Palio di Asti
Encyclopedia
The Palio di Asti is a traditional Italian
festival of medieval origin that culminates with a bareback horse
race.
The race has been run each year since the 13th century. The earliest record, cited by Guglielmo Ventura, dates from the third quarter of the 13th century. It has taken place every year, with the exception of a period in the 1870s and a 30 year interruption in the 20th century.
Since 1988, the race has taken place in a triangular 'square' in the center of Asti
, the Piazza Alfieri, on every third Sunday in September.
derives from the Latin pallium
, a rectangular sheet of cloth that the Romans wore as a cloak. Originally, the word applied only to the piece of cloth that was placed at the finishing post and awarded to the winner of the race.
Over time the word came to apply to the event in general, including all the rituals and traditions associated with the race, as well as the race itself.
The first certain record of the race dates from 1275. In that year Guglielmo Ventura wrote that Asti, sicut fieri solet Ast, in festo Beati Secundi (as is usual in Asti, during the Feast of San Secondo), ran a Palio under the walls of enemy city of Alba
in order to mock its inhabitants, in the meantime devastating the surrounding vineyards.
Considering that the Palio was already a tradition in 1275, it is probable that the origins of the race date to some time after 1000, with established rules from the 13th century onwards - the period of Asti's greatest splendor.
From the end of the 13th century to the first half of the 14th century, the race took place alla tonda (in the round), along a circular course that corresponds to the modern Piazza Alfieri and Piazza Libertà. This course had already been called the curriculum
(race course in Latin) in the periods of Lombard
and Carolingian domination.
Seeking to strengthen the city militarily, Gian Galeazzo Visconti
, who became the signore (lord) of Asti in 1382, built a new fortified citadel at the curriculum.
To accommodate the new fortifications, the race was moved to a straight course of about two and a half kilometers that started outside the town and ended near its center. The new course started at the cippo del pilone (the milestone that gave its name to Viale Pilone), passed through the Porta San Pietro, along the bridge on Rio Valmanera, along the Contrada Maestra (now the Corso Alfieri, the main street of the town), finishing at the Palazzo Gabuti di Bestagno, the current Palazzo Ottolenghi.
Visconti agreed that the race should continue to be held .
Documents kept in Asti's archives at the Palazzo Mazzola record that the expenditure incurred for the race was two palii (the plural of palio): one offered to the church of San Secondo, the other given to the winner. This is significant, because it reveals the degree of religious devotion that once accompanied the event.
Sometime between 1440 and 1464, Charles, Duke of Orléans, visiting the County of Asti that he inherited from his mother Valentina Visconti
, offered as a prize a palio of crimson velvet, decorated by three golden lilies on a blue background.
assumed the regency of the city on May 20th 1545, he confirmed and documented the ancient customs of the festival, promising that he and his successors would supply the palii in perpetuity.
His code stated that the following could enter horses in the race: "all the city of Asti, all the churches of Asti, including those of the trade associations, the college, the university, the company and the citizenry, all in the name of the said churches and chapels, everything that conforms with the ancient styles, customs and privileges of that city."
In the 18th century the palii were combined to make a banner, usually blue, decorated with coats of arms of Savoy, the comune
, the governor and the podestà
(chief magistrate). The image of San Secondo riding a horse made its appearance on the palio banner dedicated to the church: at the end of the nineteenth century, it was also present on the palio banner given to the winner.
The race originally took place on March 30 each year, at the Feast of San Secondo. From the 15th century both the day of the Palio and the Feast of San Secondo were moved to the Thursday after the Domenica in Albis - i.e the second Thursday after Easter
. In the early years of the 19th century the race was held three days later, on the second Sunday after Easter.
In 1818 the celebration of San Secondo was moved again, to the first Tuesday of May, so the race was moved to that date.
In 1861, new "Regulations for the horse race around the new Market Square" were published. The market square referred to is the Campo del Palio (Palio Field), a very large square that is today a car park and the site of Asti's weekly market. This new venue represented a radical change: from the late 14th century, the Palio had run along a straight course.
In 1863, the event became a secular horse race, losing its traditional religious significance.
(Mayor) of Asti, Vincenzo Buronzo. In that year, the Palio was again held on a straight course, this time on Corso Dante - an uphill distance of about 1300 m.
In 1936, Benito Mussolini
ordered that the palio be changed to a certame cavalleresco (chivalrous contest). The palio of Legnano
received similar instructions. In spite of this, the seven events held in Asti during the two decades of fascism
kept the memory of the Palio alive, and the loss of this ancient tradition was avoided.
