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So today was a rest day here in Siena, and our excellent guide Paulo took us to see a special treat - Palio. It's a horse race that dates back 1000 years, but really, it's so much more. First of all, each neighborhood, or "Contralto" enters a horse and rider. Each Contralto has it's own flag, and everyone is incredibly proud of their Contralto.
I should mention that you belong to the Contralto that you were born and baptised in, so families are often split by contralto.
We arrived in the packed city square where they hold the race at around 5pm and stood (or sat) around until the start of the race at around 7:30pm. While we waited, Paulo taught me how to play the Italian version of 21, and I taught him "GHOST" , which we played in both English and Italian. We also noticed that Tom Hanks was there in one of the overlooking windows, so I yelled "WILSON!" to him, but I don't think he heard.
The race started with a huge procession into the square (which actually toured the entire city - I'll have video later) and the ceremonial arranging of the jockeys. But the horses and jockeys didn't behave, so there were several reprimands by the judge (for some reason Drago does not play well with others) and several false starts. You would think that a race with a minute's duration would be an anticlimax, but it wasn't. There was plenty of excitement, especially after some confusion as to who actually won. All in all, a very exciting day.
For a better idea of what the race is like, check out this movie (but turn down off the sound - the techno music is just annoying and completely out of place):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VM0YqFJrypk
Ciao,
Eric
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Luca
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Contrada
Hi Eric, great post. I can't wait to see your video and photos. :) However it's spelled "Contrada" not contralto.