October 2nd, 2002 | The lowdown by Jessica Read

The Palio - Siena's Madness.

If there is one event that is not to missed in Siena, it has to be the Palio (literally, the banner). This medieval horse race is an extremely important tradition for the Sienese, as are the centuries old rivalries between the contrade (neighborhoods). Most foreigners cannot even begin to understand the complexities of what the Palio entails.

The race itself is held twice yearly on July 2nd and August 16th in the Piazza del Campo (the main piazza in the center of Siena), where the perimeter of the piazza is turned into a racetrack. Getting to the piazza early ensures being able to see the pageantry of ten (of the seventeen) contrade and also ensures you get into the Campo as all gates close around 3:00pm. The pageants keep the piazza entertained for nearly two and a half hours as the horses are prepared for the race. Though the race is suppossed to commence at 7:30pm, it does not usually get udnerway until nearly 8:30pm -- it takes awhile to get ten horses to stand still at the start line.

Lasting only 1.5 minutes, the Palio is the shortest horse race in the world. Don't blink; you could miss it! As with every sport, rules make the Palio even more interesting, because there is only one rule: jockeys cannot interefere with any other riders' reins. They are, however, allowed to use their whip to hit anything and everything else, and they do.

Only the best jockeys are chosen to ride, and they are from all over Italy. However, even if a rider falls, his horse is still eligible to win as long as the contrada's color remain on the horse's head. The winning horse and jockey are immediately surrounded by their contrada's supporters. Being a jockey, though, is a dangerous occupation, as in past years jockeys have come up missing. Jockeys are also supposed to pledge allegiance to one contrada, but sometimes the lure of money is too much for the rider to bear. This past Palio, the winning jockey from the first race, decided to ride for that contrada's rival because of money offered to him. Too bad the rider didn't place anywhere near first. he was mobbed and probably still remains in the hospital.

Beyond the horse race, the Palio consists of many other festivities. Each contrada hosts a series of parties and dinners leading up to the race. After the races, the festivities do not cease. Impromptu parades around the Campo and within the neighborhood are what the winning contrada expects and the parties last until early morning.