1929 — 2026✦ Ninety years of diving✦ Boca del Porto✦ Porta del Lion✦ Porta San Zeno✦ Porta Cansignorio✦

01 What it is

A dash along the pole,
suspended over the water

On the Porto Vecchio (Old Harbour) of Lazise, a long horizontal pole is set in place, coated with grease and stretched out over the water. At the far end, a small flag. The winner is whoever manages to run, slide and grab it before falling into the water. Simple to describe, extremely hard to win.

Meet the four contrade

The first flag of the Palo della Cuccagna — The trophy

The flag to be won

The pole

Greased and suspended

Horizontal over the Porto Vecchio, coated in grease, reaching out over the water.

The protagonists

Four contrade

The ancient gates of Lazise, six divers each, a single attempt apiece.

The tradition

Ninety years

Since 1929, every third week of July, without ever losing its spirit.

A diver launched along the greasy pole towards the flag

02 Programme

The date is Saturday evening

Saturday

July 2026

Porto Vecchio

Lazise, Lake Garda

Starts at 8.30pm

The cuccagna evening

Saturday 18

8.30pm

Parade and flag-raising

Parade of the participants through the streets of the town and the raising of the flag at the Porto Vecchio.

9.00pm

The heart of the evening

The cuccagna

Dives in costume, dashes along the greasy pole, the contested flag and the prize-giving.

10.45pm

Lazise: Queen of the Lake

A drone show in the sky above the Porto Vecchio to close the evening.

16 Thursday 16 July The pole procession

The pole travels through the streets of the town and, in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, the order of the dives is drawn. A taste of the festival, while everyone waits for Saturday.

03 The contrade

Four contrade, one contested flag

Contrada

Boca del Porto

The gate on the water, looking straight out over the Porto Vecchio and the harbour basin. Those born here grow up with the lake before their eyes.

The six divers · 2026

03 The contrade on the map

The four contrade

Contrada

Boca del Porto

The six divers · Boca del Porto

04 The rules

How you win

The contest judge

Giovanni Olivetti “Jake”

He sets the run-up for each round and validates the dives.

The goal

Run along the pole and grab the flag

One at a time, the divers launch themselves along the pole to snatch the flag fixed at the far end.

The rule that counts

It only counts if you land in the water with the flag in your hand.

If it slips away or falls in mid-air, the attempt does not count.

Six each

Each contrada fields six divers. The order of the rounds comes from Thursday's draw, then they take on the pole one after another.

The run-up grows

The first round is from a standstill, with no run-up. From the second, it is Jake who decides how much to allow; by the third, it is usually already free.

The first round in costume

The opening round is taken on in fancy dress. The finest costume wins the “Lele Veronesi” prize.

Honour for the town

The top two contrade are awarded prizes. The honour, though, stays with the town all year round.

05 Results

Roll of honour
of the winners

The complete record of everyone who has won the flag, edition after edition, from the first cuccagna in 1929 to today.

