The town of Querceta is found in the heart of the Versilia and, with the villages of Pozzi and Ripa, is part of the municipality of Servezza. The area has undergone several changes over the years: in the Roman era, it was part of the centuriation border and in the Middle Ages, there was the town of Brancagliano, which was first destroyed by the Lucchesi in the 12th century and then again two centuries later. In 1600s, the town was covered in oak woods and wheat fields.
According to legend, a French pilgrim, upon his return from a sanctuary in Ancona, left an image of Madonna Lauretana in Querceta, and the councillors in the village decided to build a church dedicated to Santa Maria Laurentana around it.
Querceta is a village full of traditions, including the Palio dei Micci (which means ‘donkey’ in the local dialect). The show was organised for the first time in 1956 with the aim of giving the festivities of the patron Saint Giuseppe greater prominence. The Querceta palio was likely originally intended to be a satirical copy of that of Siena, but by the second edition it became a historical-folklore event in order to relive the history and legends of the area.
