The 4 Days of Palio
What a
tourist must NOT do during the 4 days of Palio?
For the Sienese the days of the
Palio are days of celebration, but full of tension too; therefore it's wise in certain
situations to exercise a bit of caution. In particular:
- Do not try in any way to get close to the horses.
- Do not disturb Contrada members in moments of major tension: while they are taking the
horse to the trial races, in the minutes immediately preceding the race, after the race if
they are disappointed or angry.
- In Piazza, do not pull children up on your shoulders: this blocks people's
views (in general, it is not advisable to bring small children into the Piazza,
on account of the huge crowd).
- Do not sarcasticly make comments on the tenseness of the Contrada members while the race
is imminent and do not complai impatiently if the start of the race drags on for a long
time before getting underway.
- If some Contrada members ask you to move away from an area, follow their advises.
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Why the
4 days, in the plural?
The Palio of Siena is not an
event that is limited to the horse race on the 2nd July and August 16. One could rather
say that for the people of Siena the Palio lasts all year long. With the days of the
Palio one generally means the 4 day period that culminates with the race (June 29
through July 2nd and August 13 through August 16) in which the majority of Palio events
are concentrated.
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What
happens the first day of the Palio (6/29 - 8/13)?
In the moring the so-called Tratta
takes place. It consists of the selection heats and the assignment of the horses.
In the late afternoon the first trial race is run.
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What do
the selection heats consist of?
Each heat is run by 7-8 horses
and the goal is to examine the condition of the horses that are trying out for the Palio
(usually 20-30) and their suitability to the Piazza del Campo course. The heats are not
therefore real races. They are held, generally, between 9 AM and 11 AM and afterwards the
Captains of the Contradas that are participating to the Palio choose the 10 horses that
will run in the race.
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What
does the assignment of the horses consists of?
Once the 10 horses are chosen,
they get assigned to the Contradas that are participating to the Palio by means of a
lottery. The lottery usually takes place between 0:30 PM and 1:30 PM in the jam-packed
Piazza del Campo. It is a moment of prime importance for the Contrada members beacuse only
after they know the horse with which they must run the Palio they can put their strategies
into place. It is therefore a moment of great tension, evidenced by the exhultation of
those whose Contrada drew a good horse, and the disappontment of those who didn't draw
such a good horse.
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What
happens during the trial races?
Each Contrada takes its own
horse into the Piazza, accompanied by a massive group of Contrada members, singing their
songs. Thois takes place around one hour to half an hour before the trial race is
scheduled to begin. The track is then cleared and all the entrances to the Piazza are
closed, and the trial race takes place, simulating the real Palio. It is not a real race
however, asnd the result means nothing: the goal is to allow horses and jockeys to get
better adapted each other and both to the racetrack and to the Palio surroundings.
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What
time the trial races are scheduled for?
The morning trial races (the
second one, the fourth one and the Provaccia - the trial race held the morning of
the Palio) are held at 9 o'clock AM. The afternoon trial races (the first one, third one
and the Prova Generale - the trial race held the evening before the Palio) are
held at 7:45 PM in July and 7:15 PM in august.
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At what
time is it necessary to arrive into the Piazza in order to attend the trial races?
For the morning trial races it
is sufficient to be in the Piazza by 8:30-8:45 AM. For the afternoon trials it is
advisable to be in the Piazza one hour before the trial is scheduled to take place, if one
wants to avoid the throngs accompanying the horses to the Piazza. However, if you'd like
to watch the accompanying of the horses from outside the Piazza, then it's better to wait
to enter until the arrival of the last Contrada, around half an hour before the race,
possibly from Via Rinaldini (one of the last accesses to be closed).
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What
happens the second day of the Palio
(6/30 - 8/14)?
The morning of the second day, the
second trial race is run, and in the late afternoon the third trial race is run. In the
afternoon of August 14, before the trial race, the Procession of the Candles
takes place in which the Palio banner is brought to the Cathedral (in July the Palio
banner is brought instead to the church of Santa Maria in Provenzano).
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What
happens the third day of the Palio (7/1 - 8/15)?
In the morning of the third day the
fourth trial race is run. In the late afternoon the fifth trial race, known as Prova
Generale, usually preceded by a performance of a horseback brigade of Carabinieri, is
run. Afterwards a banquet (la Cena della Prova Generale) is held in each Contrada
participating to the Palio. The banquets are held outdoor in the streets or in the squares
of each neighborhood and for this reason they remain closed, even to pedestrian traffic,
for the whole day.
