One of the attractive corners of Italy is Siena —, one of the oldest cities, an architectural and cultural monument in Italy. In the Middle Ages, this city, located in the western part of the country, in Tuscany, was the capital of the strong Sienese Republic and already in that distant era kept masterpieces of Italian Gothic of world dignity.
It was in the Middle Ages that the tradition of holding races in the city, called the Palio di Siena, arose. History shows that the first horse racing took place in 1656, during this and subsequent years the race took place only once a year — on July 2. Beginning in 1701, the Palio festival began to be held twice a year — on July 2 and August 16.
Twice a year, in the main square of the city — Piazza del Campo —, horse competitions are held between 10 districts of the city, called contradas. There are 17 contradas in Siena, but only 10 contradas take part in Palio — only 10 teams. During the next Palio, the teams change.
It should be noted that the traditions and preparation of the contradas themselves are very remarkable — each contrada bears the name of an animal or some object, and each is famous for its rich history, heraldry and mythology. Here are just a few names of contradas: Eagle, Snail, Dragon, Shell, Wave, Forest, Tower.
During this medieval show, the ten participating horsemen are dressed in costumes in the traditional colors of their contrada, and the flags and coats of arms of the contradas are flown on the building of the Palais de la Commune (Plazzo Communale).
Today the Siena horse race — is a world-famous spectacle (Photo: M. Rohana, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
The total length of the distance that a rider on an unsaddled horse must cover is approximately 1 kilometer — the distance includes 3 laps of 333 meters. It happens that on sharp turns or in particularly narrow places, the rider, unable to resist, flies off the horse, and it single-handedly completes the lap of the competition. They say that it is the horse that wins, and the rider does not receive encouragement. After the completion of the races, processions take place around the city, which last all night.
The ancient traditions of this holiday are also evidenced by the fact that Palio, held on August 16, is named after the Assumption and Ascension of the Virgin Mary — Palio dell'Assunta, and Palio, held on July 2, is named after the patroness of Siena Madonna di Provenzano — Palio di Provenzano.
It is difficult to say whether Siena horse racing was so popular in the Middle Ages, but these days numerous tourists flock to Italian Siena twice a year precisely to join this noisy and world-famous spectacle.