Tradition calls and the Palio of Asti is ready to respond, returning to parade through the streets of the city, with its colors, its sounds, its symbolism and its tradition.
The journey towards the Palio 2024 will begin this evening with the night parade, the Oath of the Rectors and the Estimation of the Palio.
The night procession will start from Piazza Cattedrale at 9.30 pm and, before reaching Piazza San Secondo, will travel along Via Caracciolo, Via Carducci, Via Giobert, Corso Alfieri, Via Gobetti.
Once the entire procession has been arranged along the square, the Oath of Rectors ceremony will begin at 10.00 pm. This will then be followed by the Estimate of the Palio which, as usual, will end with the words of the Mayor who will call the Palio for 1 September 2024. At the end of the ceremony the two drapes, this year the work of Maestro Stefano Bressani, they will be displayed to the population after leaving Teatro Alfieri to reach Piazza San Secondo.
In case of bad weather, the Oath and Estimation ceremonies of the Palio will take place at the Alfieri Theater at 9.15 pm and the night procession will not take place.
THE RECTORS’ OATH
In the presence of the mayor of Asti, the Captain of the Palio and the city authorities, on the Saturday before the Tuesday of San Secondo the celebration of the Oath of the Rectors takes place, the ceremony of the solemn vote on the Chained Code of the Astesi Statutes “to run the Palio with loyalty and honor”.
Although a modern institution, the Oath ceremony complements the subsequent Estimate of the Palios.
The ceremony opens with the call and investiture of the Rectors: the Mayor delivers the “medallion” bearing the symbol of the Palio of Asti and the Captain touches the left shoulder of each Rector, democratically elected by the assembly of each people, with his sword of the 21 brothers participating in the Palio of Asti: from this moment on they are officially the representatives of the Rioni, Borghi and Municipalities.
At the end of the investiture of the Rectors, the oath of the Palio Captain and the Magistrates follows: the mayor asks them “In the name of San Secondo Patron of Asti and in the spirit of Asti values, do you swear loyalty to the Palio and its messages of freedom and tradition? Do you swear?” Captain and Magistrates reply according to the ritual “I swear”.
After this first moment, in which the highest officials of the Palio of Asti swore on the Chained Code, the oath of the Rectors follows: the Captain recites the formula “In the name of the Second Patron Saint of Asti and in the spirit of the civic values of freedom, solidarity , industriousness, enshrined in the Chained Code and in the Astesi Statutes, according to the customs indicated in the testimonials of the Palio of recent centuries, do you Lord Rectors swear to behave with loyalty and honor? Do you swear?”, the Rectors, placing their right hand on their heart, respond in unison “I swear”.
The Palio Estimation Ceremony is the first official act of preparation for the Palio race and takes place on the Saturday before the Tuesday of San Secondo.
During the solemn ceremony, the two Palio drapes are esteemed by admirers representing the ancient guild of drapers: one will be donated to the Collegiate Church of San Secondo, the other will go as a prize to the winner of the Palio race.
THE ESTIMATE OF THE PALIO
The Esteem of the Palio is a ceremonial moment that has its roots in the historical tradition of our city; in fact, the rules that establish the size, workmanship and color of the main prize of the race are essential: the Palio must be made of crimson velvet of excellent workmanship, the one for the race must measure 16 satins and the one for the Collegiate must measure 10 satins (the satin is a ancient Piedmontese measurement which corresponds to approximately 60 cm).
The appraisers, people who in real life are textile traders, after swearing on the Chained Code of the Astesi Statutes to “well and faithfully fulfill the estimate entrusted to me”, check that the two cloths correspond in size and workmanship, and only then they will affix the municipal seal in lacquer wax, indicating the suitability of the Palios.
The drapes are then rolled up and placed under the labarum, the painted canvas that accompanies the Palio and which every year bears the signature of a Palio Master of national and international fame.
In Piazza San Secondo, the historic heart of the city, musicians and flag-wavers, Captains and Magistrates, squires, knights and the twenty-one banners of the districts, villages and municipalities who participate in the race to witness the Estimate of the Palio gather.
At the end of the estimate complete with a report sealed with sealing wax, the Mayor of the City of Asti declares: “In the name of the city and of the Palio Council I declare that the Palio of the year of grace 2024 is solemnly announced according to the ancient statutes and regulations, and it will take place in Asti on Sunday 1 September in Piazza Alfieri”.
The last act of this ceremony is the “Exhibition of the Palios” to the people who this year will leave the Alfieri Theater to reach Piazza San Secondo where, to the sound of the municipal clarions they are “exhibited” to the people and officially presented: the Palio it’s officially announced!