On May 3, 1936, during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
, soldiers of the 104th Legion of Black Shirts, mainly composed of Asti residents, ran a special donkey palio on the banks of Lake Ashenge
in Ethiopia
. The events of the day were recorded in the Asti daily paper La Provincia:
The participants were the Borgo di Santa Maria Nuova, the Rione (district) of San Martino, the Borgo di Ponte Tanaro, and the Rione Duomo (Cathedral District). The Borgo di Santa Maria Nuova won.
, the palio was resurrected. The race was moved to September, to coincide with the celebrations of the Douja d'Or and to follow the Festa delle sagre astigiane - Asti's Festival of Festivals. The 1861 route in the Piazza Campo del Palio was used; stands were built with 5,000 seats, and a large area was dedicated to standing spectators. The 1967 event was attended by 100,000 spectators; 14 villages, districts and comuni (municipalities) took part.
Since 1988 the Palio has been held in the Piazza Vittorio Alfieri
in the heart of the city, in an even more impressive and engaging setting.
In 1992 the Palio di Asti was combined with the national lottery.
The Istituto Luce has in its files five brief movies of the Palio of Asti. The two that record the events of 1932 and 1934 are particularly important.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
festival of medieval origin that culminates with a bareback horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
race.
The race has been run each year since the 13th century. The earliest record, cited by Guglielmo Ventura, dates from the third quarter of the 13th century. It has taken place every year, with the exception of a period in the 1870s and a 30 year interruption in the 20th century.
Since 1988, the race has taken place in a triangular 'square' in the center of Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
, the Piazza Alfieri, on every third Sunday in September.
Etymology
The word PalioPalio
The oldest extant palio is the Palio di Asti, but the Palio di Siena is better known internationally. There are many other palios that are held throughout the various regions of Italy. Here follows an incomplete list:-Tuscany:...
derives from the Latin pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
, a rectangular sheet of cloth that the Romans wore as a cloak. Originally, the word applied only to the piece of cloth that was placed at the finishing post and awarded to the winner of the race.
Over time the word came to apply to the event in general, including all the rituals and traditions associated with the race, as well as the race itself.
Origins
Since the inception of the race, the citizens of Asti have struggled to maintain the privilege of running the Palio on the feast day of their patron saint, San Secondo, bishop of Asti, maryred on the 30th of March 119. The race is mentioned in many treaties and alliance agreements with various sovereigns, patrons and rulers.The first certain record of the race dates from 1275. In that year Guglielmo Ventura wrote that Asti, sicut fieri solet Ast, in festo Beati Secundi (as is usual in Asti, during the Feast of San Secondo), ran a Palio under the walls of enemy city of Alba
Alba, Italy
Alba is a town and comune of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Cuneo. It is considered the capital of the hilly area of Langhe, and is famous for its white truffle, peach and wine production...
in order to mock its inhabitants, in the meantime devastating the surrounding vineyards.
Considering that the Palio was already a tradition in 1275, it is probable that the origins of the race date to some time after 1000, with established rules from the 13th century onwards - the period of Asti's greatest splendor.
From the end of the 13th century to the first half of the 14th century, the race took place alla tonda (in the round), along a circular course that corresponds to the modern Piazza Alfieri and Piazza Libertà. This course had already been called the curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
(race course in Latin) in the periods of Lombard
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
and Carolingian domination.
Seeking to strengthen the city militarily, Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti , son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca of Savoy, was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance...
, who became the signore (lord) of Asti in 1382, built a new fortified citadel at the curriculum.
To accommodate the new fortifications, the race was moved to a straight course of about two and a half kilometers that started outside the town and ended near its center. The new course started at the cippo del pilone (the milestone that gave its name to Viale Pilone), passed through the Porta San Pietro, along the bridge on Rio Valmanera, along the Contrada Maestra (now the Corso Alfieri, the main street of the town), finishing at the Palazzo Gabuti di Bestagno, the current Palazzo Ottolenghi.
Visconti agreed that the race should continue to be held .
Documents kept in Asti's archives at the Palazzo Mazzola record that the expenditure incurred for the race was two palii (the plural of palio): one offered to the church of San Secondo, the other given to the winner. This is significant, because it reveals the degree of religious devotion that once accompanied the event.
