Understanding the Palio di Siena
Understanding the Palio di Siena ...
Palio di Siena
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Palio di Siena - Understanding the Palio di Siena
Every year, many folkloric events and games of chivalry, such as the Saracen Joust of
Arezzo and the Gioco del Ponte (Bridge Battle) of
Pisa are held in
Tuscany Certainly, all of them are particularly spectacular but
nothing compares to the Palio di Siena.
The Sienese, divided into several "contrade" (city wards) passionately devote to the
Palio di Siena and unceasingly bring new ideas and capitals to it. Every Sienese belongs to the "contrada" in which he/she was born.
The Palio is held twice a year: on July 2nd, the day of the feast in honour of the Madonna di Provenzano, and on August 16th, the day after the feast of Virgin Mary`s Assumption.
In this period of the year, in which all Italian cities are empty because of the summer holidays, the Sienese stay at home and suffer for their "contrada" and for their horse.
The Palio is a horse race in which the horses - either with their jockey or "scossi" (without jockey) - run for three laps of Piazza del Campo. The field consists of ten of the seventeen wards into which
Siena is divided: the seven wards that did not take part in the last Palio are automatically included and the remaining three wards are chosen by lot.
Before the start, the atmosphere in Piazza del Campo is tense and when the "canape" (the starting cord) is removed, the crowd explodes in a roar. For the Sienese, the Palio is extremely important and serious. Non-Sienese people cannot understand the Palio by simply watching the race the day of the Palio; at least, they should attend the preparations the day before: the blessing of the horse in the ward church, the vigil kept to the horse on the night preceding the race ...
Non-Sienese people can watch but cannot meddle; the Sienese tolerate tourists as long as they do not meddle in the ward`s life.
At the end of the race, tourists can witness the winner`s and its allies celebrating the victory and the losers` disappointment but actually
only those born in Siena can really understand the Palio di Siena
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