Museo del Cavallo di Fuoco

Ripatransone's Museo del Cavallo di Fuoco preserves the machine and history of the town's fire-horse tradition. The annual spectacle began in 1682, when a pyrotechnician from Atri rode a horse filled with fireworks during celebrations for the coronation of the Madonna di San Giovanni.

Why it matters

The improvised ride proved popular, and townspeople repeated it the following year. The tradition became associated with the Sunday after Easter, linking the fire horse to the town's Marian devotion. The event received the recognition “Patrimonio d'Italia per la Tradizione” in 2011.

What to notice

The museum's present machine was built in sheet metal by craftsman Umberto Nucci in 1994. It measures about three metres long and 2.5 metres high. The displays trace changes to the fire horse: from a real horse to a wooden effigy, a wheeled wooden model introduced in 1932, and Nucci's metal version. Photographs and documents record the spectacle and the people who operated it, including fire-starters Luigi Lucadei and Francesco Piergallini.

Context and history

The first known description of the fire horse is attributed to Filippo Bruti Liberati. The ride has been held in Ripatransone's piazzas during the Easter octave, with five wartime editions cancelled during the Second World War. The museum at the Museo della Civiltà Contadina ed Artigiana complex preserves the horse between performances.