Il Palio di Siena is the most famous palio in all of Italy. By definition, the word palio in Italy means any annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, and pitting the neighborhoods of a town against eachother. Typically palios are fought in costume and commemorate some event or tradition of the Middle Ages and thus often involve horse racing, archery, jousting, crossbow shooting and similar medieval competitions.
Il palio di Siena is a horse race held each year on July 2 and August 16. Although a secular event, the Palio has a strong religious element. Both races are dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Since 1656, the race on July 2, has been dedicated to the miracle of the Madonna di Provengano. The race on August 16, Palio dell'Assunta, is dedicated to the Assumption, and takes place the day after the Feast of the Assumption.
The race itself takes place in Il campo pictured below.
Thousands of spectators, both locals and tourists, cram into il campo for the race.
The race is preceded by a spectacular pageant, which includes Alfieri, flag wavers in medieval costumes. Just before the pageant, a squad of carabinieri (military police) on horseback wielding swords, demonstrate a mounted charge around the track.
The race itself consists of ten horses each representing one of Siena's contrada. This means that seven of the contrade do not participate. Click here to learn more about Siena's contrada.
On the dangerous steeply-canted track, the riders are allowed to use their whips not only for their own horse, but also for disturbing other horses and riders. The winner is the first horse to cross the finish line with its head ornaments still intact-the rider does not necessarily need to finish, and often does not. The loser is considered to be the horse and contrada that comes in second, not last.
1 comment:
Great! I checked out your site and added a link on ours! I can't wait to see it in person!
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