see the blood of my blood”, drawing minutes of sustained applause.
The celebrations continued with a second procession for San Prospero and fireworks in the saint’s honour before dinner concluded the day.
Day 3 — Castelluccio Valmaggiore (11 August)
Castelluccio received the delegation at the municipio and in the Golden Hall, where Sir Pasquale Marchese offered a historical briefing on the town’s Angevin roots.
After speeches and the signing of the promise of friendship and kinship (including recognition of the Order as “ambassadors of peace”), the group walked to the site for the plaque unveiling and photographs.
The town paused for the Festival delle Pettole — fried-dough treats shared in the streets — before the musical centrepiece: composer Maestro Paolo Curatolo premiered a newly written Hymn of St George, dedicated to the Order and proposed for performance at next year’s 700-year commemorations in Cambridge.
In a coda to the tour’s symbolism, Faeto’s fireworks rose across the valley as Castelluccio revealed its stone—one of three coats of arms now deliberately positioned to face one another in a triangle of fraternity. The evening closed with a concerto by Paolo Curatolo and a reprise of the hymn.
A Living Triangle of Brotherhood
Across the Monti Dauni, the three heraldic stones—in Celle di San Vito, Faeto and Castelluccio Valmaggiore—now face each other by design, a physical emblem of mutual guardianship. As the Castelluccio plaque was unveiled, Faeto saluted with fireworks from the next town, underscoring a relationship locals describe as that of “brothers”.
An Invitation “Home” Each August
The signed documents affirm an ongoing legacy of friendship between the Order and the municipalities. With the towns staging their medieval reenactments every 8–10 August, members of the Order were expressly invited to return—“a new home to visit” in the Apulian hills, year after year.