Index
Find useful information about the programme, the lottery, the menu, the promotions (the BEER CARD of the Palio has arrived), and the historical parade in the historic heart of Montebelluna. To stay up to date with the latest news about this festive event, we invite you to check the Facebook page Palio del Vecchio Mercato and the website ilpalio.it.
Schedule for the Palio del Vecchio Mercato in 2023
Wednesday 30 August
- 8:30 p.m. Opening of the event and handing over of the city keys to the President of Ente Palio
- 9:00 p.m. Show with performances by the 11 maidens of the Palio districts, in collaboration with Dance Studio
- 11:00 p.m. Election of the Maiden of the XXXIII Palio del Vecchio Mercato
Thursday 31 August
- 8:30 p.m. Presentation of the teams of the Palio del Vecchio Mercato
- 10:30 p.m. Pajete draw for the qualifying starting grid
- 11:00 p.m. Rosso let’s party
Friday 1 September
- 9:00 p.m. Opening – Sibode Dj – Live
- 10:00 p.m. Lo Stato Sociale
- 12:00 a.m. La Banda della Lambada – Dj Set
Saturday 2 September
- 8:00 a.m. “Marcà de na volta”, throughout the day. Closing time
- 7:00 p.m.
- 3:30 p.m. XXXIII Palio del Vecchio Mercato – The Qualifiers.
- 5:30 p.m. IV Female Palio del Vecchio Mercato
- 9:00 p.m. Opening – Herman Medrano & Kalibro – Live
- 10:00 p.m. Piotta
- 12:00 a.m. Dj Shocca – Sacramento Tour – feat. Frank Siciliano – Dj Set
Sunday 3 September
- 9:30 a.m. Holy Mass and blessing of the carts.
Followed by a parade to the Town Hall with the accompaniment of the Montebelluna City Band - 11:00 a.m. Cart weighing – Former Corso Mazzini pedestrian area
- 3:00 p.m. Historical parade departing from Piazza Colonna
- 5:00 p.m. XXXIII Palio del Vecchio Mercato – The Race
- 7:00 p.m. Radio Wow Live Experience
Monday 4 September
- 12:00 p.m. Lottery prize draw at the headquarters of Ente Palio Città di Montebelluna
- 8:30 p.m. Award ceremony for the men’s and women’s teams
- 11:30 p.m. Fireworks display
The Palio del Vecchio Mercato 2023 lottery
The menu of the Palio del Vecchio Mercato
First courses
- Tomato pasta
- Pasta with ragù – Ristorante Cescato
- Gnocchi with tomato sauce
- Gnocchi with ragù – Ristorante Cescato
- Pasticcio del Montello – Ristorante Cescato
Main courses
- Sardee plate (sarde in saor, baked sardines, polenta and bread) – le papere
- Half chicken (350 g) with potatoes
- Grilled Dobbiaco cheese with polenta
- würstel with potatoes
- Nonno Nanni stracchino with porchetta and polenta
- Nonno Nanni stracchino with grilled vegetables and polenta
- Horse steak with bread
- Stewed cuttlefish with polenta
- Tripe with bread
Side dishes
- French fries
- Beans
- Grilled vegetables
- Mixed forest mushrooms
- 3 slices of polenta or bread
The Beer Card of Vecchio Mercato
Tired of queuing at the cash desk? When you’re thirsty, do you look for the least crowded kiosk? This year, don’t think about it anymore: the BEER CARD of the Palio has arrived! Buy it once and you’ll get 10 blonde beers + 1 blonde beer free!
Forget queuing at the cash desk, save time and quench your thirst sooner! It’s valid from 30 August to 4 September, for blonde beer only!
The origins of the Palio del Vecchio Mercato, in brief
The story of this lively celebration has its roots in the establishment, more than a thousand years ago, of the Vecchio Mercato, a hub of commercial activity that took place on the summit of a tree-lined slope pleasantly set at the point where the fertile plain met the majestic foothills.
The hill’s privileged and strategic position encouraged the development of a thriving crossroads of trade, overseen and protected by feudal law.
In 1157, amid the disputes between Frederick I Barbarossa and Pope Adrian IV during the Diet of Besançon, the emperor of the Romans freed the Market from the Bishop of Treviso, who held the fief of Montebelluna.
In 1872, the Mayor of Montebelluna, Count Domenico di Zuccareda, decided to move the ancient market to the plain, thus decreeing the birth of modern Montebelluna.
The Palio del Vecchio mercato recalls the demanding route that merchants from all over Lombardo-Veneto had to face to reach the summit of the hill at 250 m above sea level.
The challenge requires five athletes for each of the eleven districts, with a two-person relay, to push a cart weighing no less than 380 kg from the Town Hall to Piazza Colonna in Mercato Vecchio, a steep 2,000 m climb.
