The Crazy Cart takes its name from a slightly “mad” local challenge: transporting thousands of flasks of wine, precisely stacked to form a perfect pyramid structure, through the streets of Florence on a cart pulled by oxen. This feat requires extraordinary skills, from creating the weave that supports each flask, to driving the loaded cart through the narrow Florentine streets, with irregular pavements and crowded with citizens and onlookers.

The tradition of manufacturing these flasks was born in the heart of Florence, in a corner near Piazza della Signoria, known as the “Canto dei Fiascai (Flasks Song)” where the “fiascai,” are the master craftsmen who created the classic flasks, making both the blown glass bottles and the straw weave. This covering served not only to protect the container from possible breakages but also to provide thermal insulation and preserve the quality of the wine.

Florence has celebrated this ancient tradition since 1300: every year the Crazy Cart arrives in the city from Rufina, a land producing excellent red wines, loaded with wine and offered as a sign of good luck, welcomed with great celebrations and blessed in front of the Duomo, it was then shared among the Florentines as a symbol of abundance and prosperity.

Even today the Crazy Cart transports around 1,500 flasks of Chianti, stacked with precision on a sturdy cart pulled by majestic Chianina cattle decked out for the occasion and accompanied by the Historical Procession of the Florentine Republic; after the blessing in Duomo Square, the procession heads towards Signoria Square, where the wine is presented to the authorities.

Considering that each flask contains 750 ml of wine, the oxen transport about 1,500 liters of wine on the cart! A ‘madness’ that still sparks a certain enthusiasm today, in addition to being a tribute to the cultural heritage and history of the city of Florence and its wonderful surroundings, it is a real traditional celebration.

The 2024 Crazy Cart event will take place on September 28th from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm