World Insights Bringing You best of world at one placeLess than two minutes. That’s all it takes to make the Palio di Siena one of the most famous horse races in the world, attracting visitors from around the globe to the ancient Tuscan city.
In fact there are two separate races held each year – the original Palio de Provenzano, on July 2nd, and the slightly more recent Palio dell’Assunta, on August16th. Their roots in the Middle Ages, the races are run in honour of the Virgin Mary and the name palio comes frompallium, a highly-prized, hand-painted silk banner that the winner traditionally presented to his church.
The race is subject to a complex maze of rules and traditions and provokes the most passionate debate among the city residents. Until 1720 all the contradas took part – the districts into which Siena is divided – but so many accidents occurred that the number was reduced to ten. Traditionally, the race is about the horses rather than the jockeys, and it is possible for a riderless horse to complete the circuit and win – as long as it crosses the finishing line still with the emblem of the district it is representing.
The Piazza del Campo, the beautiful fan-shaped ‘square’ at the heart of Siena, hasn’t changed much since the thirteenth or fourteenth century. It’s the epicentre of the race and the scene of many of the events in the days leading up to the Palio.
For a week before the event, the city bustles with preparations and activity and there’s a single topic of conversation on everyone’s lips. Then, four days before the event, the atmosphere heats up; there are processions, and the participating horses are selected and allocated by lot to each contrada. And, of course, each team must outline their strategy depending on the animal they’ve been assigned, and both horse and rider must become accustomed to the unusual track.
Finally, after the blessing of the horses and the historical procession from the Duomo to the Piazza del Campo, where around 600 representatives of the city’s 17 contradas relive the splendour of the ancient Republic of Siena, it’s time for the Palio itself. The square is packed to overflowing and, in a blaze of colour and noise, the three laps are completed in less than two minutes.
The winning district will celebrate for weeks, while the rest, after the usual thanksgiving Te Deum in the Duomo or the church in the Provenzano square and the Palio procession through the city, begin to make their plans for next year.
Source hellomagazine.com
