Page 4 - Italian-American Herald - August 2024

4 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | AUGUST2024 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD TRADITIONS
Palio di Siena: Even if the rider falls off, a horse can still win the race
Continued from front page
Palio di Siena. The word “Palio” comes from the Latin pallium, a piece of precious fabric given as the usual prize to winners of the horse races in ancient Rome.
Siena, located in Tuscany, is one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations. The medieval city has always attracted visitors with its museums, cuisine, and unique cultural traditions and the historic center has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
Both races take place in Siena’s Piazza
del Campo, the main medieval square. The events are a competition among the city’s districts, called contrade. This tradition
dates to 1633. Considered the world’s oldest continually held sporting event, it draws over 40,000 people and is celebrated with great passion by the participants.
Siena has 17 contrade, each of which
has a unique name. These are Caterpillar, Dragon, Eagle, Forest, Giraffe, Goose, Owl, Panther, Porcupine, Ram, She-Wolf, Seashell, Snail, Tortoise, Tower, Unicorn and Wave. Each contrada features its own emblem and colors which are displayed throughout the winding streets of the city to identify each district.
Citizens in each of these districts work year-round for the activities taking place in their “neighborhoods” Each contrada has its own museum of memorabilia and many churches. Pride in one’s contrada is so deep youcanonlybeapartofitifyouareborn there.
Both races take place over a four-day period from warmups on the first day until the actual race. The first day is for the tratta, which is when horses are assigned to each contrada and based on a lottery. Private owners, including some jockeys, offer the pick of their stables. Capitani, officials from
the participating contrade, then choose 10 horses three days before the race. Since bribery is commonplace the residents of each contrada, known as contradaioli, guards their stable and rider carefully.
The horses are of mixed breed; with no purebred horses allowed. The field consists of 10 horses, so not all 17 contrade can take part each year. The seven contrade that did not participate in that month of the previous year are automatically included; three more are chosen by draw. This takes place in the last days of May and at the beginning of July.
Each contrada has their own fantina (jockey) but not their own horse. There are six trial runs before the official race, one
in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both races take place in the evening and are preceded by a historic procession followed by dinner outside hosted by each district. On the day of the palio the city holds a Messa
del Fantino (Mass of the Jockeys) in a chapel next to Palazzo Comunale. The identity of the jockeys is announced at 10:30 a.m. during the segnatura dei fantini and then around 3 p.m. the horses are blessed in churches of the contrade which they will represent.
The race only lasts a little over a minute, as the horses must complete three full laps around piazza del Campo. The jockeys
ride bareback from the starting line, an area delineated by two ropes. Nine horses, in an order decided immediately before the race starts, enter the space. The 10th horse, the rincorsa, is held outside the starting area. When brought inside the mossiere (starter) activates a device that instantly drops the canapo (the front rope). This process, known as the mossa, can take a while, as deals are made between various contrade and jockeys which determine when the rincorsa is brought in.
Of course, the winner is the horse that
Banners of various contrade are proudly displayed. | ADOBE STOCK
Considered the world’s oldest continually held sporting event, it draws more than 40,000 people each year.
A historical procession takes place before the big event. | WIKIMEDIA