Palio di Asti

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.

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.

Visconti agreed that the race should continue to be held "in festa Sancti Secundi iuxta consuetudinem, omni contradictione remota" (at the Festival of San Secondo just as usual, all objections refused).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.

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.

When Emanuele Filiberto assumed the regency of the city on May 20, 1545, he confirmed and documented the ancient customs of the festival, promising that he and his successors would supply the palii in perpetuity.

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).

Though unique to each town, these events reflect a broader Italian practice of using historical reenactments and competitions to preserve local heritage.

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:[3] "The steeds were all donkeys seized by the Legion during its advance, and abandoned by the Abyssinians as they escaped ... for the occasion they were baptized with the names of various defeated Ras (Ethiopian dignitaries), whose gifts of speed were conferred upon them.