First edition: 1929
Editions held: 89
Editions not held: 8
Next edition: 90th

All-time ranking

The great names of the pole

1

Olivetti Giovanni

8 titles
2

Faccini Paolo

8 titles
3

Barbazeni Mattia

8 titles
4

Bertasi Franco

5 titles
5

Degani Fabio

5 titles
6

Zanoni

4 titles
7

Filippi Giuliano

4 titles

Year by year

The roll of honour

89 editions

✶ The 2020s 2020–2025
2025 89th ed. Barbazeni Mattia Porta del Lion
2024 88th ed. Degani Fabio Porta Cansignorio
2023 87th ed. Zeitler Francesco Porta Cansignorio
2022 86th ed. Colli Giovanni Porta San Zeno
2021 85th ed. Salzani Matteo Porta del Lion
2020 not held · Covid emergency
✶ The 2010s 2010–2019
2019 84th ed. Zeitler Francesco Porta Cansignorio
2018 83rd ed. Colli Giovanni Porta San Zeno
2017 82nd ed. Degani Mirko Porta Cansignorio
2016 81st ed. Degani Fabio Porta Cansignorio
2015 80th ed. Degani Fabio Porta Cansignorio
2014 79th ed. Barbazeni Matteo Porta del Lion
2013 78th ed. Barbazeni Matteo Porta del Lion
2012 77th ed. Degani Fabio Porta Cansignorio
2011 76th ed. Barbazeni Mattia Porta del Lion
2010 75th ed. Degani Fabio Porta Cansignorio
✶ The 2000s 2000–2009
2009 74th ed. Barbazeni Mattia
2008 73rd ed. Barbazeni Mattia
2007 72nd ed. Barbazeni Mattia
2006 71st ed. Barbazeni Matteo
2005 70th ed. Barbazeni Mattia
2004 69th ed. Barbazeni Mattia
2003 not held · low lake level
2002 68th ed. Ferron Alessio
2001 67th ed. Perinelli Renzo
2000 66th ed. Barbazeni Mattia
✶ The Nineties 1990–1999
1999 65th ed. Ferron Alessio
1998 64th ed. Ferron Alessio
1997 63rd ed. Filippi Giuliano
1996 62nd ed. Filippi Giuliano
1995 61st ed. Olivetti Giuseppe "Gegia"
1994 60th ed. Filippi Giuliano
1993 59th ed. Filippi Giuliano
1992 58th ed. Faccini Paolo
1991 not held · broken pole
1990 57th ed. Faccini Paolo
✶ The Eighties 1980–1989
1989 56th ed. Faccini Paolo
1988 55th ed. Faccini Paolo
1987 54th ed. Faccini Paolo
1986 53rd ed. Battistoni Renato
1985 52nd ed. Faccini Paolo
1984 51st ed. Faccini Paolo
1983 50th ed. Battistoni Renato
1982 49th ed. Pachera Giuseppe
1981 48th ed. Sebastiano Luca
1980 47th ed. Faccini Paolo
✶ The Seventies 1970–1979
1979 46th ed. Battistoni Renato
1978 45th ed. Olivetti Giovanni
1977 44th ed. Olivetti Giovanni
1976 43rd ed. Olivetti Giovanni
1975 42nd ed. Olivetti Giovanni
1974 41st ed. Olivetti Giovanni
1973 40th ed. Olivetti Giovanni
1972 39th ed. Olivetti Giovanni
1971 38th ed. Olivetti Giovanni
1970 37th ed. Marai
✶ The Sixties 1960–1969
1969 36th ed. Bertasi Franco
1968 35th ed. Bertasi Franco
1967 34th ed. Bertasi Franco
1966 33rd ed. Bertasi Franco
1965 32nd ed. Bertasi Franco
1964 31st ed. Lavezzari Giovanni
1963 30th ed. Giuliari Adriano
1962 29th ed. Campagnari Franco
1961 28th ed. Campagnari Franco
1960 27th ed. Campagnari Franco
✶ The Fifties 1950–1959
1959 26th ed. Romagnoli Vittorio
1958 25th ed. Perinelli Giuseppe
1957 24th ed. Perinelli Gianetti
1956 23rd ed. Perinelli Gianetti
1955 22nd ed. Perinelli Gianetti
1954 21st ed. Barato
1953 20th ed. Barato
1952 19th ed. Albrigo
1951 18th ed. Agostini
1950 17th ed. Zanoni
✶ The Forties 1940–1949
1949 16th ed. Zanoni
1948 15th ed. Barato
1947 14th ed. Campagnari
1946 13th ed. Munari Giovanni
1941–1945 not held · war years
1940 12th ed. Biondani
✶ The Thirties 1930–1939
1939 11th ed. Modena
1938 10th ed. Girola
1937 9th ed. Pachera
1936 8th ed. Lorenzini
1935 7th ed. Peranzoni Marcello
1934 6th ed. Peranzoni Marcello
1933 5th ed. Olivetti
1932 4th ed. Zanoni
1931 3rd ed. Perinelli V.R.
1930 2nd ed. Biondani
✶ The Twenties First edition
1929 1st ed. Zanoni

Eight editions were not held: five during the war years (1941–1945), 1991 for the broken pole, 2003 for the low lake level and 2020 for the Covid emergency.

06 Historical archive

Almost a century
of diving

From the first cuccagna in 1929 to the ninetieth edition: the key milestones drawn from the roll of honour.

1929

The first edition

The first cuccagna del Cadenon is held: the winner is Zanoni.
1941–1945

The war years

For five years the contest is not held because of the war.
1971–1978

Jake's reign

Giovanni Olivetti, known as Jake, wins eight editions in a row: the longest streak in the roll of honour. Today he is the Vecio d'Esperienza, judge and living memory of the contest.
1983

Fiftieth edition

The pole reaches the milestone of fifty editions held.
2020

Edition suspended

The cuccagna is not held because of the Covid emergency.
2025

Eighty-ninth edition

Mattia Barbazeni wins the eighty-ninth cuccagna, the eighth of his career.
2026

Ninety years

The ninetieth edition, Saturday 18 July: a century of tradition continuing on the Porto Vecchio.