The first tremor, in the true sense of the word, occurred a month ago. It was suspected that the jockey from the Ponte district had won the Palio dei micci with the help of a device capable of giving electric shocks to the Pelosino donkey to make it run faster. Controversy, accusations and counter accusations, up to the decision of the Pro Loco of Querceta to send all the video and photographic material and the entire dossier to an investigation agency in Florence. The second shock came yesterday, when the other seven districts (Cervia, Leon d’Oro, Lucertola, Madonnina, Pozzo, Quercia and Ranocchio) learned of the confirmation of the validity of the victory, therefore deciding to step aside.
A real secession that will be confirmed if the districts do not receive detailed information on the outcome of the verification. In short, the 67th edition of the Palio dei micci could not have ended worse than this. Chaos broke out on May 5th at the end of the match which saw the Fortemarmina del Ponte district triumph for the second year in a row in front of a large audience at the “Buon Riposo” stadium in Pozzi. The victory of jockey Augusto Vargiolu (the same one who triumphed in 2023) was tainted by the doubt insinuated by some videos forwarded via Whatsapp. Videos which, according to the accusers, would have immortalized the jockey while at the end of the race he handed over an object to the president of the Ponte Francesco Sarti. The doubt was that it could be a taser with which the Pelosino cat’s run had been stimulated. Yesterday the results of the checks arrived, with the Pro Loco validating the victory of the Bridge. The other seven districts immediately wrote to the mayor and commander of the Carabinieri of Querceta.
“We express surprise and amazement – they write – at the conclusions reached by the Pro Loco council. We consider it questionable that the outcome of the assessments speaks of the certainty of an object passed from hand to hand, but expressing doubts about the nature Furthermore, the jockey’s lip ‘take it, take it’ should have led to completely different decisions. In the absence of substantial adjustments, we therefore communicate our unavailability to hold any event organized by the Pro Loco which involves the participation of the Bridge. We also ask for copies of documents, reports, stills, videos and opinions used to examine the controversy, as well as the convocation of the Ethics Commission by tomorrow (this morning, ed.).
