Last minute Events Bastia Umbra

The original town event takes place every year from the 20th to The 30^th September and involves completely the inhabitants of Bastia Umbra and its tourists. The Palio has rather recent origins: for the first time it took place in 1962 in honour of the consecration of the new parish church Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Michele. The town was divided in four quarters corresponding to one of the four gates of the town, Sant’Angelo, San Rocco, Portella and Moncioveta. The Palio is a proper challenge between the four quarters and it is broken down in three competitions where are given points according to the respective trials. In the end, the winner will be chosen and he will obtain the honour place in the golden register of the Palio de San Michele. The competitions of the Palio are of different kinds. The first trial is the far most charming one, the Parade, and it consists of four gigantic animated icons, that move close to the spectators with light games, remarkable stage-settings and expressive language until all culminates in a visual magic carriage, the piazza is alive and becomes theatre. Then follow the Games, where the exponents of the quarters compete in four trials, two of them part of the settled popular tradition like the tug-of-war and the sack race, while the other two are the peculiar Flight from Alcatraz and Osteria. Another competition concludes the Palio, the Lizza, where four athletes for every quarter run a classic relay race 400 metre through the town centre. With the Palio de San Michele at Bastia Umbria goes hand in hand the opening of four inns, that are run by the four quarters and where one can taste the local dishes of the traditional Umbrian cookery.