Palio del Viccio
Every year on Shrove Tuesday, the most important traditional event of the year is held in Palo; the Palio del Viccio. It is one of the most significant expressions of preindustrial rural culture. Viccio is a dialect word for turkey, which is the prize given to the winner of the horse race which takes place along Corso Garibaldi, once known as Via del Lago. Along this road, a rope is tied between two balconies and a bladder full of water is hung from it, a substitute for the turkey, the real prize awarded to the winner. The riders try to burst the bladder with a spike. The whole town participates in a climate of great anticipation, cheering on their favourites. At the moment of victory, there is a huge cry of joy and applause, honouring the winner of the exciting race who proudly shows off the trophy: il viccio.
The turkey is the personification of “Re Carnevale” (king Carnival) who must be killed, taking evil to his tomb in order to give way to good. He is the scapegoat, and all the evil that must be removed from the community is unloaded onto him. It is a true sacrifice, which was once quite gory. In the past, spearing the turkey was an actual execution, followed by the “carnival will” and his funeral. To better understand the Palio del Viccio, it must be interpreted in an anthropological key, placing it at the centre of rural culture in the light of the rituality connected with the agrarian cycle, punctuated during the year by a series of apotropaic and propitiatory rites. The Palio del Viccio concludes the cycle of rites of passage and rebirth which begins with eating Kǝnnìaddǝ (boiled pulses) during the fanove (bonfires) lit on 17th January, the first day of carnival, culminating on Shrove Tuesday and concluding the following Sunday with the tradition of the pentolaccia. These collective events have changed over time but remain important rituals of aggregation and sharing in which the whole community participates.