The Ducato di Piazza Pontida was founded as an association dedicated to promoting the traditions, culture, art, and folklore of Bergamo. Its creation was the result of the creativity and imagination of Rodolfo Paris — a musician, pianist, poet, and author of verses in the Bergamasque dialect, a well-known figure in the city during the early decades of the twentieth century.

On the night of December 31, 1923, to poke fun at the local authorities who were slow to inaugurate the Torre dei Caduti, Paris organized a parade together with the editorial staff of the newspaper Giopì. Once on the Sentierone, at the stroke of midnight, amidst fireworks and lights, Paris symbolically inaugurated the Tower with a few words, and from the crowd someone shouted: 'LONG LIVE THE DUKE OF PIAZZA PONTIDA!' The official inauguration of the Tower then took place in October 1924.

Since its very beginnings, the Ducato has celebrated key events of the city, including the famous Mid-Lent, a popular festivity with roots in the medieval period. Originally, Mid-Lent culminated with the Rasgàment de la Ègia, a ritual that involved the burning of the 'Old Woman,' a symbol of the end of winter and the arrival of spring. The Ducato has kept this tradition alive, preserving its original spirit while adapting it to modern times, with celebrations that combine humor, popular participation, and respect for historical memory.

The newspaper Giopì, founded in 1894 by Teodoro Piazzoni, Benvenuto Trezzini, and Annibale Casartelli, became the official organ of the Ducato di Piazza Pontida in 1927. Since then, it has played a fundamental role in documenting and promoting Bergamasque culture, traditions, and language. Published biweekly, Giopì features articles on culture, art, literature, poetry, theater, folklore, dialect, and Bergamasque traditions, while also covering current events in the city and province. The newspaper has always maintained a strong local identity, addressing issues of interest to the Bergamasque community with a critical and satirical spirit.

From 1939 to 1945, the world was shaken by the terrible catastrophe of war: those who lived through those years still carry the memory of the hardships, the mourning, and the physical and moral wounds inflicted by the conflict. They were times of destruction, disintegration, and dispersion, which did not spare even the small Duchy of Piazza Pontida.

The Giopì newspaper had already been suppressed in 1938; in early 1940 Duke Pichetü passed away; during those years, many figures who had been pillars of the Duchy also disappeared, such as the Grand Seneschal Renzo Avogadri, Giacomo Pellegrini (a poet from Valdimagna), Piero Nicoli, Ferruccio Grasselli, Alfredo Faino, and Cavagnari of Romano Lombardo, as well as prominent figures in Bergamo’s cultural life, such as Bortolo Belotti, who died in exile in Switzerland.

But with the end of the great storm and the general revival of cultural life, local traditional initiatives were also reborn. For the Duchy: on December 23, 1945, Giopì reappeared; in February 1946, an appeal was launched for the rebirth of the Duchy; in March 1946, the “Ducal Company of Living Puppets” returned to the Teatro Duse; and in December 1946, the ducal “Bergamasque Dialectal Company” was re-established, led by Giuseppe Perico and Giuseppe Mazza.

Thus came the complete reconstitution of the Duchy: in 1947, the election of the new Duke took place, bringing seven years of interregnum to an end.

Since its founding in 1923, the Ducato di Piazza Pontida has seen successive generations of Dukes, each of whom has contributed to preserving and promoting Bergamasque traditions, culture, and folklore. The Dukes are not merely symbolic figures: they embody a spirit of joviality and a passion for the community, leading the Duchy’s activities and actively participating in its hallmark events, such as the Mid-Lent celebration.

Each Duke has left their mark, carrying forward cultural, artistic, and social initiatives that have enriched the history of the Ducato and strengthened its bond with the city of Bergamo. The list below includes all the Dukes, from the first, Rodolfo Paris (Rodolfo ü), to the current members, recounting nearly a century of identity, continuity, and tradition.