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Casole d'Elsa (Tuscany, Italy)

Comune di Casole d'Elsa

Last modified: 2020-07-26 by rob raeside
Keywords: italy | tuscany | toscana | casole d'elsa | elsa | siena | gonfalone | palio |
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image from <www.radicedidue.com>, located by Dov Gutterman, 30 July 2002



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Overview

From <www.radicedidue.com>: "GONFALONE - Drappo partito di rosso e d'argento, riccamente ornato di ricami d'argento e caricato dello stemma sopra descritto con la iscrizione centrata in argento: «Comune di Casole d'Elsa» (Decreto del Capo del Governo in data 24 settembre 1931). L'emblema del comune di Casole d'Elsa consiste semplicemente in uno scudo a due colori, rosso e argento. Si tratta, con tutta probabilità, di un richiamo ai colori dello stemma della famiglia Del Portina, signora delle terre di Casole e di Radi di Montagna."
Casole d'Elsa is in Siena province, Tuscany.
Dov Gutterman, 30 July 2002

The municipality has an area of 149 sq. km and 2,600 inhabitants. The Italian description of the flag and arms can be translated as follows: The flag is vertically divided red and white. It is richly adorned with silver embroideries and bears in the middle the municipal coat of arms with MUNICIPALITY OF CASOLE D'ELSA. [It was granted by] Decree of Prime Minister on 24 September 1931. The shield of the municipality is simply horizontally divided red-silver. This recalls the coat of arms of the family Del Portina, former lords of Casole and Radi di Montagne.
Ivan Sache, 28 December 2002


Palio Flags

Casole d'Elsa is a little town where my family and me stayed twice.  A really nice place to be. While there I picked up a booklet concerning the local Palio: Comitato Palio/Comune di Casole d'Elsa/Associazione Pro Loco: Casole d'Elsa.  Palio di Casole 10-11 luglio '99, 1999, 32 (unnumbered) pages in all, ills., 15 x 10,5 cm.
Each year the Palio horse race is held on the second Sunday of July. The first race took place in May 1871 on the feast day of St Isidore, according to the booklet.   Abandoned in the sixties, the Palio was revived in 1976. The town square or Piazza della Libertà appears on <www.emmeti.it>, where you can see the mono- or bichromatic ward flags:
- Casole Campagna: orange
- Monteguidi: white-yellow
- Pievalle: yellow-red
- Cavallano: green
- Il Merlo: white-black
- Rivellino: red-black.
As befits a horse race called Palio, a banner is awarded to the victor.  See <www.mpias.it/PALIO.htm> for the 1959 prize. The local gonfalone can be seen "live" at <www.mpias.it/il_fungo_press.htm> at the unveiling of a statue, the "Fungo Innamorato" (the enamoured mushroom, no less!).
The old castle, now the Town Hall, has the Siennese white-and-black shield above the gate.  Casole d'Elsa became an outpost of Sienna once the local lords were ousted.
Jan Mertens, 12 January 2003