Carro Matto

Tuscany is a wine-producing region known for Chianti in large bottles wrapped in straw.  

So, centuries ago, how did all those Chianti bottles get from the countryside to thirsty customers in town?

The answer is the Carro Matto, or Crazy Cart.  

Il Carro Matto

Since the 1300's, during the fall of each year, the arrival in Florence of the first Crazy Cart with the year's new wine was celebrated with a blessing at the Cathedral and another church, and was followed by a presentation to the leaders of Florence at the Palazzo Vecchio.

The practice waned but was revived four decades ago. The celebration includes a parade of Florentines in historical costumes and the arrival of the Crazy Cart pulled by two white oxen, followed by a tasting of the new wine, of course.

Here are some fun facts:

• Since the 14th century, Chianti was bottled in a glass container called a “fiasco”, or flask.
• The fiasco has a round, pear shaped bottom and long neck.
• The flask is covered with straw braided around the bottom half to protect the glass from breaking and to insulate the wine to preserve its quality. 
• The bottle are masterfully stacked and woven into a pyramid shape atop the cart.
• A Crazy Cart can hold 2,000 bottles. 

A friend shared a story about the Chianti bottles:  Workers in Florence would take a bottle to work each day.  The baskets made them easy to carry when they went up the scaffolding and worked all day (on the cathedral or whatever other jobs they had).  When they stopped for lunch, they would drink the bottle down to the top of the straw--the halfway point.  In the evening, they would finish the bottle.

 

We attended this year's arrival of the Crazy Cart.  Here are some photographs of the event. 

The parade featured the Corteo Storico della Repubblica Fiorentina (the Historical Court of the Florentine Republic) in period costumes, with flags, drums and even weapons. 

The master of ceremonies. We dubbed him MC Lu (for Luigi)

Of course, there was flag throwing. 

The flag throwers:  Bandierai degli Uffizi

Finally, the Crazy Cart arrived.

One ox to the other: "We do all the work and never get even a sip of Chianti."

The event ended with tasting the new Chianti. 

During the event, we noticed some people clad in black wearing Guy Fawkes masks.  We learned that they were protesting animal cruelty, which in this case referred to using oxen to pull the Crazy Cart.

"Look at why we're here."

Thanks for viewing the Carro Matto parade with us. 

Now, it's time to enjoy a glass of the new Chianti. Salute!