Palio del Cero

The Palio del Cero is an event held on 2 June in Volterra, Tuscany. This event commemorates an ancient religious festival during which the city’s districts would donate large quantities of wax to the churches.

In the 16th century, the celebration had evolved into a gruelling competition known as the Corsa dei Ceri. This involved racing heavy wooden carts, topped with large candles, along the streets of the historic centre to the finish line. These candles would subsequently be donated to the city’s patron saints.

Today, the Palio del Cero race is less strenuous. The competition takes place between the city’s eight districts, each of which is made up of eight pullers (six men and two women). They compete in two knockout rounds in Piazza dei Priori.

What makes the Palio del Cero unique is that the competition is not simply a tug-of-war; the two opposing teams must also pull a tower weighing several hundred kilograms towards their own side of the field. At the top of the tower stands a candle, from which the name Palio del Cero derives. This candle is painted each year by an artist from Volterra and is awarded to the winning district, along with a large flag in the town’s white and red colours.

The event is also characterised by an evocative spectacle, featuring representatives of the districts, ladies, musicians and Volterra’s famous flag-wavers, who parade in a ceremony before the race. The Palio del Cero is preceded by the weighing of the salt, which takes place in the former state salt works at Saline di Volterra the day before.