Siena - Italy
The Sienese Palio

The Palio is the city's most popular party. It is a fiercly competitive horse race held twice every year. The church bell in the famous Mangio tower sounds at 8am, as jockeys attend mass with the Archbishop of Siena. Later the horses are blessed in their contrade or district . It is considered to be a great honour for the jockey to wear the colours of his contrade but ultimately it is the horse who is the star. There are 17 contradein the city of Siena, but because of space restrictions only ten horses may compete for the prize, a secretly created banner.

Palii were often associated with major festivals of the Roman Catholic Church. The pagentry is deceiving, as behind the colourful facade lies brutality and bloodshed. Injuries to horses and jockeys are frequent, especially round the notorious San Martino corner. Jockeys can whip their rivals and other horses in an attempt to dismount the jockey. However the horse can still win a race without the jockey. There is only one rule, that riders are not to interfere with the reins of other horses.The race is run around the Piazza del Campo and is over in around 75 seconds, although for the loosers the shame lasts a lot longer.