Sometime between 1440 and 1464, Charles, Duke of Orléans, visiting the County of Asti that he inherited from his mother Valentina Visconti
Valentina Visconti
Not to be confused with Valentina Visconti, Queen of CyprusValentina Visconti was the wife of Louis de Valois, Duke of Orléans, a younger brother of Charles VI of France....
, offered as a prize a palio of crimson velvet, decorated by three golden lilies on a blue background.
The Savoys
When Emanuele FilibertoEmanuele Filiberto
Emanuele Filiberto, a common name among members of the House of Savoy, may refer to:* Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta , eldest son of Amadeo I of Spain* Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy , Spanish general...
assumed the regency of the city on May 20th 1545, he confirmed and documented the ancient customs of the festival, promising that he and his successors would supply the palii in perpetuity.
His code stated that the following could enter horses in the race: "all the city of Asti, all the churches of Asti, including those of the trade associations, the college, the university, the company and the citizenry, all in the name of the said churches and chapels, everything that conforms with the ancient styles, customs and privileges of that city."
In the 18th century the palii were combined to make a banner, usually blue, decorated with coats of arms of Savoy, the comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
, the governor and the podestà
Podestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
(chief magistrate). The image of San Secondo riding a horse made its appearance on the palio banner dedicated to the church: at the end of the nineteenth century, it was also present on the palio banner given to the winner.
The race originally took place on March 30 each year, at the Feast of San Secondo. From the 15th century both the day of the Palio and the Feast of San Secondo were moved to the Thursday after the Domenica in Albis - i.e the second Thursday after Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. In the early years of the 19th century the race was held three days later, on the second Sunday after Easter.
In 1818 the celebration of San Secondo was moved again, to the first Tuesday of May, so the race was moved to that date.
In 1861, new "Regulations for the horse race around the new Market Square" were published. The market square referred to is the Campo del Palio (Palio Field), a very large square that is today a car park and the site of Asti's weekly market. This new venue represented a radical change: from the late 14th century, the Palio had run along a straight course.
In 1863, the event became a secular horse race, losing its traditional religious significance.
The Fascist Era
The festival was revived in 1929 by the PodestàPodestà
Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...
(Mayor) of Asti, Vincenzo Buronzo. In that year, the Palio was again held on a straight course, this time on Corso Dante - an uphill distance of about 1300 m.
In 1936, Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
ordered that the palio be changed to a certame cavalleresco (chivalrous contest). The palio of Legnano
Legnano
Legnano is an Italian town and comune with 59.147 inhabitants in the province of Milan, about from Milan.It's crossed by the river Olona, and it's the 13th town for inhabitants in Lombardy....
received similar instructions. In spite of this, the seven events held in Asti during the two decades of fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
kept the memory of the Palio alive, and the loss of this ancient tradition was avoided.
On May 3, 1936, during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
, soldiers of the 104th Legion of Black Shirts, mainly composed of Asti residents, ran a special donkey palio on the banks of Lake Ashenge
Lake Ashenge
Lake Ashenge is a lake in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Ethiopian highlands at an elevation of 2409 meters, it has no outlet...
in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. The events of the day were recorded in the Asti daily paper La Provincia:
The participants were the Borgo di Santa Maria Nuova, the Rione (district) of San Martino, the Borgo di Ponte Tanaro, and the Rione Duomo (Cathedral District). The Borgo di Santa Maria Nuova won.
The Restoration
In 1967, to mark the 1000th anniversary of the foundation of the Marquisate of Montferrat and the 800th anniversary of the Lombard LeagueLombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
, the palio was resurrected. The race was moved to September, to coincide with the celebrations of the Douja d'Or and to follow the Festa delle sagre astigiane - Asti's Festival of Festivals. The 1861 route in the Piazza Campo del Palio was used; stands were built with 5,000 seats, and a large area was dedicated to standing spectators. The 1967 event was attended by 100,000 spectators; 14 villages, districts and comuni (municipalities) took part.
Since 1988 the Palio has been held in the Piazza Vittorio Alfieri
Vittorio Alfieri
Count Vittorio Alfieri was an Italian dramatist, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy."-Early life:Alfieri was born at Asti in Piedmont....
in the heart of the city, in an even more impressive and engaging setting.
In 1992 the Palio di Asti was combined with the national lottery.
The Istituto Luce has in its files five brief movies of the Palio of Asti. The two that record the events of 1932 and 1934 are particularly important.
External links
- Official Site including the date date of the next Palio.