Ciao! This is the Palio for the second time for us. This time we are with friends Richard and Pip Lawrence. We will have five days in Siena together. Bill and I have a pact to do no comparisons with the first time.
We arrive by Flix bus. Then we get a local bus up to the old city where we are staying. The Lawrences arrive by train a bit later.
We check into the same hotel as last time. We have booked through Stan as we did last time. We meet with him. This is a lounge room we will share with Pip and Rich. See blog in 2019 for more about where we are staying - Relais d'Angeli https://robinkermode.rocketspark.co.nz/blog/post/44193/Leaving-Siena/ .
We catch up with Pip and Richard and talk about the Palio. Bill has done a lot of research on all the contrade - the hamlets of the old city, who will have horses representing them in the Palio. I have taken note. Siena has 17 contrade. 10 are drawn for the Palio that is run twice each year. If you are out in this Palio you must be one of the ten for the next year's Palio.
The ten for this race are Caterpillar (Bruco), Goose (Oca), Little Owl (Civetta), Panther (Pantera), Seashell (Nicchio), She-Wolf (Lupa), Unicorn (Leocorno), Valley of the Ram (Valdimontone), Wave ( Onda) and Giraffe (Giraffa).
A little about the Palio - For 450 years this race has been running. It is a cultural event rather than a sporting event. So much traditional Sienese tradition generation after generation. There is so much to learn.
From https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/siena-palio#: "In the gorgeously preserved Tuscan hill town of Siena, the Middle Ages seem to survive in the architecture and in the civic spirit. The city is known both for its pride and for its independent attitude. And twice a year, that spirit shows itself in a crazy horse race, as it has for five centuries.
That world-famous race, the Palio di Siena, takes place twice every summer — on July 2 and August 16 — when the city's residents hurl themselves into the traditional revelry of the event with abandon.
As my friend Roberto explained when I visited to see a race, "For the Sienese, here's one's life story: You're born…there's the Palio…and then you can die."
Siena is divided into 17 neighborhoods, or contrade, of which 10 are selected by a drawing to vie for the coveted Palio banner — and all-important bragging rights. Each competing contrada's horse is chosen randomly by lottery. The neighborhood then adopts it, showering it with love, washing and grooming it, and keeping it in a five-star stable. The contrade — each with its own parish church, fountain, and square — are staunch rivals. Each contrada is represented by a mascot (porcupine, unicorn, she-wolf, and so on) and a distinctive flag. Its colors are worn and flown all year long, but omnipresent as the race nears.
While the race itself lasts just 90 seconds, it's preceded by days of festivities. As the big day approaches, processions break out across the city, including one in which the famed and treasured Palio banner — featuring the Virgin Mary, to whom the race is dedicated — is held high as it's paraded to the cathedral. Locals belt out passionate good-luck choruses. With the waving flags and pounding drums, it all hearkens back to medieval times, when these rituals boosted morale before battle."
We head to the main square - the Piazza Del Campo. The Giraffa contrada is making its way to the trials. The horses comes down the streets too.
Chiocciola are on their way too.
Young People get inducted early and love being together.
On the actual Palio day we saw Tower and their flag waving. This takes skill and the flag bearers are always young, strong men.
At the Piazza (on our first day still) the crowd is starting to gather for the first trial.
Stan has given us a great place to see the trial. Sorry, the sun was shining.
From there we can see where we will watch the Palio from - behind the lower red banner here. It is right in front of the start.
Bill and Rich chat to Stan.
Our view for the trial.
No-one really remembers the trials. It is a practice for the horses. and for the jockeys to try a few things. The lady in the red opens the gates . The horses make their way to the start.
The horse from Civetta wins. We will have dinner at that contrada the night before the Palio. We are all watching "our" horse as the other contrade are watching theirs. And the only thing that matters is winning the Palio.
Pip and I chat to Alessandra and Giulia. We ask lots of questions. Both girls, while raised in Siena and grew up with their contrade, have now left and do not involve themselves in the contrade, as it is hard work - serving us drinks is not so much.
The next day we have a guide, Chiara, for a visit to the Giraffa Museum.
First, we learn of the Giraffa Palio victories. The Palio is a banner. A contrada wins the Palio when they win the race (no Palio's for trials). There is a new Palio painted for every race.
Giraffa have won both Palios in one year three times. They are the only contrada to do so.
The costumes in the foreground are worn for the parade before the Palio.
Next door is the church where they bless the horse before the race, as well as hold events, weddings etc.
