The famous horserace, the Palio, held in July and August in the Piazza de Campo, Siena, Italy
The famous horserace, the Palio, held in July and August in the Piazza de Campo, Siena, Italy - A Carroccio (center) was a four-wheeled war altar, mounting a large vexillum standard, drawn by oxen, used by the medieval republics of Italy. It was a rectangular platform on which the standard of the city and an altar were erected; priests held services on the altar before the battle, and the trumpeters beside them encouraged the fighters to the fray. In battle the Carroccio was surrounded by the bravest warriors in the army as the carroccio guard, and it served both as a rallying-point and as the palladium of the city's honour; its capture by the enemy was regarded as an irretrievable defeat and humiliation. It was first employed by the Milanese in 1038, and played a great part in the wars of the Lombard League against the emperor Frederick Barbarossa. One account states that it first appeared in Milan in 1039, when archbishop Heribert urged the Milanese to construct one. It was afterwards adopted by other cities, and first appears on a Florentine battlefield in 1228.
Size: 3633px × 2400px
Location: Siena, Italy
Photo credit: © A.A.M. Van der Heyden / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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