Happy summer, everyone! Hot weather is here and an iconic event in Tuscany is about to launch us full-force into the season: the wild and wonderful Palio di Siena.
In our previous post, we shone the spotlight on the Tuscan city of Siena. Besides enchanting visitors with its Medieval splendour and grand architectural monuments, Siena also has great stories to tell.
Last week, we talked about Siena’s signature sweets, Panforte, Cavallucci, and Ricciarelli. This week, we’re switching from tasty treats to wild rides, seeing as the first of the two Palio di Siena races is around the corner.
The Palio di Siena: A Brief History
The Palio di Siena is, without a doubt, the city’s most excitement-laden cultural event of the year. This bonkers horse race, whose history as a civil celebration dates back to the late 15th Century, takes place in two parts each summer, on July 2 and August 16.
The race is run in Siena’s principal square, Piazza del Campo. Typically a wide-open, gently-sloping public space in the shape of a fan, the piazza is transformed into a sand-filled, noisily-pulsating mob scene for the two races, which attract spectators from around the globe. During the races, the piazza is bursting with cheering onlookers, from street-level gallery to top-floor balcony.
In the center of the piazza — where we find the event’s free seats, albeit without seats — standing spectators jostle for a quick glimpse of the contenders as they thunder by. The well-heeled, who can afford to pay upwards of several hundred Euro per ticket to watch in style, squeeze together on grandstands, lean out of windows, and rub shoulders on the balconies of residences lining the piazza with flutes of Prosecco in hand.
The competitors are the seventeen contrade of Siena — districts of the city, each with its own emblem, colours, and historic name drawn from the animal kingdom or natural world. In times gone by, the contrade were rival military companies; today, they are more like social clubs where intense animosity, pride, and competitiveness are the signature characteristics.
The pomp and tradition leading up to the races are hallmarks of the Palio that have remained the same over the centuries; in particular, the historical costume pageant called the Corteo Storico that precedes the race is essentially the same as it was at the event's inception. This choreographed parade is an impressive spectacle of flag-waving, drumming, trumpeting, and sword-wielding carabinieri on horseback, involving about seven hundred participants. The Corteo commemorates the glory days of the Republic of Siena that dominated Tuscany from 1125 to 1555, making it a perfect pre-Palio ritual that also gives the audience a visceral taste of the past.
The Palio di Siena: Over-the-Top Loyalty, Out-of-Control Rivalry
For the citizens of Siena, loyalty to your contrada is a sacred thing. A contrada is not something you choose; you are born into it and you are beholden to it until death do you part! Not even marriage can infringe upon contrada fidelity; if you and your spouse are from different contrade, you will be with your contrada on race day, cheering on your horse with your club-mates, and your spouse will do likewise. Anything else is unthinkable.
While this over-the-top loyalty creates an intense and exciting environment, the out-of-control rivalry does tend to bring about some shady behaviour. The ridiculous desire to win gives birth to all forms of dishonourable conduct — bribes, sabotage, poisoning of horses, you name it, it’s probably been attempted in pursuit of the banner. Ironic when you consider that each horse is blessed and sprinkled with holy water by the parish priest of its contrada prior to the race.
The Palio di Siena: The Race and Its Aftermath
In the free-for-all that is the Palio di Siena, jockeys ride bareback and there are no rules. All that matters is winning. The jockeys whip their mounts into a frenzy (sometimes using their whip to castigate other horses and riders) as they navigate the treacherous turns during the legendary three laps around Piazza del Campo. The whole circuit usually lasts about 75 seconds.
In such an anarchistic environment, danger looms large. Riders are often thrown from their horses, but this is of little consequence with regard to the outcome of the race. What counts is that a contrada’s horse cross the finish line first; the rider doesn’t have to be on it. The end of the race is signaled with cannon fire as the winning contrada erupts into ecstasy, followed by a delirious tidal wave of revelers exploding onto Siena’s streets.
The victorious contrada celebrates their glorious accomplishment by feasting at tables lining the streets of their neighbourhood that evening. An empty chair always graces the head of the table and is laden with hay for the most revered guest, who never comes to dinner but is the reason everyone else is there: the winning horse.
Located in central Italy, Siena is a convenient stopover when transferring between Florence and Rome. From The Eternal City, we can visit both Siena and San Gimignano for a day of Medieval wonders.
