The Historical Palio of the Contrade of Pomarance

Every year the contrade of Pomarance - Marzocco, Centro, Gelso and Paese Novo - come together on the second Sunday in September to celebrate a unique Palio, the Palio Storico delle Contrade. This is the only Palio in Italy in which representatives of the Contrade compete by putting on beautiful and exciting plays on the stage made in the old Piazzone field, where years ago a Palio with horses was held. The municipality of Pomarance wanted to create an event where the watchwords are participation, community and fun. Each contrada has 30 minutes to show the audience its own performance, created completely from scratch, from the music and costumes to the sets and lyrics. The performances are opened by a parade of the actors along the streets of the village, then go on stage with plays that are often inspired by local history or even current issues. After the awards ceremony, the festival ends with a splendid fireworks display.