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What
happens on the fourth day of the Palio (7/2 - 8/16), The actual day of the race?
The sixth trial race, called the Provaccia,
is run in the morning, preceded by the Messa del Fantino (the Mass of the
Jockey), celebrated in the Piazza. In the afternoon, in the church of each Contrada
participating to the Palio, the benediction of the horse is held. Afterwards, costumed
participants from each Contrada gather at the Prefettura (near the Cathedral) from which
the Historic Procession will depart, on its way to the Piazza. Then, in the Piazza, there
is an exhibition of uniformed Carabinieri on horseback, then the Historic Procession
(around 2 hours) and then finally the Palio race.
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Is it
possible to attend the benediction of the horse?
Generally the churches are
rather small and for the benediction of the horse precedence is given to the Contrada
members. You can try to get permission to enter (which may be or may not be given,
depending on the situation). Should you get inside, keep in mind that this is a
particularly delicate and sensitive moment: during the presence of the horse in the church
ABSOLUTE QUIET IS REQUIRED and THE USE OF FLASH CAMERAS IS COMPLETELY FORBIDDEN.
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Is it
possible to attend the Historic Procession along its route from the Prefettura to the
Piazza del Campo?
Yes, but it's necessary to keep
to the sides of the street and not to block or hinder in any way the passage of the
procession. Keep in mind that, in general, there is a huge crowd and the street is not
that wide.
The route of the procession is: courtyard of the Prefettura - Piazza del Duomo - Via del
Capitano - Via San Pietro - Via del Casto di Sopra - Via del Casato di Sotto.
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At what
time does the Historic Procession leave from the Prefettura?
Between 4 and 4:30 PM in July.
Between 3:30 and 4 PM in August.
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How
does one get into the Piazza in order to watch the Palio race?
You can enter the Piazza before
the entrance of the Historic Procession from any access, or after its entrance from Via
Duprč. Remember that this access is very narrow and walking through it can be very
problematic (or even dangerous for cardiopatics, children and in general for phisically
weak persons) because of the big crowd; moreafter, once you manage to get into the Piazza,
it is also problematic to get out before the race, so it's better to decide carefully
before if enter or not and doing it only if you intend to stay and watch the Palio until
the very end.
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At what time is it necessary to be in the
Piazza if one wishes to enter before the beginning of the Historic Procession?
The Historic Procession is
scheduled to begin shortly after 5 PM (or shortly after 4:30 PM in August). Since however
all accesses to the Piazza get closed half an hour before, it's good to be in the Piazza
within 4:30 PM in July and 4 PM in August. This entails a wait of at least 3 hours; it is
Summer and it is very hot, so it is wise to be prepared to deal with it.
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What is
the Historic Procession?
The Historic Procession (also
said Passeggiata Storica - Historic Walk) is a costumed parade of symbolic
representatives of the ancient Republic of Siena and of the Contradas (the 17 current
Contradas plus 6 past Contradas), as well as the Carroccio, the ox-driven
carriage upon which the much sought after Palio banner is carried.
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How are
the parade participants from each Contrada chosen?
Generally the participants are
chosen by merit, within their own Contrada. By merit, it is meant constant attendance, a
demonstrated commitment to the Contrada through involvement in various activities or,
rather, through actively participating to the life of the Contrada. This group of
participants is called the Comparsa. Belonging to the Comparsa is considered to
be a great honor.
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At what time is the Palio
race scheduled to begin?
At 7:30 PM in July and 7 PM in August.
But the actual start can even occur much later, in case of prolonged operations for the Mossa
(the starting ropes).
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Until
what time is it possible to enter the Piazza from Via Duprč and what does it entail?
In theory it is possible to
enter from Via Duprč up until a few minutes prior to the scheduled beginning of the race.
You must remember, however, that this will be the only entry point to the Piazza to remain
open, and thousands of people will be entering from there. You should therefore arrive
early and be prepared for half an hour or so of pushing your way through a sizable crowd
before reaching the Piazza.
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What
happens immediately after the Palio race?
The people of the winning
Contrada take the Drappellone (the Palio banner) to the church of S. Maria in
Provenzano (in July) or to the cathedral (in August) in order to give thanks to the
Madonna; afterwards they take it into their own Contrada and then all around the town,
accompanied by songs, drums and flags.