Palio del Diotto

Every year, on September 8, Scarperia celebrates one of the most fascinating historical re-enactments in Tuscany: the Diotto, which has its roots in 1306, when the Florentine Republic founded the “Terra Nuova” of Scarperia. The name itself, Diotto (meaning “Say 8”), recalls the day after the founding, chosen to commemorate the installation of the new Vicar, the area’s administrative and judicial authority.

Introduced in its present form in 1953, the event commemorates the solemn transfer of power between the outgoing and incoming Vicars, with a historical procession of more than a hundred figures in Renaissance costume parading from the Vicars’ Palace to the Porta Fiorentina, where the two dignitaries meet and exchange official greetings.

The procession then makes its way up the borough to Piazza dei Vicari, where the new Vicar takes the oath to the Florentine Republic. From there begins the Palio del Diotto, a competition between the four city districts (which compete in five traditional “games”):

-knife-throwing
-Brick running
-Tug-of-war
-Chase in the chariots
-Cuccagna Pole

An authentic folk festival of flag-wavers, drums, fires and medieval games, capable of involving the entire village and attracting thousands of visitors each year.