At 7 pm on 12 August, the parade of the "Corte" begins in the streets of the historic center, dressed in sumptuous medieval clothes, hand-sewn following the model of the best Tuscan theatrical tailors. In addition to the Court, the carriage of the "Prince Caracciolo" takes part in the parade and, subsequently, the "Carro con il Tesoro", symbol of the pawnshop which in ancient times provided the dowry to the less well-to-do girls of the city. Fifty flag-wavers and Tuscan knights in addition to th read more
At 7 pm on 12 August, the parade of the "Corte" begins in the streets of the historic center, dressed in sumptuous medieval clothes, hand-sewn following the model of the best Tuscan theatrical tailors. In addition to the Court, the carriage of the "Prince Caracciolo" takes part in the parade and, subsequently, the "Carro con il Tesoro", symbol of the pawnshop which in ancient times provided the dowry to the less well-to-do girls of the city. Fifty flag-wavers and Tuscan knights in addition to the trombonieri of Cava de 'Tirreni close the procession. All the figures, after having paraded through the historic center, go to the Cathedral to pay homage to the Madonna Assunta with a wreath of flowers. Afterwards, the costumed representation takes place in front of the Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, waiting for the Prince to read the announcement for the start of the Palio.
At 9 pm, after the reading of the announcement by Prince Caracciolo, the real Palio begins. First the final of the Palio dei Bambini is disputed, the selections of which take place the day before, then the selections of the two districts that with the two best times will compete in the final are made. All the districts, starting from the Church of Monserrato, challenge each other by rolling a barrel of about two quintals with a curved bar, pushing it along Corso Umberto I. The path, about 450 meters long, is all uphill, so that for the contradaioli it becomes a It is a rather difficult task to be able to advance the barrels on the cobblestones without them constantly changing direction. The victory of the Palio is assigned to the district that will have reached the Bellerofonte fountain in the shortest time. read less
