page_title: Palio di Legnano
section_title: From the 1990s to the 21st century
hierarchical_section_title: Palio di Legnano / History / From the 1990s to the 21st century
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Sfilata storica per il Palio di Legnano 2015
context_page_description: The Palio di Legnano is a folk event generally held on the last Sunday of May in the City Of Legnano, Italy, to recall the Battle of Legnano held on May 29, 1176 by the Lombard League and the Holy Roman Empire of Frederick Barbarossa. This Palio is composed by a medieval pageant and a horse race. Until 2005 the whole event was named Sagra del Carroccio.
  Legnano is subdivided into eight contrade, each of which takes part both in the medieval pageant and in the horse race held at the stadio Giovanni Mari. This is considered one of the most important non-competitive events of this type in Italy. In 2003 the historic pageant was shown at the Columbus Day in New York City.
  A lot of Palio-centric events take place in Legnano during May and July, such as the choral exhibition La Fabbrica del Canto '' born in 1992 from an idea of the musical association Jubilate. In 2015, institutions made 29 May a holiday for the whole of Lombardy.
context_section_description: It was the 1990s who discovered the greatest development of the Sagra del Carroccio. In this decade the so-called "Maggio Legnanese" was overcome, that is the series of events linked to the palio that were organized only during this month of the year: starting from this decade, the events began to be prepared also in other periods of the year, enriching the program of the event with many other types of events, so as to give the Sagra del Carroccio a much wider breath.
  In 1990 the "Permanent commission of costumes" was founded, which deals with the conformity of the material used in the medieval pageant with respect to the invoice of the weapons, the clothes and the hairstyles used in the 12th century; this committee was officially included in the palio regulation in 1995. In its first years of activity the permanent commission of the costumes did a job of improvement of the clothes wearing by the figurants of the contrade, to then pass to a role of supervision and consultancy.
  In 1991 a delegation from the Sagra del Carroccio formed by about a hundred representatives was invited to the Fête de la Renaissance in Lyon, France, during which they paraded in costume through the city streets of the transalpine city, reproducing the historical procession of the Palio di Legnano. The following year a delegation from the city of Lyon and its contrade, called les Pennones de Lion, attended the Sagra del Carroccio.
  Since 1992, at the behest of the college of captains and the contrade, a veterinary commission has been active which closely follows the development of the horse race and deals with the medical fitness of horses; in the event of an accident of the latter, a local veterinary clinic intervenes and immediately takes care of injured animals. Furthermore, this commission has been provided with ample decision-making powers, so much so that it can decree the immediate exclusion from the tender of a horse considered unsuitable. From 1992 it also finds space, among the events linked to the Palio, La Fabbrica del Canto, an international choral music event born in 1992 from an idea of the musical association Jubilate. From 1993, within the Sagra del Carroccio, exhibitions and conferences on the Middle Ages began to be prepared.
  Given the recognized quality of the material used during the historic parade, in 1995 an exhibition was organized within the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, concerning the display of the clothes, ornaments and weapons of the medieval pageant of the Palio di Legnano. In 1996 the theme parade was introduced: each contrada participates in the historical procession showing a particular aspect of the Middle Ages (war, work, music, etc.). In 1997, a theater workshop was added to the events linked to the palio. In May 1998 a cavalcade in medieval costume was organized of the captains of the contrade, whose route ran from Legnano to the monastery of Cairate, a place where Barbarossa stayed the night before the battle.
  In 2002, the historic Palio parade in Legnano was also revived at Columbus Day in New York City. In the same year, the House of Savoy, or the ruling dynasty in Italy from 1861 to 1946, officially granted the title of "sovereign" to the Contrada La Flora. For the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the college of captains and contrade, in 2005, another extraordinary palio was played, the so-called "palio d'Onore".
  In 2006 the event returned to its official name "Palio di Legnano". The 2006 edition was instead suspended and not attributed due to an invasion of the Contrada San Domenico; the "college of magistrates of the palio", in addition to not assigning the 2006 edition, made a fine of 10,000 euros in the Contrada San Domenico, disqualifying it for the 2007 edition.
  The 2009 edition of the horse race was instead the first to be disputed on the sand. In 2015 the palio was decided by the photo finish between heated controversy: Sant'Ambrogio and Legnarello arrived almost in a draw, and therefore technology was used, which decreed the victory of the latter. Because of the co
caption: Medieval pageant of the Palio di Legnano 2015
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