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La Rua:
A City's Wheel of Fortune Story and photos by Tom Weber
One of the highlights of this very long, tradition-filled, annual celebration is the unveiling of La Rua (The Wheel) in the Piazza dei Signori of the city's Centro Storico (Historic Center) and the associated Il Giro della Rua (Tour of the Wheel) – the passing in review of a small-scale replica (La Ruetta) of the original design through cobblestone streets lined by thousands of spectators.
Dating all the way back to 1444, several decades after the Virgin Mary appeared twice in Vicenza to rid the city of the plague and be named its patron saint, La Rua is a wooden tower filled with colorful, life-like characters that are symbolic of the city's past.
In days of old, the completely wooden structure was paraded around the historic center pulled by an army of volunteers with local VIPs – mainly rich notai (notaries) – riding high above in a rotating carousel waiving at the crowds below and, no doubt, holding on for dear life. That original version of La Rua made its last lap back in 1928 in pouring rain.
Weighing in at 20 metric tons and rising 24 meters from its base, today's version of La Rua – based upon the original 15th century design by Andrea Palladio, the master Renaissance builder – showcases a small Ferris wheel-like mechanism that rotates around.
No longer paraded through the streets, La Rua of the 21st century stands idle in place throughout the month of September, on display for all to gaze up and wonder what it was like when the original wheel came to life for the very first time almost 600 years ago. For complete information on Vicenza – the City of Palladio – visit the official Chamber of Commerce tourism website, in English. Related Articles:
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