Ciao friends!! I am writing this on July 2nd, the night after the first Palio of the year. I have never seen anything like this event, and I had definitely never heard of it before coming to Siena for the summer. I wanted to do a blog post about this race in case anyone loves learning about historical things as much as I do! I also don’t want to forget anything that happened today, because it was honestly one of the neatest experiences I have ever had.
- Just a note- this event runs deep with tradition, heritage, and culture. No one looking from the outside in can possibly understand all the details of the race and the days leading up to it. This information is just what I have picked up on, and I hope I am doing a good job relaying the little bit of knowledge I have about the Palio.
A little background
The Palio is a horse race that dates back to the 1400s, making it the oldest horse race in the world. Palio is actually the name for the flag that the winning contrada (basically a neighborhood) gets to keep if they win. Each of the 17 contrada go in a lottery system to be drawn for either the July or August Palio, and 10 get chosen for each race. The days leading up to event are so fun! There are parades, contrada dinners, horse assignments, and so many special events that really get everyone excited and involved. Contrade fundraise all year for this event!
There are 17 contrade, and each one is represented by an animal that is symbolic for the type of people, noble family, or important task that neighborhood contained during the early days of Siena. Each contrada has allies and enemies, that either help or hinder their success in the Palio.
A few details about the race
In this horse race, anything goes. There are bribes going on up until the start of the race, jockeys hit others with their whips, and lots of back deals go on. It’s not uncommon for one contrada to bribe another contrada’s jockey to throw the race.
They don’t let the fastest horses race. This race is a nail biter, no one knows who will win. For that reason, the horse selection rules out the slowest and fastest horses, and tries to find those closest in skill level. The only leg up contradas can get is getting a good starting position in the lottery.
The jockeys ride bareback. This race has been going on for centuries, and saddles have never been introduced into the mix. Jockeys fall off their horses all the time, and sometimes it gets scary!
Horses can win even if their jockey falls off. There have been years when the jockey falls off, the horse keeps going, and that contrada can still win. In this race, the horse is more important than the jockey. The horses wear customized head pieces to make sure they represent their contrada in case there is a mix up on whose horse is whose.
After the race is over, the entire contrada races to the Santa Maria in Provenzano with their horse to thank the Virgin Mary. Then they parade through the streets for hours and days following the win.
The results
Drago (dragon) ended up winning the July 2018 Palio. There will be another race in August to include the contrade that didn’t make it in the race this time around.
I have never seen anything like this event in my life. I thought UT games were thrilling and fans were full of pride, until I saw the people of Siena on Palio day. Men, women, and children are all crying when their contrada wins and people sing so loudly you can hear from multiple streets away. The people of Siena do not do anything in the Palio celebration for show, everything is for the pride and tradition of the city. It is definitely worth seeing!
Here is the link to the full video I created all about the Palio and the days leading up to it!
