[3] A lot of Palio-centric events take place in Legnano during May and July, such as the choral exhibition La Fabbrica del Canto '(The factory of singing)' born in 1992 from an idea of the musical association Jubilate.

[10] The first proposal to organize an event with the contribution of the municipal administration of Legnano was hypothesized in 1926 by Carlo De Giorgi, journalist and local exponent of the National Fascist Party.

[17] This event, which was called "Festa del Carroccio" and which this time had the full support of the municipal administration, included a gastronomic fair set up in the modern Via Diaz and Matteotti, a medieval pageant through the streets of Legnano and a horse race that came organized at the local sports field Brusadelli (built as a sports center for the dopolavoro of the Cotonificio Dell'Acqua,[18] now it is named after Pino Cozzi, historical president of the Unione Sportiva Legnanese[19]) and which did not end due to the death of a jockey, a teenager of only 15 years untrained to the races, who fell from his horse and was killed instantly.

[2][14][20] With the Festa del Carroccio, it then passed from austere and solemn civil celebrations to a folkloristic and sporting show, although not lucky, at least in its first edition, due to the misfortune mentioned.

[21] As a result of the tragedy that struck the young jockey, in the years immediately following, the horse race was not repeated, without prejudice to the organization of the other events, which continued to take place even later.

[17][23] The palio was born then during the fascist era, in a historical context in which the state authorities were committed to coercively promote all aspects related to Italian nationalism, recalling, where necessary, the events that marked the history of Italy in a victorious way.

[27] The transfer to the city stadium was not the only novelty of that year: from the canapo (the front rope)[d] it was passed to the starting belts, and the bareback riding was replaced by the mount with the saddle.

[2] On 5 June 1935, shortly after the end of the first edition of the event, Galeazzo Ciano, undersecretary of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Italy with responsibility for the Press and Propaganda, sent a telegram to the prefect of Milan, immediately forwarded to the prefectural commissioner of Legnano, which reported the following order:[18] [...] For obvious reasons the Duce has established that the palio denomination is reserved for the traditional Sienese event and that the Legnano one is instead called "Sagra del Carroccio".

[31] Due to the suspension of the event, the copy of the cross by Aribert, coveted palio of the horse race, was kept in the church of Sant'Erasmo, a religious building of reference for the homonymous contrada that won in 1939, for more than ten years.

[32] Anacleto Tenconi, then mayor of Legnano, recalled those moments:[32] In the context of new feelings and aspirations we returned to the search for ancient traditions, which re-created a historical identity, reigniting a dignity and a pride, which had fallen asleep during the disastrous war events.

[...] The initiative was somewhat reckless and difficult [...] several Legnanesi were reluctant to accept the resumption of the event, given its pre-war origin of the fascist period, having the fear that the restoration of the Sagra del Carroccio could cause political conflicts.

[32][37] The same year, on 19 May 1959, Pope John XXIII granted a private audience in the throne room to the mayor of Legnano as the supreme magistrate of the palio, to the captains of the contrade and to a representative of the Famiglia Legnanese.

[14] From 1971, in the horse race, the saddle was abolished with the return to the obligation, on the part of the jockeys, of the bareback riding, a type of mount that had characterized the first editions of the palio.

A further final was then reduced to these two contrade and disputed over a course of three laps of the field, where San Domenico won[53] In 1983 a representative delegation of the palio was invited to Konstanz, Germany, for the commemoration of the 8th centenary of the homonymous peace treaty, epilogue of the struggle between Frederick Barbarossa and the Lombard League, while the 1984 edition of the horse race was the only one to be postponed due to adverse weather conditions; the horse race was then run the following Sunday.

[45] In 1990 the "Permanent commission of costumes" was founded, which deals with the conformity of the material used in the medieval pageant with respect to the invoice of the weapons, the clothes and the hairstyles used in the 12th century; this committee was officially included in the palio regulation in 1995.

