2 In General Info/ Italy/ Northern Italy

Palio di Parma, Parma

The Palio in Parma is quite unique - ouritalianjourney.com

This post contains affiliate links which means that we may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through a link at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Palio di Parma

homepage_r1_c1

You have no doubt heard of the famous Palio horserace held twice a year in Sienna, Italy. It is an amazing event; one which we still have not yet attended but is on our “bucket list”. It seems other areas of Italy also have Palio races. We happen to see barricades being put up in Piazza Garibaldi only to discover that Parma’s version was being held that day!

The Palio takes place in the afternoon, after the set of the five doors, starting from the respective port, have reached in procession to the Piazza Duomo Pilotta. After the performance, the five groups of flag wavers move the festivities to Piazza Garibaldi for the parade and races.

20160918_170049
20160918_172708

Since 1978, the Palio di Parma has been reorganized by The Italian Sports Centre in Parma. There are three-speed races, a donkey (children riding), a women’s race (the Green Cloth Stroke), and a race of men (the Scarlet Corsa) each representing one of the five gates. The donkey racing was quite amusing as some of the donkeys decided they didn’t want to race so they got pushed most of the way! The women’s and men’s races were what we know as “relay” races where each team of five passes the “baton” to the next person. We were standing mostly with the blue section (New Door) so we were rooting for them. We won 2 out of the 3 races this year!!

20160918_162127

In addition to the races, there are costume parades and battles of medieval warriors. Each of the five gates of the city is also represented by a different group of flag wavers who perform several times in the two days of festivities.

Take a Trip to Italy!

Join others who have purchased and read our book – leaving heartwarming reviews!
Join our journey – we’d love to have you along for the ride!

5_porte

Here is the color breakdown:

MottoColorsFamilyTerritoryChurch Symbol 
EagleGreenRossi of San SecondoVia d’Azeglio, Piazzale Inzani, Via Imbriani (north side), Via Gramsci, quarteri Pablo, Golese and San Pancrazio, the “north west of the city.”Church of the Holy Cross (Parma) (the square Santa Croce) 
MottoColorsFamilyTerritoryChurch Symbol 
WolfBlack & WhitePallavicino, Wolves & CavalcabòBixio street, south side of Via D’Azeglio the Annunciation Bridge, Street of the Constituent Assembly, Via Imbriani (south side), Via della Salute, Montanara neighborhoods, windlass and Vigatto, “southwest area of the city.”Church of the Santissima Annunziata (Parma)(d’Azeglio Road) 
MottoColorsFamilyTerritoryChurch Symbol 
UnicornBlueCornazzano & Terzi di ParmaStrada Farini, Borgo Giacomo, Via XXII Luglio, Borgo Felino, Citadel district, “south of the city.”Sant’Uldarico, Parma (Strada Farini) 
MottoColorsFamilyTerritoryChurch Symbol 
DragonYellowSanvitaleStrada della Repubblica, Via Dalmatia, Viale Tanara, High Street, Avenue of Italian Partisans, Viale Pier Maria Rossi, neighborhoods Ljubljana and San Lazzaro, the “city of the east.”Church of St. Sepulchre (Parma) (via della Repubblica) 
MottoColorsFamilyTerritoryChurch Symbol 
LionRedCorreggio

 

 

Strada Garibaldi, Cavour Street, Borgo Parmigianino, Via Verdi, Viale Toscanini, San LEONARDO neighborhoods and Cortile San Martino, the “north-east of the city.”Church of San Francesco del Prato (Piazzale San Francesco) 
 
S

Ilene from Our Italian Journey, ouritalianjourney.com

You Might Also Like

2 Comments

  • Reply
    Susan Schoonover
    February 23, 2023 at 9:59 am

    Thank you, thank you, thank you!
    Such great information as I plan our next trip.
    Ciao,
    Susan

    • Reply
      imodica
      February 26, 2023 at 11:10 am

      You are so welcome. Thanks for commenting!

    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.