I also visited Pisa with my Mom…way back in the day.

Joe had never been, so we decided to make a quick trip, since it was so close to Siena.

News report from Pisa: the tower is still a lil’ bit crooked. No change there.

Another Warning: This post is also long and has a lot of pics….but it’s even better than the last!

It was a beautiful day in Tuscany for a horse race!

Every corner in Siena had something different going on today, and everyone was so charged up for the Palio! Prior to the race, each horse and jockey goes to the church of their contrada and receives a blessing. I was able to see the blessing in the Torre (tower) contrada.

The horse is on the left and the Father is holding the cross on the right.

Horse of the Torre. There is something about a chestnut in the summer that gets me every time.

Outside the church of the Selva (Forest contrada, represented by the Rhino), this guy was getting ready for the big parade.

The Palio that takes place in August is the older of the two races, dating back to 1310. Everything about the race and the events leading up to it has a very medieval feel. During the pre-Palio parade, each contrada is celebrated, including the ancient contrade that no longer exist. There is drumming and flag-throwing, and each jockey and horse come by, decked out in their finest garb!

Here is the Chiocciola (snail) horse. We’ll see if he can outrun the tortoise!

The lady sitting next to me had all the stats on the contrade, the horses, and the jockeys. She was reading them off to her husband as each horse passed by. She was wearing a Selva (forest) scarf, but she wouldn’t say who she put her money on!

It is free to stand in the in-field of the Campo…first-come, first-served, of course. People will camp out there overnight to get a place along the railing near the start/finish line. Occasionally, this was seen right in the middle of the action:

We actually saw a total of four people taken out on stretchers. With the ridiculous August Italian sun and 50,000 people elbowing for space, I think they just passed out.

Finally, the last to parade around the Campo was the Palio itself. Pulled by four HUGE oxen sporting the colors of Siena (black and white) and celebrated with trumpets…this is what the winning contrada gets to take home and hang in their museum.

There she is.

Alright, people! With every inch of the Campo filled to the brim, it’s time to race!!

Il Campo

During the Palio, the horses must run three laps around the Campo, and remember, whichever HORSE passes the finish line first will be named the winner! We had great seats really close to the track, with an awesome view of the start/finish line. I will do my best to re-count the fastest 1.5 minutes ever, whilst simultaneously explaining all the intricacies that make this event so fantastic!

So, the Officiant called out the order of the contrade and each horse & jockey lined up between two sets of ropes. The thing is, he does not actually start the race! A jockey decides when the Palio is going to start by running past the rope placed behind the other horses. No one knows which contrada will be the “starter” until it is announced.

Selva (Forest contrada, orange and green) ended up being the one in charge of starting the Palio.

Selva (orange and green) is behind all the others, outside the ropes.

Of course, there was a “false start”. Now, who knows if there really was a false start, because what is important is that all of the horses were sent out of the starting area.

This is when it started to get good! Now that everyone knew which contrada was the starter, the ‘dealings’ began. Being the starter is a critical role, because you can start the race when your enemy contrada is poorly positioned, or when your comrades are in a good position. Jockeys will offer the starter money to help out their own cause, or hinder the success of their foes. The likelihood of the starter actually winning the race is low, so why not make an extra buck?!

Here, you can see Onda (the Wave contrada, blue and white) talking up the starter (Selva, orange and green).

Tartuca (the Tortoise, blue and yellow) got a chance to butter up the starter as well!

Finally, they lined up again and everyone sat and waited for the starter (Selva, orange and green) to kick it off! Everyone except Joe’s snail (red and yellow, far right)…he was actually kicking.

And they’re off!

Left to right: Forest, Eagle, Shell, Tortoise, She-Wolf, Wave, Caterpillar, Goose

As the horses came around to start lap two, you can see the Oca jockey (Goose, green and white) actually slowing his horse down. Onda (Wave, blue and white) is the third horse in the picture.

Halfway around lap two things got crazy! It may be hard to tell in this picture, but hopefully the labels will help. The Nicchio jockey (Shell) hit the barrier on the far turn and fell off. You can see him on the ground on the far left. His horse (dapple gray) is in the middle of the shot. Ironically, this jockey has raced in over 40 Palios, was paid six-digits to ride for the Shell contrada, and was expected to win. Whoops! Another jockey fell off as well, and his horse is on the very far left, almost out of the picture.

As the horses (and some jockeys) started lap three, Onda (Wave, blue and white) was in the lead, Nicchio (Shell, just the horse) was right behind him. Oca (Goose, green and white) and Lupa (She-wolf, black and white) were next. You could definitely tell that the Wave, Goose, and She-wolf were all in Cahoots!

This picture is from the end of lap 3, almost the end of the race. Joe’s Chiocciola (Snail, red and yellow) is actually lame and won’t end up finishing the race. A crazy spectator has jumped the wall and is going to run his Onda (Wave, blue and white) to the finish!

And here it is! WIN: Onda (Wave, blue and white). PLACE: Nicchio (Shell, riderless horse). SHOW: Torre (Tower, maroon). The jockey of the winning horse is actually German. He was the only non-Italian jockey.

Then, it was like we were at the Rose Bowl in 2002 again, or even amidst the debacle of the Fiesta Bowl in 2003…pure craziness! I have a feeling some of these people learned what it feels like to be body-slammed by a galloping horse. (Not good, BTW).

All the people really wanted though…was their Palio.

