Siena
Siena's famous Piazza del Campo is the venue for the annual Palio horse races. On two evenings In July and August, 10 bare-back riders race clockwise around the square three times. The winner can be a riderless horse and it is as important to win as to prevent your rival from winning! The second horse is considered The Loser. The stones are covered with compacted soil, but even so it is a hairy race. The typical winning time for the 1300m race is 75 sec. The winner gets a banner and huge bragging rights over the defeated districts. Robyn with Carlos and Alex, from Colombia.
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI establis... ... read more 
