Tales Montagnana
Tales Montagnana is an event dedicated to pop culture, gaming, fantasy, and all things nerdy, held every year in the walled city of Montagnana, near Padua, Italy. Founded in 2023 and growing rapidly with each edition, it brings together comics, video games, cosplay, tabletop gaming, role-playing games, illustration, and live entertainment in an incredibly unique historical setting.
What makes Tales special isn't just the theme—it's the location. Unlike traditional conventions held in exhibition halls, the event takes place throughout the medieval city of Montagnana itself. Montagnana is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of a medieval walled city in Europe, with its original fortifications still remarkably intact.
The first time I drove up to it, I was genuinely speechless. What the hell is going on here? Am I Wilfred of Ivanhoe about to storm the biggest fortress I've ever seen? Did I somehow unlock a secret bonus stage in Defender of the Crown?
The walls stretch for about two kilometers and completely surround the historic center. From an engineering standpoint alone, they're impressive: standing between 20 and 26 feet tall, punctuated by 24 defensive towers reaching nearly 65 feet in height. They were once protected by a massive moat fed by the waters of the Frassine River. In other words, the people of Montagnana were very serious about not wanting to be bothered.
So if someone asks, "What is Tales Montagnana?" the simplest answer is this: it's a festival of gaming, fantasy, and geek culture that transforms an entire medieval city into a giant playground filled with comics, video games, cosplay, music, and interactive entertainment, blending the energy of a modern convention with the atmosphere of one of the most beautiful historic towns in Italy.
I had the pleasure of meeting some truly wonderful people, starting with Fabrizio Milanello (the gentleman with the awesome hat in the photo—I hope he'll forgive me 😊), who invited me to the event and immediately made me feel at home. Then there was Giovanni Zaccaria, better known as Zeth, another fantastic person and, I have to admit, the only human being on Earth who managed to keep me completely engaged during a presentation about Hideo Kojima for over an hour—and anyone who knows me understands just how remarkable that is. I also got to spend time with Luca Mazzocco, screenwriter and Narrative Design instructor at Mind Academy, along with many other amazing people.
Those two days were an absolute blast. The atmosphere was fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with everyone on the Tales Montagnana stage, revisiting parts of my professional journey and sharing a few behind-the-scenes stories along the way.
I can't wait to see all of them again.
And seriously—make sure you don't miss the next edition of Tales Montagnana. (The colorful Tales Montagnana poster on the right was illustrated by Stefano Tamiazzo of Mind Academy
