Specialty Museum Attractions In Copparo

The Palio of Ferrara 2011 - Historical Procession I

It was the year 1259, when, to celebrate Azzo the Seventh Novello D'Este -- the marquis of the city -- and his victory over Ezzelino da Romano at Cassano D'Adda (near Milan), the first palio of Ferrara was held.

20 years later, in 1279, this spectacular popular tradition was made on of the City's institutions. The statutes stated that the Palio be held twice a year: on 23rd April in honour of St. George the patron saint of Ferrara, and on 15th August in honour of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The first prize for the winner of the race was in fact a palio, or piece of cloth. These races for the palio have been immortalised in the frescoes in the Salone dei Mesi (Room of the Months) in Palazzo Schifanioa, in the archives of the time and in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.

In the evening, a majestic procession, with more than one thousand three hundred participants, crosses the city and enters the Estense Castle, arriving at the adjacent square where the registration ceremony and the presentation of the champions taking part in the Palio races are held.