CARROCCIO. — A special war chariot used in the Middle Ages, whose primary purpose was to carry the city’s banner. Some cities gave it a proper name (Regelium, Gaiardus, Blancardus, Berta, Bertazzola). It was a four-wheeled chariot, more majestic than common war chariots, drawn by several pairs of oxen, painted red or covered with crimson drapery, as were the oxen that pulled II. Above it stood one (Milan) or two (Florence) tall poles bearing the city’s banner and a large cross that towered over the ranks.
From it, with a bell, the signal for attack was given, and a corps of trumpeters stirred the battle. Before the battle, the Holy Mass was celebrated there, and it often served as a refuge for the wounded; in Milan, a chaplain was assigned to it “who… should always celebrate Mass and grant penance to the wounded.” Chosen fighters were stationed to defend II. Losing it in battle was a grave disgrace, and capturing that of the opposing city was a glorious triumph. Frederick II, who in 1237 captured that of Milan, sent it to Rome to be placed in the Campidoglio as a memorial of his victory.
In peacetime, it was kept in a temple (that of Florence in the “beautiful San Giovanni”), and it also served in great civic events, such as the reception of kings and emperors; at the Peace of Paquara near Verona, promoted by Fra Giovanni da Vicenza of the Preachers (28 Aug. 1233), the communes that participated came with their *carroccio*. Its origin is uncertain; its period of greatest use was the 11th–13th centuries; in the 14th century its use disappeared. It spread to nearly all the cities of northern Italy and Tuscany, and even abroad (Germany, Belgium, Hungary, etc.). Even today, its folkloric memory survives in the festivities of Siena’s *Palio*.