In Siena, 16 August means Palio horse race

This peculiar, and very locally flavoured event, also takes place on 2 July

If you happen to be in Siena either on 2 July or 16 August, you will stumble upon one of the most exhilarating sports events in the world probably – the Palio di Siena horse race. It pits colourfully dressed jockeys each representing a different neighbourhood of the city. The two-day event has been taking place at the Piazza del Campo since 1633 and is not to be missed.

If you’ve ever been to this wonderful Tuscan city, you might have wondered about the quirky shape of its central square, which represents a type of a leaning irregular plate, or an amphitheatre if you wish. The edges of the square form the track of the horse race completing a loop that has to be run in three laps before the winner is determined.

The entire thing lasts no more than a minute and a half, yet it is surrounded by so much excitement and customs that have defined the meaning of hyper-local pride like in no other place on Earth.

Pageantry of traditions

The roots of the Siena race go back even before 1633 and point to an ingrained custom of the town residents to entertain themselves with games and keep up a competitive spirit between the contrade, as the traditional 17 districts are known. The Piazza del Campo has hosted jousting, bullfighting and even buffalo riding throughout the preceding centuries.

Initially, the Palio only took place on 2 July but then, since 1701, a second date (16 August) was added to the calendar. No one is exactly sure why this happened, but it did give rise to a new custom where the winning contrada would organize the August event. The latter duty has been taken over by the city council to ensure that the race wouldn’t fail to happen due to financial difficulties on the part of the contrada.

Initially, the race was a messy affair that involved a lot of falls and injuries. Since the end of the 18^th century only 10 contrade have been allowed to compete at the same time - the seven which did not participate in the previous year's Palio and three others chosen by drawing lots.

Each of the two races is preceded by Corteo Storico, a parade of the residents dressed in medieval costumes waving flags of the contrade. The winning contrada gets awarded the drappellone, a silk banner trophy and it can keep it until the following year.