San Giuseppe Won the Men's Stilt Race and an Eighteenth Palio at Isola Dovarese's Renaissance Festival
The green contrada swept all three contests in the Lombardy village and drew level with Le Gerre at the top of the all-time roll of honour.
The green contrada San Giuseppe won the 59th Palio di Isola Dovarese in Lombardy on 13 September 2026, sweeping all three of the day's contests. It was the contrada's 18th palio, drawing it level with Le Gerre at the top of the all-time list, and its first since 2024.
San Giuseppe first won the men's stilt race, finishing ahead of Gerre, San Bernardino and Porta Tenca to collect four points, with three, two and one going to the others. The women's corsa dei galli finished in exactly the same order, and San Giuseppe then sealed the banner in the ancient game of Magher, scoring 13 points.
The prize for historical reconstruction, judged against the standards of the second half of the 15th century, was shared by San Bernardino and San Giuseppe, with the other two contrade tied in second place.
The festival ran from 11 to 13 September and closed a three-year cycle on the theme of the journey under artistic director Emanuele Tira. The weekend included a fire show and a staging of Baldassarre Taccone's Danae, a court play linked to Milan under Ludovico il Moro, with scenery inspired by designs attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. On Sunday, dames and knights of the four contrade paraded in homage to the Gonzaga family.
The palio ended on Sunday evening with a sacred play about St Francis of Assisi, staged in the 800th anniversary year of the saint's death, followed by fireworks.