Palio by Mundus
Siena's history is linked to the tradition of the Palio a great deal. Siena is made up of 17 'contrade' which are real independent cities within a city. The Senesi talk of their belonging to a certain 'contrada' first and then to the whole of Siena. A lot of energy, great economic as well as organizational efforts are needed on the part of the Comune di Siena (town hall) and its 'contradaioli'. The Palio used to be originally performed with bulls and buffaloes, but later horse races took over. The final organization of the Palio as it appears today dates back to 1656. This event called Palio has widely been used as a show and it has become a business within which interests and diplomatic intrigues mingle at a latent and at a more overt level. According to tradition, there exist alliances between the poorer 'contrade' and secret agreements are made in order to hinder the opposing 'contrade'.A complicated system of rules and attributions still supports the unfolding of the Palio. On the last Sunday of May flags representing the participating 'contrade' are selected. Four days before the Palio the 'hot' phase starts with the local administration's list of the horses that have been admitted to the race and a group of 10 horses are selected. Each horse (barbero) is assigned to each jokey at random while this latter is chosen by the representative of the 'contrada'. Then the six races follow. They take place in the morning and in the evening.
The Palio takes place twice a year: on 2nd July it is dedicated to the 'Madonna del Provenzano', the city's patron saint, while the one on 16th August bears the name of 'Palio dell'Assunta'. On 2nd July forecasts are made as to the future holders of the 'cencio' (rag), a coloured silk cloth with the emblem of Siena.
