Il Palio.

Even if you do not love horses, I cannot state this strongly enough, go to the Siena Palio. The pageantry, history, culture, all of the events leading up to the actual race need to be experienced to be believed. Yes you will be a tourist, but you can be an active (and respectful) participant embracing all that the 800 years of Siena history has to offer.

There are two Palios every year the first in July, the second in August, attending either is possible with sufficient early planning. My experience took place in 2019 for the August running.  Knowing that I would probably not go more than once I opted to do and see everything I could, as should you.  To see everything that this extraordinary event has to offer arrive 4 days before the race.

Siena is a marvelous city set on three hills to the south of Florence – a city with whom they have a great rivalry that dates back to 1224 when the Sienese captured the town of Grosseto from the Florentines.  The first recorded Sienese Palio dates back to 1238  by which time Siena was an important trading city and lay along a major pilgrimage route  into and out of Rome. Many of Siena’s most important landmarks – The Duomo completed in 1263, the Palazza Pubblico begun in 1297 and completed in 1310 – are testament to the silk driven wealth of the city. Siena prospered but tensions with Florence continued, leading to a battle in 1554, a year long siege and ultimately Siena’s surrender in 1555. The city is absolutely beautiful: I saw no graffiti, the streets were clean, the buildings well maintained and the shops felt authentic – even the ones selling tourist rubbish. We ate exceedingly well, the service was very good and prices were not outrageous.

The Palio is quintessentially Italian: layered with contradiction, fierce loyalties, generations of animosity, passionate, historic, exuberant, colorful and unforgettable.

The Contrade:

There are 17 Contrade, basically districts in Siena, each with their own Catholic church, baptismal fountain, Palio museum and defined borders.  Each contrada has a unique logo, flag and colors; a clubhouse that is open all year round providing the social hub for every generation. Each district raises money for the race from subscriptions, pledges, contributions and social events, this is is used to cover Palio expenses, including bribes and paying the jockey. The Sienese love their Contrade, have an intense hatred for their rivals and value their alliances. The rivalries can be based on historical boundaries, insults or even competition for a woman.  The rivals and allies are of extreme importance during the running of the Palio. The allies can change, the rivalaries rarely do.

1. Aquila – Eagle: Allies – Owl and Drago. Rival – Panther
2. Chiocciola – Snail: Allies – Porcupine, Panther and Forest. Rival – none
3. Onda – Wave: Allies – Snail, Tortoise and Ram. Rival – Tower
4. Pantera – Panther: Allies- Snail, Owl, Giraffe and Unicorn. Rival- Eagle
5. Selva – Forest: Allies – Snail and Tortoise. Rival – None
6. Tartuca- Tortoise: Allies – Unicorn, Shell, Wave and Forest. Rival – Snail
7. Civetta – Owl: Allies – Eagle, Giraffe,  Porcupine and Panther. Rival – Unicorn
8. Leocorno – Unicorn: Allies – Panther and Tortoise. Rival – Owl
9. Nicchio – Shell: Allies – Caterpillar, Wave and Tortoise. Rival –  Ram
10. Torre – Tower: Ally – Caterpillar. Rivals – Wave and goose
11. Valdimonte –Ram: Ally – Wave. Rival – Shell
12. Bruco – Caterpillar: Allies – Porcupine, Shell and Tower. Rival – None
13. Drago – Dragon: Ally – Eagle. Rival – None
14. Giraffa – Giraffe: Allies – Owl, Porcupine and Panther. Rival- None
15. Istrice – Porcupine: Allies – Caterpillar, Snail, Owl and  Rival – She-wolf
16. Lupa – She wolf: Allies – None. Rival – Porcupine
17. Oca- Goose. Allies –None. Rival – Tower

I won’t try to cover every aspect of the Contrade – there are great books for that – but suffice to say, being born into a Contrada affects all aspects of life: baptism, first communion, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and death –  all attended by a delegate from the Contrada. Children learn the words to their Contrada ‘anthem’ early – each has its own words to the Il Canto della Verbena (many are quite risqué).  It’s is a sound you awake to, hear frequently in the day, and on the night of the race, sends you to sleep.

The Race:

The race is run two times per year;  July 2^nd in celebration of Madonna of Provenzano and August 16^th in celebration of the Assumption of  the Virgin Mary.   Only 10 horses/Contrade compete each time; there is a lottery in June to determine who will run in July. For August the seven horses that did not run in July plus three more drawn by lottery will compete.   The race is approximately  90 seconds, the 10 horses run three times around the Siena central plaza  – the Campo. The jockeys are bareback riders with a whip (no whips are allowed in the practice races.)

The Prize:

It is the horse that wins the race, not the Jockey. As long as the horse has it’s decorative mirrored headdress (spennacchiera) attached to its bridle when it crosses the finish line it wins, riderless or not. The owner of the winning horse gets a good paycheck, prestige and future opportunities to race.  In August 2019 the race was won by Remorex – by a nose – winning for her second time, and again without her jockey.

