Palio di Asti
The Palio is run in Asti every first Sunday of September.
The Palio isn't just a spectacular race between horses and jockeys: it's the symbol of Asti's identity, an event that blends passion, memory, and collective pride.
The term Palio, deriving from the Latin pallium (a rectangular cloth worn as an overcoat over the Roman tunic), originally indicated only the precious piece of cloth that was placed at the finish point and which was awarded to the winner of the contest.
The meaning was later extended to the festival in general, meaning by palio the set of rites and customs closely linked to the race itself.
The first certain news of the race dates back to 1275: the local chronicler Guglielmo Ventura reports that the people of Asti, «sicut fieri solet Ast, in festo Beati Secundi» ("as is used proudly in Asti, during the feast of Blessed Secondus"), ran the Palio as a mockery under the walls of the enemy city of Alba, devastating the surrounding vineyards.
Therefore, if the "Corsa del Palio" was already defined as a custom in 1275, it is likely that its origins must have been placed after the year 1000, with rules codified as early as the XIII century (a period also coinciding with the maximum splendour of the Municipality of Asti).
Since then, the Palio has always accompanied the historic development of the city, reflecting its alternating events.
Over eight centuries it has undergone transformations, but has retained its original characteristics unchanged: the allure of competitive competition, partisan passion, a privileged relationship with the patron saint, and a great sense of identity.
The Palio was modified in 1929 by the Podestà of Asti, Vincenzo Buronzo.
For that year the Palio was held again in the long run, but on Corso Dante, along an uphill route of about 1300 meters.
The resumption of the race, held until 1935, however, aroused some resentment in the municipality of Siena, host of the Palio of the same name.
In 1936, through the direct intervention of Benito Mussolini, who recognised Siena alone as having the privilege of calling its event the Palio, the orders were given to change the name of the festival to “Chivalric Tournament”, in parallel with Legnano's ban on naming the race held during the "Sagra del Carroccio" as the Palio. The race was thus postponed first to the following year and then sine die.
Since 1988, the Palio has been held in the central Piazza Vittorio Alfieri, as suggested by architect Antonio Guarene.
The historical parade is certainly one of the most spectacular elements of the Palio of Asti.
In the early afternoon before the Palio race, the historical parade starts from the Cathedral, then passes through the streets of the historic centre and ends in Piazza Alfieri, where the race is held.
The procession opens with the mounted group of the Captain of the Palio and the magistrates. The Captain is responsible for supervising the event, with the power to impose disqualifications in the event of irregular behaviour by the jockeys during the race.
At the end of the parade, the winners of the last edition of the Palio parade, followed by the Carroccio, the ancient symbol of the free municipalities, which carries with it the Palio depicting Saint Secundus on horseback and the insignia of the Municipality of Asti. Each year, the commissioning is entrusted to an internationally renowned contemporary artist.
This year the Palio was created by Marco Aru, an artist of national and international fame.
In reality, two Palios are held, one for the winner and one dedicated to Saint Secondus and located in the Collegiate Church of Saint Secondus.
The two Palios, although distinct in their destination, are linked by a common vision.
In the first one intended for the Collegiate Church of Saint Secondus, Aru represents the conversion of the Saint as he abandons his cloak, a gesture that recalls his detachment from the Roman past and the warrior dimension.
The banner intended for the winner of the race, instead, proposes a Saint Secondus “glorious”, now aware of his role. Here the Saint is on horseback, in a dynamic scene that recalls the start of the Palio race.
In medieval times, the Palio race featured only two prizes: the Palio, a velvet cloth or precious cloth, for the first to arrive, and a live rooster for the second, as well documented in the ducal treasury's account books.
If the first prize has a very high venal value, the second is practically devoid of it and has a primarily symbolic and moral function.
Today the prizes are: for the first prize the Palio, for the second the bag with silver coins,
for the third prize a pair of spurs, for the fourth prize a live rooster, the fifth prize is a cockade with the colours of the city, white and red, the last to arrive is a salted anchovy.
It is one of the most characteristic and heartfelt prizes of the Palio di Asti.
It derives from the fourteenth-century Asti dialect anzoa, and later anchoa. Intended for the last place winner, it is awarded as a sign of mockery and dishonour for the loser.
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