The Onda (Wave) contrada is actually located right off the Campo, so Joe and I decided to take a walk through the streets and see how the locals were celebrating their big win! The bell of the contrada church was ringing without end. There were two young guys alternating pulling the rope and drinking wine. Speaking of wine…there were these jugs just sitting in the middle of the street. The looks on our faces must have said it all because some little, old Italian lady walked by and said, “Vino gratis!” Another little lady right behind her (they were probably best friends) yelled (in English), “We win!”

I love this man. He checked out the jugs, found a tube and started siphoning, and then shared with anyone with a cup!

It was another huge block party. Except this time everyone was drunk and crying and pulling the tassels off the Palio as it paraded past.

Oh man…what a weekend! What an experience! The eight years of waiting was well worth it. Twenty years would have been worth it! Even though the Tartuca (Tortoise) didn’t win, I can’t wait to give my mom her scarf back. Who knows, maybe it will make a third appearance in Siena!

Warning: This post is long and has a lot of pics….but it’s AWESOME!!

Eight years ago, almost to the exact date, I visited Siena with my mom on a two week trip to Italy. This is when I learned about Siena’s famed Palio and made a goal to see it for myself someday.

Siena is divided into 17 neighborhoods, or contrade, and each contrada is represented by colors and symbols. Some contrade are allies, while others are fierce enemies! Il Palio is a horse race that occurs bi-annually (July 2 and August 16) in Siena. Ten contrade are chosen at random to compete in each Palio, with the remaining seven being guaranteed a spot in the following years’ race. The Palio is like no other horse race! The jockeys ride bareback and actually, the jockeys don’t really matter at all. It is the horse that wins the race, with…or without…its rider! There is only one rule during the Palio: no sabotaging a horse’s reins. The rest is fair game: bribery, cajoling, pushing, hitting, you name it. But I will get to all of that later!

When my mom and I visited, she bought a scarf from the Tartuca (tortoise) contrada. I was so excited to take this same scarf back to Siena with me, eight years later, and cheer for the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race, right?!

Today, the day before the race, Siena was filled with elation and anticipation. The talk on everyone’s lips was who would win, who paid how much for each jockey, and how the horses would perform! Every street was proudly displaying the colors, flags, and symbols of its contrada.

Torre (Tower, represented by an elephant) – Onda (Wave, represented by a dolphin) – Oca (Goose, represented by a goose)

Each contrada also has its own church, museum, and fountain.

Fountain of the Selva (Forest, represented by a rhino)

Everyone gets in the spirit…everyone!

She is rooting for Oca, the goose!

And you know what else is great?! Each contrada proudly walks its horse around Siena the day before the race. The members of the contrada follow the horse around, singing, playing drums, and just celebrating! We just happened to “run into” the Tartuca (tortoise) crowd!

The horse of the Tartuca.

About a week before the Palio, a veterinarian checks all the equine contenders and the ten best prospects are determined. Four days prior to the race, the horses and jockeys are randomly paired. The jockeys have already been selected (and paid heftily) by each contrada. Each horse then moves to the “barn” of his/her assigned contrada and is attended to 24 hours/day…until the Palio. In order for the horse and jockey to get to know one another and prepare for the big day, there are trial races held each day leading up to the Palio.

Joe and I were lucky enough to have a bird’s eye view of the last (and most important) trail race prior to the Palio. It was basically a dress rehearsal.

The Palio takes place on Siena’s main square, Il Campo. The thing is…the Campo isn’t a circle…or even an oval. It is fan shaped…making for an even more interesting race!

Every inch…and window…and balcony was full!

The horses walked out from the town hall and prepared to line up between the start ropes.

Umm….someone please tell my tortoise (blue and yellow) that everyone runs the other direction. Good thing this was just a practice race!

And they’re off!! My tortoise (blue and yellow) was in the lead!

For reasons which I will explain in a minute, Joe was cheering for the Chiocciola (snail), who came in for the win.

Winning the practice race is never a good sign, if you ask me. Regardless, it was really exciting watching all of the pomp and circumstance!

After the trial race, the night before the Palio, each contrada hosts a dinner. Basically…the biggest block party you have ever seen! Joe was rooting for the Chiocciola (snail) contrada because that is where we spent the rest of the evening. We came to find out that the Chiocciola (snail) and the Tartuca (tortoise) contrade are actually enemies. Needless to say, I tucked away my tortoise scarf before heading to dinner.

Via Roma, Contrada of the Chiocciola (snail).

Supposedly, there were 1,300 people dining in the Chiocciola contrada tonight. A different time I heard 1,700. A third time it was 2,000. So, somewhere between 1,300 and 2,000 people were eating dinner together in the streets of this tiny neighborhood! I guess wine consumption and the accuracy of estimations have an inverse relationship!

So many plates!

You would think that feeding that many people out of one kitchen would turn into a never-ending task. I must say, though, that it was quite efficient. Just over 3.5 hours to serve 4 courses to over one thousand people! While we were eating there were speeches from the jockey, the Chiocciola Captian and the Chiocciola President. The jockey also made a lap around the numerous city blocks that the tables filled, escorted by drummers and flags.

Unfortunately, the jockey is blurry, but check out the servant man who has to follow him and carry the helmet!

Everything was decked out in snails…even the chairs!

It was a great meal, with lots of wine and even a personal meet n’ greet with the jockey! How we ended up in the “Society of the Snail” (contrada club house) with our new Sienese friends, drinking grappa and singing “Brindisino la la la la la” (Italian drinking song) at 1am is still a little hazy…

I can’t wait for tomorrow!