Later that day we go to the Duomo, Siena's cathedral.
From https://operaduomo.siena.it/en/the-cathedral/. "Siena Cathedral, rising majestically in the eponymous city square, is one of Italy’s most illustrious Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals. . . . unconfirmed rumour suggests that the building was consecrated in 1179 in the presence of Sienese Pope Alexander III."
This is one of the earliest panels in the inlaid mosaic floor of the Cathedral, the She-Wolf of Siena.
[The legend of Aschius and Senius]: "According to a local legend, the city of Siena was founded by a pair of twins named Aschius and Senius. When they were very young, their wicked uncle murdered their father and usurped his throne, so they fled into the forest on two horses, one white and one black. There the two young boys survived by being suckled by a she-wolf, and when they grew up they founded a city called Siena, after Senius; they took the she-wolf as the symbol of their city, and the colors of the horses as their banner.
The legend has proved extremely resilient: the she-wolf is a vivid presence all over the city of Siena even today, and the half-white/half-black balzana still takes pride of place as the city's standard during the Palio. That said, the story will sound eerily — even comically — familiar to readers acquainted with Roman history, since it mimics in almost every detail the famous legend of the founding of Rome (as narrated, for example, in Livy's Ab urbe condita). Only the horses are lacking in the Roman version: Romulus and Remus, the heirs of the city of Alba Longa, were hunted from the city by their wicked great-uncle Amulius, who killed their grandfather Numitor and usurped his throne. Abandoned in the wilderness, they were suckled by a she-wolf, and when they grew up they founded the city of Rome.
According to the Roman legend, the twins then quarreled, and Romulus killed Remus -- which is where the two legends merge, because according to the Sienese, history repeated itself in the younger pair of twins. Aschius and Senius were the sons of Remus, who were forced to flee because their uncle Romulus had killed their father."
Then outside. Obviously a great fashion shoot backdrop too!
We climbed to the top of the next door museum for views of the Duomo and the city.
Then we went eating. Delicious food.
Rich starts a tradition and orders tiramisu.
Later we go to the last trial. We find a good spot to watch the contrade bringing their horses in. I can't always remember which contrada is which!
This is Civetta - "our" horse.
Oca is a favorite as they have a good horse and jockey and they won the Palio last year.
We watched this trial from inside the Piazza del Campo. Again no-one is looking at winners here. I can't remember who won?
The Civetta women chanting. They are in this spot every year we heard.
Then it was time to get ready and go to our Civetta dinner. Each contrada with a horse in the race has a dinner the night before the Palio in their local piazza. There were 1500 at the Civetta dinner that we were lucky enough to join.
On the way.
Our ticket to the dinner.
Photos of setting up, preparing food, the top table. us and all the chanting. They are saying "We are the best. We will win. You are scum" - or something like that.
This is the Civetta jockey at the top table.
I didn't think he would look and turned the camera around. He looked too, which I loved.
There were speeches, our guide Chiara helped us understand.
More from Chiara. Here she said a song is coming. It never did. A video for the ambience.
The jockey spoke too. According to Chiara he said everything right. "I look after the horse. I am here to win."
The contrada loved it!
So did the tourists!
No tiramisu for dessert but Rich wasn't disappointed. He had had 3 lemon desserts. Too sweet for Pip and I. We had one bite. Bill had one. No one's keeping count.
We had a great night!
So did the contrada!
The next day, the day of the Palio we go to the blessing of the horse. We go to Oca's blessing because Civetta's church is too small for us to see. It is for everyone though. Chiara finds us a good vantage point. All horses in the race get blessed in their local church. Also all Palio's have Virgin Mary on them. Note Chiara's scarf. Her contrada is Lupa. She takes her scarf off when she is in other contrada's zones. It is just about to come off.
Horse arrives for the blessing. Everyone must be quiet
After the blessing they sing.
I do my own blessing. Also to show you my Oca scarf I bought.
Out for lunch before the Palio - with Rich and Pip. Another version of Tiramisu. Yum.
Then we are to the Piazza del Campo for the parade and the race.
[From the NY Times] "As the sun moved lower on the horizon, a solemn and highly choreographed two-hour pageant, the Corteo Storico, began. More than 600 people in historical costume, many on horseback, began moving slowly around the piazza. Many of the faces were nearly medieval in their El Greco thinness. There were skilled flag tossers, severe-looking military-style drummers, oxen-pulling chariots, floats of ancient design.
