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Palio di Siena

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: European Geography

   Thousands of spectators, coming from all the world, fill the Piazza del
   Campo to capacity on the day of the Palio di Siena.
   Enlarge
   Thousands of spectators, coming from all the world, fill the Piazza del
   Campo to capacity on the day of the Palio di Siena.
   Banners of the Contrade sold before the beginning of the race.
   Enlarge
   Banners of the Contrade sold before the beginning of the race.

   The Palio di Siena (known locally as the Palio delle Contrade), the
   most famous palio in Italy, is a horse race held twice each year on
   July 2 and August 16 in Siena, in which the horse and rider represent
   one of the seventeen Contrade, or city wards. A magnificent pageant
   precedes the race, which attracts visitors and spectators from around
   the world.

   Both horse and rider are dressed in the colours and arms of the
   Contrade: Aquila (Eagle), Bruco (Caterpillar), Chiocciola (Snail),
   Civetta (Owl), Drago (Dragon), Giraffa (Giraffe), Istrice (Porcupine),
   Leocorno (Unicorn), Lupa (She-Wolf), Nicchio (Shell), Oca (Goose), Onda
   (Wave), Pantera (Panther), Selva (Forest), Tartuca (Tortoise), Torre
   (Tower) and Valdimontone (Ram).

History

   Any connection with the sacred games of the ancient Romans being
   obscured by time, the earliest known antecedents of the race are
   medieval. The town's central piazza was the site of public games,
   largely combative: pugna, a sort of many-sided boxing match or brawl;
   jousting; and in the 16th century, bullfights. Public races organized
   by the Contrade were popular from the 14th century on; called palii
   alla lunga, they were run across the whole city.

   When the Grand Duke of Tuscany outlawed bullfighting in 1590, the
   Contrade took to organising races in the Piazza del Campo. The first
   such races were on buffalo-back and called bufalate; asinate, races on
   donkey-back, later took their place, while horse-racing continued
   elsewhere. The first modern Palio (called palio alla tonda to
   distinguish it from the earlier palii alla lunga) took place around
   1650. At first, one race was held each year, on July 2; a second, on
   August 16, was added later.

The race today

   The first race (Palio di Provenzano) is held on July 2, which is both
   the Feast of the Visitation and the date of a local festival in honour
   of the Madonna of Provenzano (a painting once owned by the Sienese
   leader Provenzano Salvani, which was supposed to have miraculous
   curative power). The second race is held on August 16 (Palio
   dell'Assunta), the day after the Feast of the Assumption, and is
   likewise dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After exceptional events (e.g.
   the Apollo 11 moon landing) and on important anniversaries (e.g. the
   centennial of the Unification of Italy), the Sienese community may
   decide to hold a third Palio between May and September.

   The field consists of ten horses, which means that only ten of the city
   wards can take part in the Palio on any occasion. The seven wards which
   did not take part in the previous place are automatically included;
   three more are chosen randomly. Three days before the race, private
   owners offer the pick of their stables, from which representatives of
   the participating Contrade choose ten of approximately equal quality. A
   lottery then determines which horse will run for each Contrada. Six
   trial races are run, the first on the evening of the horse selection
   and the last on the morning before the Palio. The devout residents of
   each Contrada invoke the sacred aid of their patron saint on their
   horse and jockey. The worldly improve their odds with more profane
   methods, chiefly bribery and doping. The sensible simply keep a close
   watch on their stable and their rider.

   The race is preceded by a spectacular pageant, which includes (among
   many others) Alfieri, flag-wavers, in medieval costumes. Just before
   the pageant, a squad of carabinieri on horseback, wielding swords,
   demonstrate a mounted charge around the track. Spectators arrive early
   in the morning, eventually filling the centre of the town square,
   inside the track, to capacity; the local police seal the entrances once
   the festivities begin in earnest. Seats ranging from simple bleachers
   to elaborate box seats may be had for a price, but sell out long before
   the day of the race. The landlords of buildings overlooking the piazza
   sometimes stipulate that tenants must be absent on the day of the
   Palio, in order to rent the space to spectators.
   View of the Piazza del Campo, where the Palio is run.
   Enlarge
   View of the Piazza del Campo, where the Palio is run.

   At 7.30 p.m. (July) / 7 p.m. (August), the detonation of an explosive
   charge echoes across the piazza, signaling to the thousands of
   onlookers that the race is about to begin. The race itself runs for
   three laps of the Piazza del Campo, the outer course of which is
   covered with several inches of dirt and the corners of which are
   protected with padded crash barriers for the occasion. The jockeys ride
   the horses bareback from the starting line, where there is only room
   for nine horses. The tenth, the rincorsa, stands behind those nine. The
   start is given by a local authority called Mossiere, who has to wait
   for all the horses to be in the correct position. When this moment is
   (with great difficulty) achieved, he activates a mechanism that
   instantly removes the canapo, the starting cord.

   On the dangerous steeply-canted track, the riders are allowed to use
   their whips not only for their own horse, but also for disturbing other
   horses and riders. The winner is the first horse to cross the finish
   line with its head ornaments intact — the rider does not necessarily
   need to finish, and often does not. The loser in the race is considered
   to be the Contrada whose horse came in second, not last.

   The winner is awarded a banner of painted silk, or palio, which is
   newly created for each race. The enthusiasm after the victory, however,
   is so extreme that the ceremony of attribution of the Palio is quite
   instantaneous, being the first moment of a months-long celebration for
   the winning ward. There are occasional outbreaks of violence between
   partisans of the various Contrade.

   After the race, a certain curiosity might traditionally regard the
   result of the bets that the inhabitants of each Contrada (contradaioli)
   made about the Palio; frequently, the losers have to bear being
   ridiculed by their winning opponents.

   There is some danger to spectators from the sheer number of people in
   attendance. There have also been complaints about mistreatment of
   horses, injuries and even deaths, especially from animal rights
   associations and even from some veterinarians. In the Palio held on
   August 16, 2004 the horse for the Contrada of the Bruco (Caterpillar)
   fell and was badly trampled as the race was not stopped, despite
   possible additional safety risks for other horses. The horse died of
   its injuries, raising further complaints from animal rights
   organizations.

   In the race of July 2006 the Palio was won by the Contrada of the
   Pantera after a gap of 12 years since their last victory. In the August
   16 race, the Palio was won by Selva, the forest, who maintained a lead
   throughout most of the race.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palio_di_Siena"
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