The Istrice contrada won the July 2 Palio; the first Palio of 2008. The second and final Palio race will be held on August 16.
We were really hoping to be able to see a Palio race after living in Siena and seeing all of the festivities that occurred months and months after the race day. I can say that after having lived in Siena, the Palio is VERY important to the Sienese: there is even a local TV station devoted almost entirely to replaying Palios of the past. Many a night was spent watching this channel! The Oca (Goose) and the Lecorno (Unicorn) won last years Palios and there were festas, dinners, and decorations throughout the entire fall commemorating their victories!
Decorations in the Oca contrada commemorating their victory in the July 2, 2007 Palio:
Our contrada, the Onda (or Wave), for some reason seemed to be less active than the other contradas. Only on a few occasions did we see the contrada practicing with their drums and flags and only around Christmas time did the contrada hang their flags and light fixtures.
The Onda flag and light fixture decorations:
Although the Palio itself is a simple bareback horse race around Siena's Campo, there is nothing simple about it. Not all the contradas compete during each Palio and there are races prior to the main race which help determine which contradas compete. Scheming and plotting by the contradas occurs all year, culminating in a 90 second race around the Campo! The winning jockey and horse are heroes; the runner-up is the biggest loser of all!
One day we hope to make it to the Palio. Hopefully the Onda will win that year!
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