The race, which occurs twice a year, on July 2 and Aug. 16, dates back to the 13th century, and most likely began as Roman military training. The earliest races were on buffalos, and then on donkeys. The word palio itself means banner in Italian, and that’s all that the winning contrada receives. This banner bears the image of the Virgin Mary, in whose honor these wild races are held.
The contrade pay their jockeys handsomely to ride for them, yet these jockeys are hired guns and fundamentally unfaithful. Everyone is a potential double agent.
There’s no official betting at the Palio but allegiances are purchased for tens of thousands of dollars. Secret negotiations abound. Did your contrada’s jockey miss his opportunity to peak ahead at that turn, or was he paid to fall back? There’s no knowing.
During the race, jockeys take their lives into their hands. The race involves three clockwise laps around one-third-of-a-mile track and there are tight turns. There have been dozens of serious injuries; videos of spills are all over YouTube. Horses are more vulnerable. More than 50 have died in these races since 1970; animal rights protesters have staged repeated protests. In response, Palio administrators have increased the padding on some turns and instituted other safety controls. Critics say these measures are not enough.
The parade ended and a booming cannon-like shot scattered every bird within two miles. The crowd grew quiet as the horses and their riders entered the piazza. Nine of the 10 racers took up their assigned positions at the starting rope. The 10th rider decided when the race started, when he made a go for it."
This is the 2024 Palio (in the parade). Chiara said there is controversy as the artist put himself in the banner which is not right. She does not like it. You can see him half way down the banner, painted in peaking out from behind the banner.
The parade is something else. As said above it is tradition. It takes nearly two hours. It starts with the Italian carabinieri.
Sorry about the camera angle . . .
Then there are flag bearers, city organisations, soldiers, other ...
We have terrific seats.
Then it is time for the Palio.
They bring in the starting mechanism. This is attached to two big ropes with a space in between for nine of the horses, then the tenth horse is drawn at the back of the two ropes. When this tenth horse chooses to go into the space between, the race starts. So he decides the start, not the starter.
How races start. "The race starts off in the "Mossa", an area set up on the piazza delimited by two long pieces of thick rope. The "Mossiere" then calls the Contrade in the order in which they were drawn and checks that the assigned positions are respected. The first 9 Contrade take up their assigned positions in the area between the two ropes, while the last one, the tenth, enters this area at a running gallop thus signaling the start of the race. This only happens when this last Contrada decides to make the attempt to start off the race.
If the start is not considered valid (this is the case if the jockeys are not in their assigned spots), a shot goes out to signal the jockeys to get back into place. This starting phase within the "Mossa" is more complicated than it seems, as the space is small and the horses are right next to each other. Rivalries run deep within the Contrade and competition is high and the worst result is to see the "enemy" Contrada win the race. The wait for the start of the race can thus be extremely long and last into twilight.
If all goes well the start of the race can start at any time. The horses must run three laps around the Campo."
The draw is made, and the horses come out. The two enemy horse pairings have been drawn next to each other. The start won't be quick we think!
And so it proves.
They have maybe three attempts at getting started, and then it starts to rain! The race is postponed! The horses go back in. It will be run tomorrow at the same time.
Half an hour earlier, maybe even 10 minutes earlier, they could have run it but they never change tradition. The race is only 90 seconds. We will all come back tomorrow. There will be just the race, not the parade again.
The Lawrences have booked a wine tour the next day. They need to find out if it will get back in time for the Palio.
The forecast for the next day is fine, then for rain about 6.30.
The Lawrences go to meet their wine tour but are told it may not be back by 7. So they don't go. They don't get their money back.
They find a restaurant for lunch. It is great, We decide we will go there for dinner after the Palio.
Then the forecast is exactly right. The rain comes at 6.30. The Palio is postponed 10 minutes later. In 450 years it has never been postponed two days in a row . . . We are part of history . . .
But we are all booked to fly to London the next day. We will not see the last 90 seconds of the week . . .
We go to dinner. It is great! We say dinner with Kermodes is better value. I say it is better with Rich as look what else is there.
The next night they did get the Palio run. Here it is. (We all watched it live in London - not quite the same.)
Onda is the winning contrada.
Here is what happens the day after the Palio (taken from blog in 2018. This is for Rich and Pip. https://robinkermode.rocketspark.co.nz/blog/post/44015/The-Day-after-the-Palio/)
It was an amazing five days going back in time, surreal and great to have Pip and Rich there with us. Not comparing and it was the best having fun with friends and deepening my learning about this cultural/sporting, dramatic extravaganza. There is nothing quite like this and it was great to be a part of it for five days.
