Written by Gilian McGuire
Travel Writer and Blogger at Gillian’s Lists
Twice every summer, the Tuscan city Siena travels back in time a few centuries. These complex and thrilling days of preparation and festivities are known as the Palio.
Below is everything you need to know about Siena’s most famous tradition.
What is the Palio?
The short answer is the Palio is a horse race with medieval origins that dates back to the 1600s. The reality is much more detailed and complicated. The exhilarating 90 seconds that happen in the Piazza del Campo are a culmination of 12 months of negotiation, scheming, planning, and training by the entire city of Siena.
10 jockeys ride bareback on a track of Tufo, a thick layer of earth, completing three runs around the Piazza del Campo. One of the many Palio-specific rules is that it’s totally fine if the jockey gets thrown or pushed off his horse. What counts is that the horse crosses the finish line, called the Mossa.
In the days leading up to the race, Siena is a Medieval painting come to life. There are lotteries that choose the horses and jockeys, tense trial races, colorful historic parades, solemn church services to bless the horses, and emotional neighborhood dinners.
Siena and Piazza del Campo
When is the Palio?
The Palio takes place twice a year. The Palio della Madonna di Provenzano is on July 2, and the Palio della Assunta is on August 16.
Rarely there is an additional extraordinary race to mark an important event. The last time this happened was in the year 2000 to celebrate the city entering the new millennium. In modern times the Palio has only been canceled twice. Once in 1945 during World War II and in 2020 because of the Coronavirus.
WhO IS RACING IN THE PALIO?
The city of Siena is divided into seventeen contrade, neighborhoods, each with its own symbol and flag. (Hunting for contrada symbols is a fun way to explore the city.)
Aquila (Eagle)
Bruco (Caterpillar)
Chiocciola (Snail)
Civetta (Little Owl)
Drago (Dragon)
Giraffa (Giraffe)
Istrice (Porcupine)
Leocorno (Unicorn)
Lupa (She-Wolf)
Nicchio (Seashell)
Oca (Goose)
Onda (Wave)
Pantera (Panther)
Selva (Forest)
Tartuca (Tortoise)
Torre (Tower)
Valdimontone (Valley of the Ram) often shortened to Montone
There are fierce rivalries and strong alliances between contrade. And, you can’t just choose one; you must be born and baptized into it. Each contrada has a fountain for its baptisms, a church and a museum. During the Palio each neighborhood is decorated with flags displaying their symbol. When a child is baptized they are presented with a square silk scarf called a fazzoletto. It is tied with a special knot and the only time this knot can be undone is when their contrada wins a race. The scarf is worn during all of the Palio festivities for a lifetime.
Contrada Flags
Where can I watch the Palio?
The Piazza del Campo is divided into four areas:
1) Mossa (the Start/Finish Line)
2) Fonte Gaia
3) Casato
4) San Martino
For an electrifying experience join the crowd in the middle of the Piazza del Campo. You must be prepared to stand for hours in the sun. You will need to be in place by 4:30 pm in July and by 4:00 pm in August. The Corteo Storico begins at 4:30 pm in July and at 5:00 pm in August. The race begins at 7:30 pm in July and at 7:00 pm in August but the actual start can take a long time. Expect false starts and lots of tussling at the Mossa. There is absolute silence for the entirety of the start process. Two important things to make note of are you can not bring chairs into the piazza and once you enter the piazza there are no bathrooms.
For a price, you can reserve a spot to stand at one of the windows in a palazzo or squeeze onto a balcony of a shop that ring the piazza. There is also limited grandstand seating. The Casato and the Mossa are in the shade the longest of the four locations and San Martino is in the sun for almost the entire time. These prized positions are not easy to come by. You will need to plan ahead.
When the race is finished the winning Contrada pours out onto the track. It is best to watch this unrestrained celebration from a safe distance as sometimes there are horses without their jockeys.
Waiting for the Palio to begin in Piazza del Campo. Photo credit: La Dolce Vigna
Are there other Palio festivities?
There are four full days of activities that begin on June 29th and August 13th.
The first thing that happens is the presentation and selection of the horses that will run in the Palio. Once the horses are assigned to the contrada they can not be changed. However, the jockey, called the fantino, can be switched up until the morning of the Palio.
There are six trial races leading up to the official race. One is in the early morning and another in the late afternoon. The final trial race on the morning of the Palio is called the provaccia meaning bad trial. This race is done with minimal effort so as not to tire the horses before their big race later in the day.
Each contrada has a church and a museum. Schedule a visit to L’Aquila’s museum to see the oldest Palio banner that was won on July 2, 1719. Find the Oratorio del Suffragio, a crypt of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Provenzano. This single room is the Giraffe contrada’s church. There are stables in each neighborhood where the horses that will run for the contrada are housed during the Palio days. They are closely guarded and visitors are forbidden.
One of the most special events are the invitation-only cena prova generale, banquet dinners held on the night before the final race. Tables are set in torch-lit piazzas and along the narrow streets or in the case of the Drago Contrada inside a centuries-old Dominican cloister.
At 8:00 AM on the day of the Palio the Messa del Fantino Mass for the jockeys is held in the Chapel of Piazza del Campo
A few hours before the final race there are individual horse blessings. This is a reverent and silent ceremony that ends the blessing of Vai e torna vincitore! Go now and return victorious!
The last event before the horses run is the Corteo Storico, the historic procession. More than 600 citizens in medieval dress, flag throwers, and drummers wind through the city before entering the Piazza del Campo.
When the race is finished the winning contrada led by the jockey and the horse heads to the Basilica Santa Maria in Provenzano (in July ) or to the Duomo di Siena (in August) for a service of thanks called the Te deum.
Celebrating the Onda Contrada Win in 2012. Photo credit: La Dolce Vigna
The Onda Contrada’s Chapel. Photo credit: La Dolce Vigna
Why is the Palio celebrated?
The July Palio celebrates a miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary near the house of nobleman Provenzano Salvani. The first Palio in honor of the Madonna di Provenzano was run on August 16, 1656. The August Palio celebrates the Madonna dell’Assunta who protected the Sienese militia against Florentines in the battle of Monteaperti on September 4, 1260. This second Palio was added to the Senese calendar in 1701.
How many horses run in the Palio?
Out of the seventeen contrade, ten participate: The seven which did not participate in the previous year's Palio and three others chosen by a lottery called the Tratta.
Horses must be a mixed breed and they almost all come from the island of Sardinia.
Horse that will be in the Palio. Photo credit: La Dolce Vigna
What is the prize for winning the Palio?
A Palio! That is the name for the drappalone, a large silk banner that is awarded to the winning contrada. Each year a different artist is chosen to paint the design. Traditionally the July banner is painted by a Senese artist and the August banner by an international artist. It must include the coat of arms of the current government and distinct religious figures. The Tartuca museum has drappolone painted by internationally acclaimed artists Fernando Botero and Igor Mitoraj.
What is that song everyone is singing?
During the four days of Palio celebrations, you will hear people beating large drums hung from around their necks and singing throughout the day and night. Each contrada has its own anthem and versions of songs but one song that everyone sings is a specific Palio version of Il Canto della Verbena.
This just barely scratches the surface of the many-layered rituals that surround the Palio. You can dig deeper by reading La Terra in Piazza: An Interpretation of the Palio of Siena by Alan Dundes and Alessandro Falassi.
Looking to explore the wine and food of Siena, Tuscany?
Check out La Dolce Vigna’s Tuscany Wine + Culture Tour!
Click on image below for more info.
