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Palazzo Pubblico & Torre de Mangia
View from Loggia
Bus station is beside Florence's train station
Scenes depicting slaughter of innocentsThe contrade
Siena is steeped in many traditions, many dating back to the medieval times. One of the city's most enduring is the contrade system that divides the town into 17 districts. Each district or contrada has its own church, colors, traditions, and symbols - usually in form of medieval animal mascots.
Loyalty to one's contrada is fierce as is the competition among them - particularly during the Palio. Twice every year, in summer, on 2nd of July and 16th of August, 10 of the 17 contrade compete in this exhilirating 60-second horse race around Il Campo. The Palio is arguably one of Italy's most spectacular festivals and is beamed live over national television.
If it's impossible to be in Siena to witness the Palio live, there's a 20-minute documentary at the city's only cinema, Cinema Moderno on Piazza Tolomei, showing between May and October. Unfortunately, I visited Siena in November, so it was "off-season." If all things fail, get a DVD copy of the Jamed Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. The opening action scenes characteristic of James Bond movies were filmed in Siena during the Palio. The downside is, the cameras were more focused on Daniel Craig rather than the race itself.