[45] Given the recognized quality of the material used during the historic parade, in 1995 an exhibition was organized within the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, concerning the display of the clothes, ornaments and weapons of the medieval pageant of the Palio di Legnano.

[45] In May 1998 a cavalcade in medieval costume was organized of the captains of the contrade, whose route ran from Legnano to the monastery of Cairate, a place where Barbarossa stayed the night before the battle.

[...][i]The organization of the palio, structured in this way since 1986,[45] or since his leadership passed to the municipal administration,[87] is led by the palio committee, which is composed of the "supreme magistrate", the "Cavaliere del Carroccio", from the "grand master of the college of captains and the contrade", from the president of the Famiglia Legnanese, from the "great priors" and other members who are representing the Municipal council, the Famiglia Legnanese and the college of captains and contrade.

[90] The Cavaliere del Carroccio, who holds the role of executive director of the organization of the palio, is appointed by the supreme magistrate after hearing the president of the Famiglia Legnanese and the grand master of the college of the captains and the contrade.

[95] The first of these is the "translation" of the cross of Aribert from the religious building of reference of the contrada that has conquered the previous edition of the palio, to the main church of Legnano, the basilica of San Magno.

[...][j]Then there is the civil investiture of the captains of the contrade, which once took place on the day of the patron saint of the city, St. Magnus (5 November),[45] but which since 2008 has been moved near the palio to provide this event better visibility.

[...][l]Then, on the third Friday of May, the vigil of the cross of Aribert takes place in the basilica of San Magno, in which the representatives of the contrade participate;[45] this religious ceremony is characterized by a very precise liturgy, with specific sacred readings and songs.

[100] The ceremonial then continues with the oath of the representatives of the contrade before the copy of the cross of Aribert, with which the protagonists of the palio promise, similarly to what was done by the soldiers of the Lombard League before the battle of Legnano, unity and fidelity in name of freedom.

[100] The ceremonial continues with a solemn Mass officiated on the Carroccio, on the occasion placed in San Magno Square, in front of the main entrance of the basilica and next to Palazzo Malinverni.

[114] On the Carroccio there is a copy of the cross of Aribert (coveted palio of the horse race), an altar and the "martinella", or from the bell which in medieval times had the function of recalling the soldiers around the wagon.

[112] The martinella is made to sound inside the stadium at the end of the parade, after the pigeons have freed themselves in flight, recalling for the second time the aforementioned legend told by Galvano Fiamma.

[108] Initially the representatives of the armed forces present in Legnano (Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato, Guardia di Finanza and local police) parade, followed by the civic gonfalons of the municipalities that had once coalesced in the Lombard League, the flags of the Metropolitan City of Milan and the Lombardy Region, then the banners of the Milanese associations pass in procession and finally the gonfalon of Legnano parades; the latter then honors the authorities and other municipal banners.

[108] The Legnano banner was paraded and the honors given to the other municipal banners and to the authorities, after the flag-raising of the Italian flag and the performance of Il Canto degli Italiani by Goffredo Mameli and Michele Novaro, the Italian national anthem since 1946,[114] entered the stadium the representatives of the contrade, strictly in alphabetical order, with the contrada that won the last palio that closes this part of the procession;[108] then enters the Carroccio pulled by six white oxen and the group of figurants, once formed by young conscripts stationed in the disused Legnanese barracks of the Italian Army, who impersonate the armed squad that defended this military chariot during the battle of Legnano; this phase of the palio is closed with the entry of the figurants who interpret the Company of Death.

[117] All the protagonists of this phase therefore leave the field in order to allow the figurants of the Company of Death, just before the horse race, to re-propose the charge that was made, according to legend, by the military team led by Alberto da Giussano in the final stages of the battle of Legnano.

[112][121][122] The provaccia, which is dedicated to Luigi Favari, former president of the organizing committee of the palio, is preceded by another horse race which, this time, includes ponies ridden by very young jockeys.