Palio di Siena

The Palio of Siena is a famous equestrian race that pits the different districts of the city (called the contrade), whose origins date back to the medieval games, held on 2 July and 16 August.
In the past, many Italian municipalities organized such horse competitions, and some have maintained the tradition until today.

Historical overview

After various games and fights organized on the Piazza del Campo, including boxing matches, in the 16th century bufalate are held, races on the back of bubalina cows. Then, these races were done on donkey before being on horse.
The first modern palio took place around 1650 and was held only on 2 July. It was codified in the 19th century.

The Palio today

In our time, the race takes place in the centre of Siena, around Piazza del Campo, twice a year, on 2 July (the Palio di Provenzano, in honour of the Madonna di Provenzano) and 16 August (the Palio dell’Assunta, in honour of Mary).
Each rider represents one of the city’s 17 contrade. The race is preceded by a large parade, attended by spectators from all over the world.
The winner contrada is the one whose horse comes first after three laps of the Campo, with or without his rider. The race only takes about two minutes.

Contrada banners

Links and sources

• City website : palio.comune.siena.it
• Informations and various : www.ilpalio.org, en.wikipedia.org

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