Palio dei 10 Comuni
Every September, Montagnana hosts the Palio dei 10 Comuni — a costumed medieval festival and bareback horse race around the town's main piazza that rivals Siena's Palio in drama but attracts a fraction of the crowds. If your dates align, this is the most viscerally exciting thing you can witness in the entire Euganean Hills area.
The Festival
Ten municipalities of the historic Montagnana territory each field a horse and rider in medieval livery, preceded by a two-hour procession of flag-throwers, drummers, crossbowmen and costumed nobles that fills the streets inside the walls with colour and noise.
The costumes are meticulously researched replicas of 14th-century Carrara-era dress, made by local artisans and renewed regularly — this is not a tourist pantomime but a deeply felt community event that locals prepare for year-round.
The Race
The race itself takes place on a dirt track laid over the cobblestones of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II; three laps of the oval, bareback, at full gallop, with the crowd pressed against the wooden barriers screaming for their district's colours. It lasts about 90 seconds and the tension is extraordinary.
Unlike Siena, there is no ballot for tickets — grandstand seats are sold in advance through the festival website (paliodei10comuni.it) for around €15–25, and standing places along the barriers are free, though you should arrive two hours early to secure a good spot.
Around the Festival Weekend
The weekend surrounding the Palio fills the streets with medieval markets, archery competitions and open-air banquets where local restaurants serve period-inspired menus featuring roasted meats, polenta and Colli Euganei wine poured from terracotta jugs.
Even if you cannot attend the race itself, arriving in Montagnana during the festival weekend means the walls are lit at night, the towers are open for extended hours and the entire town operates as a living open-air museum of medieval Veneto life.
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