The inhabitants of Aeclanum worshiped the goddess Pale because she was the goddess of wheat, generously produced by that land. To thank for the harvest and to ask for future protection, the farmers offered the deity their carts overflowing with hay and straw. They could hope for a mild and favorable winter.
The very heavy carts were pulled by three yokes of oxen, which with immense effort dragged these “ex-votos” from the barns built in the open countryside to the place of worship of the goddess. The fodder offered by all the farmers was then collected and combined, forming a huge sheaf that was set on fire amid dances and songs. Over time, that cart full of grain has been transformed into a gigantic obelisk, clearly recalling ancient propitiatory rites, and instead of oxen there is a tractor pulling its trailer full of hope.
Until a few years ago, the three yokes of oxen were still used to transport the work. The strongest animals were chosen to pull the cart, and on the occasion they were adorned with ribbons and cockades. But those beasts were inevitably destined for slaughter, after losing about forty kilos of their weight due to eight hours of effort. After vigorous protests from animal rights activists, the organizers had to replace the oxen with a modern tractor.
The artwork is 25 meters high and carries at the top the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows who dominates in defense of the entire population. Its weight is incalculable, but some dare to estimate it at twenty tons; the spire is made up of ninety-nine panels of straw worked into “little braids,” “braids,” “laces,” and “straw matting.” The panels assembled give shape to columns, arches, capitals, cornices, figures of angels and coats of arms. If all the straw threads used for the construction of the obelisk were joined, they would form a thread about three thousand kilometers long. The structure is made up of seven floors or “registers” and rests on a cart of about 20 square meters, duly reinforced.