The winning jockey (Fantini) can expect to take home a purse in the range of  €300,000 – or so I was told – even if the horse wins without him.

Il Palio, the banner, is known as the Drappallone and is awarded to the contrada that wins the race. Artists compete to have their work selected.  Winning banners are kept in the museum of the winning contrada.

The silk banner must contain certain symbols The Madonna of Provensano for July and Madonna of the Assumption for August, the symbols and colors of the competing districts and the city insignia.

The 2019 Drappallone – won by Selva – was a magnificent painting by Milo Manara  a famous Italian author and artist. The press described it as “beauty, candor and strength” I thought that it was a fabulous combination of modern and historic, sensuous yet respectful.

Winning is obviously the most important achievement and losing is bad – being second considered the worst. If your horse is second, it is shameful.

Timetable of events:

1 month before the race: On a Sunday afternoon about a month before the July Palio, the Mayor and Contrada Captains meet to determine which districts will run – this is done by lottery and thousands of Sienese await the results in the Piazza. The flags of the selected Contrade are unfurled and displayed from the windows of the Palazza Publico.

1 week before the race.  The Campo is transformed: workmen bring in the earth to cover the cobbles and provide the footing for the horses. The earth is about 6 inches deep – it’s maintained throughout all the trial races and is watered to stop it becoming too hard packed. Mattresses are placed on the tight curves and the grandstands are erected.

3 days before: Horse selection. 20 – 30 horses are checked over by veterinarians, then run a trial race to see which ten will be selected.  The Captains select the final 10 horses.  A lottery is held – very serious and quite nerve-wracking – to determine which horse is assigned to each Contrada. Once the horses are assigned the Jockeys are announced. It’s a strange process for the jockey selection – months of negotiation and deals have already taken place but the draw of the horses can undermine everything a Contrada Captain has worked on.  The horse, his/her groom and the jockey (fantini) now all go the their Contrada stables.  Trial race 1  (of 6) takes place that evening at about 7pm . It’s fun to watch and see the horses run, but not a lot of effort goes into the race as no-one wants their horse to get hurt or too tired, but it does allow the jockeys to learn about their horse.

2 days before.  2 more trial races, one in the morning and one in the early evening.

1 day before. 2 more trial races, one in the morning and one in the early evening.  The Procession of Candles. The evening race is the first time the jockeys wear their district silks; it is also a chance to see the Carabinieri – the Italian military police- run a dress rehearsal of their display. Contrada banquets are held this evening, these are huge events and extremely important festivities and fund raisers.

Race day.  Mass for the Jockeys (fantini) in the Piazza del Campo. Trial race in the morning- at a trot. Blessing of the horses at their respective Contrada church.  Many of the flag throwers and drummers will be in front of the Duomo in the middle of the day – practicing and being blessed. At 4pm the historical parade starts known as the Corteo storico – hundreds of drummers, trumpeters, flag throwers, cavalry, oxen, the race horses and more will wind their way to the Campo and then circle around it – it’s absolutely brilliant. The Carabineri will gallop the Campo with swords drawn.

The race line up starts at about 7pm. The horses must line up in the order they were drawn, with the start horse (Rincorsa) running in from behind: it’s quite a mosh-pit and the year I watched there were dozens of line ups, a false start and multiple delays – leading to much cheering and booing. Once the race starts it’s full speed and wild.

Before you go:

• You will need to make your plans at least 1 year in advance to maximize your trip
• If you want to have the best experience you should book accommodation with balcony access. Contact me for specific information. If you want to see the race for free you can enter the Campo piazza, I would not recommend this for children as it’s cramped, noisy and once you are in you cannot leave until after the race.
• Montepulciano and San Gimignano are close by – the former is known for wine and is a small medieval village on a hill; the latter is also medieval with 11 of the original 72 towers remaining, it’s very touristy though you can get great wild boar salumi and 4 to 5 levels of aged pecorino for great prices.
• Sienna is a “village” you can and do walk everywhere – much of it is pedestrian only during the Palio.
• You will want to buy a scarf of your chosen Contrada – I was unable to find silk versions and all the vendors sell the exact same ones. You can usually buy a slightly different version at the Contrada dinners – the money goes to the Contrada too.
• The restaurants are excellent and there are plenty of gelato stores
• Shopping is quite good – varying from low priced mass produced leather goods to luxury wares.
• Stocking an apartment –Wine and charcuterie stores abound so you can stock up on great wines, grappa, pecorino, salumi,  fruit,  panaforte and more

In summary:  I unequivocally recommend a trip to see the Palio. While I suspect it can be done on a budget, if you can afford it don’t skimp. Enjoy everything for all 4 days, you’ll never forget the experience.