horsesarecreatures:Today, 24th of June, it is Saint John the Baptist day. He is patron saint of ma
horsesarecreatures: Today, 24th of June, it is Saint John the Baptist day. He is patron saint of many Italian cities, including Turin, Genoa and Florence. In the past, in the Tuscan capital this anniversary was celebrated with various public events, culminating in solemn processions and in the “the palio of the barbs.” It was a riderless horse’s race , in which the so called “barb” horses were used. They were horses mostly of North African origin, which were prized for their speed. The race started from the “Ponte delle Mosse” and wound its way through the streets of the city, to finish at the “Porta alla Croce”. The prize for the winner was a cloth of fine fabric, the so-called “palio”, decorated with the Florentine lily and the red cross symbol of the Florentine people. Of medieval origin, the race was held until 1858. - Italian Tradition of Equestrian Art Giovanni Toscani, “Chest decorated with scenes with of the Palio of S. Giovanni,” panel 1429, wood painted in tempera and gold (detail), Florence, Museo del Bargello. -- source link
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