That's the end. Finito/Ciao
Here's some extra for experts if you want it.
Here is each of the horses, followed by the jockeys on the large horse, as we saw them in the parade.
Bruco/Caterpillar
Coat of arms
A golden badge with a caterpillar crawling on a twig with green leaves, crowned at the Grand-duke manner; head with a red and silver quartering to the cross with a red and silver quartering.
Colours
Yellow and green flag bordered in light blue.
Watchword
⇒ Be a noble Contrada in the battle against proud people.
⇒ My name sounds like revolution.
Symbolizes
Industriousness.
Guild
Silk spinners
Oca/goose
Coat of arms
Golden badge with a goose standing on a green garden surmounted by a royal crown, at its neck a blue ribbon from which the silver Savoy cross with at its interior the red and silver cross of Umbert I, allowed during his trip of 1887.
Colours
White and green flag bordered in red.
Watchword
Clangit ad arma (Call to arms).
Symbolizes
Shrewdness.
Guild
Dyers
Civetta/owl
Coat of arms
A red and black badge with a crowned owlet. Two shields at its sides. On the right shield is written U, on the left one the letter M (Humbert I and Margherita of Savoy) in roman, capitol, golden letters, as per concession of the king and queen during their visit in 1887.
Colours
Red and black flag bordered in white.
Watchword
I see through the night.
Symbolizes
Cunning.
Guild
Shoemakers
Pantera/ pantha
Coat of arms with natural rampant panther, white and red quarter at the initial U (Umberto I) flowered at the Avellana in the upper right corner (heraldic addition granted with R.D. of 9.2.1889).
Colours
Red and blue flag bordered in white.
Watchword
⇒ My momentum hinders every obstacle.
⇒ The panther roared and the people shook.
Symbolizes
Boldness.
Seashell/Nicchio
Coat of arms
Coat of arms of blue with a silver shell, crowned in the grand-ducal manner, surrounded by two branches of red coral, proceeding from the valve from which hung a string of pearls, replaced in 1889 by a pendant formed by three golden Savoy knots intertwined with two Cyprus roses, one red, the other silver.
Colors
Unfolds a blue flag with red and yellow stripes.
Motto
It's the red of the coral that burns in my heart
It symbolizes
Confidentiality.
Art and Corporation
Potters
Lupa/wolf
Coat of arms
Silver badge with a roman she-wolf milking the twins on a green garden surmounted by an ancient crown with a little black and white pennon inside a silver and red bordered shield with red and silver crosses.
Colours
White and black flag bordered in orange.
Watchword
Et urbus et Senarum Signum et Decus (The coat of arms of Rome, the honor of Siena) .
Symbolizes
Faithfulness.
Guild
Bakers
No horse following Lupa’s jockey as it was clearly upset and so they led it out.
This horse played up and could not walk around the track so it had to go back inside. You can see it going back and not going around like the other horses did.
Leocorno/unicorn
Coat of arms
Silver badge with a rampant Unicorn on green grass. It is bordered with a light blue band with "HUMBERTI REGIS GRATIA" written in gold.
Colours
White and orange flag bordered in light blue.
Watchword
The weapon I have in my forehead wounds and heals at the same time.
Symbolizes
Science.
Guild
Goldsmiths
Valdimontone/Ram
Coat of arms
A rampant ram surmounted by an imperial crown on yellow background. In the top left-hand corner is a gold Roman letter U on a blue background with a crown above it.
Colours
Red and yellow flag bordered in white.
Watchword
Under my blow the wall falls.
Symbolizes
The perseverance.
Guild
Silk merchant (Sericae Artis)
Wave/dolphin Onda
Coat of arms
Silver badge with a dolphin surmounted by a royal crown, starting from 1889 as per
concession of Umbert I, swimming in a blue sea.
Colours
Light-blue and white flag in equal parts.
Watchword
The color of the sky, the strength of the sea.
Symbolizes
Joy.
Guild
Carpenters
The jockey won this race last year.
Giraffe (Giraffa)
Coat of arms
Silver badge with a Giraffe tied with a rope held by a Moor, surmounted by a light blue ribbon with "Umbertus I dedit" written on it.
Colours
Red and white flag.
Watchword
Altius caput maior gloria (the higher is the head, the bigger is the glory)
Symbolizes
Elegance.
Guild
Painters
