The Palio in Siena is much more than just a horse race, and surely isn’t a mere tourist attraction. Whoever knows Siena knows that “the Palio is being run all year round” which doesn’t only mean “preparing the race” itself. It means keeping the Contrada spirit alive, the spirit of one of those 17 republics and/or big families that together comprise Siena and that run the Palio. Each Contrada has a different character from the other, some are friends with another Contrada, some hate each other, and this has been happening for centuries. This is what is being felt and lived all year round, reaching its peak in the horse race on the Piazza del Campo.

The Palio is an institution which started in 1310, and from the second half of the 17th century onwards it took place according to the rules and traditions followed today. Ten Contrade out of seventeen run the Palio: the seven which did not race the previous year and a further three are drawn. Everything around the Palio is like that, a mix of rules and random decisions: the jockey can be determined, but the horse can’t be chosen; Contrade can try to strike deals with the allied ones, but until the very last moment nobody knows the order they are going to be standing between the starting ropes, and this can very much influence the end result… But this alternating of intention and uncertainty reminds one a little of real life, doesn’t it? And not only for the Sienese…

Anyway, for those who are not exactly Contrada people (Contradaioli), four days are the “hot” days each Palio: three days before the race the “tratta”, or the assignment by drawing of the horses to the Contrade takes place. Trial races, 6 each Palio, can then start, and so can the glorious propitiatory dinners, being held in at least 10 fabulous spots in the old town, one for each running Contrada. Dinners take place with an average of 2,000 participants, all clad with the colours of their Contrada: they are a mix of exhilarating cuisine, exhilarating hopes and exhilarating emotions.

A historical parade that takes place within the piazza del Campo precedes the Palio race. The race itself lasts some 75 seconds, and it’s sheer action and adrenaline. The preparation for the start can last much longer, and to whoever can “read” the Mossa (the start), that time too causes extreme emotion.