I’ve never felt such a sense of community than among the Sienese during Il Palio.

A week before the race, one by one, the streets began to show the colors of their contrada. I live in la contrada dell’istrice, sporting the colors red, white, blue, & black, with the the figure of a hedgehog (istrice) in the center of the common flag. It’s kinda funny, living in Siena I knew what contrada I lived in, however I never knew where my neighborhood ended and the next one began until the week of Il Palio. Anyways, I made sure to buy a scarf supporting my colors.

The day before the race, I met up with a few people I befriended in Riomaggiore, as well as some new faces, and we attended a few of the trial races. The trail races lasted about 30 seconds to a minute, as the jockeys only wanted to familiarize their horses with the situation and practice their starts. But thrilling nonetheless! After the race we found a parade and decided to follow it. Little did we know, we were marching right behind Il Palio itself, the banner that the winning contrada receives upon winning the race (unseen in photo). We followed the parade until it reached il Duomo di Siena, convening with the banners of each contrada participating in the race.

That night each contrada hosted a banquet for the leaders, the jockey, and contrada memebers. I was set on going! I talked to my airbnb host about getting tickets, but she said unfortunately they have been sold out for weeks. I asked locals around the area and they said the same… But long story short, we got in! One of my friends told a man blocking the street that we just wanted to get gelato at the gelateria directly past him. I likely story… but hey it worked, we’re in! I’m wearing my contrada’s scarf and everyone is having a good time anyways, so no one’s really asking any questions. That night at the banquet was when I realized, I’ve never felt such a sense of community among people living in the same city. I mean, many of the Sienese are born, live, and die here, so Il Palio runs in their blood. It’s a way of life. I tried my best to show respect for it. There were many songs, toasts, speeches, and lots of drinking that night. Truly an incredible sight.

The next day, the official day of Il Palio, I met up with the Riomaggiore crew around 1PM for a nice little lunch before the race. It didn’t start until 7PM, but we needed to be there early. The sun was very hot that day, so my original plan of taking loads of wine into Piazza del Campo, turned into taking loads of water instead. Although I did manage to find room for a bottle of prosecco… There’s always room for a little prosecco!

We arrived at Il Campo around 4PM, with three hours to spare.. Luckily, the prosecco was doing a great job of making the time pass! In my experience, a bottle of prosecco (or wine, of course) and a little time to kill can encourage some really great conversation. I thrive for moments like that! It’s the reason I love having a drinking buddy during a long-haul flight, as I mentioned in an earlier post. Before we knew it, the parades of contrada banners were making their rounds, followed by the winning Palio banner.

Following the parade, the horses and jockeys arrived from Palazzo Pubblico (the city hall). It’s very difficult for the horses to get acclimated to such a close-quarters race track like this one, so they take a little time trotting around to do so. I’m surprised and confused by the sudden moment of silence right as the clock strikes 7 o’clock; so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I look around me, everyone with an anxious expression on their faces. They surely know something I don’t. All of a sudden, the silence is broken by the sound of a judge announcing the name of a contrada. The crowd explodes in excitement, relief, disappointment, and anger from all sides. Oh of course! Their announcing the line-up! I waited patiently to hear for Istrice, but alas we were towards the end… BAM! With an unexpected sound of a canon, they were off! The crowd went wild; a sudden wave of goosebumps all over my body (as I write this now I feel the goosebumps again, reliving the brief moment of exhilaration)! It all happened so quickly! The horses and jockey’s sped past us! Istrice hits the corner and falls off his horse on the final turn of the first lap (Goddamnit…)! The horses zoom past again! Three other jockeys fall off their horses, this time at the corner closest to us (the sharpest of the turns)! Finally the horses zoom past one last time with Onda in the lead! After passing the final turn, people wearing Onda colors of sky blue & white jumped off the stands onto the track and followed their horse to the finish line! The crowd still going wild and crazier than ever! And just like that it’s over… Three hours of waiting in the smoldering heat for 90 seconds of pure adrenaline; most definitely worth it. I can see why this sort of thing runs so deep for the Sienese. It’s a feeling of exhilaration I’ve never experienced before in my life!

Members of La Contrada Dell’Onda climbed the building bearing the winning banner of Il Palio and began parading around Il Campo. They spent the next several hours doing so through every contrada until the early hours of the morning. Funny enough, I passed the banner and drum line while they were in Istrice on my way back home around 2AM.

I compare the rest of the night to the excitement of New Orleans on Mardi Gras. Although Contrada dell’Istrice had my loyalty, I wasn’t going to miss a good party! I picked up a bottle of wine and we followed the victory parade back to contrada dell’onda. People hugging, kissing, smiling, crying. Everyone in a state of ecstasy. I made friends with an old man by offering him a cup of the wine. He happily accepted and we toasted to each other. He pointed in the direction of contrada dell’onda and told me in Italian to go there. There, he said, I will find the party and with it more wine, FREE WINE (perks of speaking Italian, am I right??)! I ran into the man countless times that night. One of the irishmen that I met along the way joked comparing him to an angel, coming and going as he pleases, bringing with him a smile of joy where he follows. The energy of the city was incredible. Happily handed one too many cups of wine, the constant sound of church bells & drums, and hugging, kissing, & smiles of overjoyed contrada members.

Again, nothing I’ve ever experience before. Il Palio was truly an unforgettable experience.

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