Pistoia Palio Design Competition 2026
Pistoia, Italy invites artists to design the 2026 Giostra dell'Orso Palio banner on the theme Reading is an Adventure. Winner receives 1,000 euros.
The Comitato Cittadino di Pistoia, in collaboration with the Comune di Pistoia, has published a competition to design the Palio for the 2026 Giostra dell'Orso, the banner awarded to the winning district (Rione) of the city's traditional horse race held in honor of San Jacopo.
The competition is open to everyone who has turned 18 by March 1, 2026, including individual artists, groups, and schools. Participants must submit an original sketch created using a hand-painted technique, accompanied by an explanatory report. As set out in the rules, the Palio must evoke the identifying elements of the event: the image of San Jacopo, the name of the city of Pistoia, the colors of the four Rioni, and a reference to the horse race. For the 2026 edition, the design must also include a reference to Pistoia as Italian Capital of the Book.
The chosen theme is Reading is an Adventure, an invitation to artists to interpret the book and storytelling as symbols of journey, discovery, memory, and civic identity. The Palio should convey not only the tradition of the Giostra dell'Orso but also the value of culture and the transmission of collective memory, building a bridge between the festival's tradition and Pistoia's wider cultural program for 2026.
The competition rules are published on the websites of the Comitato Cittadino di Pistoia and the Comune di Pistoia. Sketches must be sent or hand-delivered by June 15 to the Biblioteca San Giorgio, via Sandro Pertini 340. The commission will announce the results by June 30. The winner receives a prize of 1,000 euros and the commission to produce the official banner for the 2026 Giostra dell'Orso.
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