Siena, Italy

Italy 2024 Chapter 9 - Siena. We spent a few hours in Siena back in 2017, and since then, it’s been high on my list of places to return to. This time, I planned for two nights so that I could spend a whole day in the city. Siena is another ancient city dating back to the Etruscans, but it rose to prominence in the Middle Ages and is home to the world's oldest bank. Today, it’s best known for hosting the twice-annual Palio.

The Palio di Siena is a traditional medieval horse race run around the Piazza del Campo twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August. The city’s 17 contrade, or neighbourhoods, compete for the trophy, or Palio. The race is over quickly, as it has three quick laps of the piazza surrounded by crowds of fans.

The winner is awarded a banner of painted silk, or palio, which is hand-painted by a different artist for each race. The enthusiasm after the victory, however, is so extreme that the ceremony of attribution of the palio is quite instantaneous, being the first moment of a months-long celebration for the winning ward. There are occasional outbreaks of violence between partisans of rival contrade.

The Palio differs from normal horse races in that part of the game is for the wards to prevent rival contrade from winning. When a contrada fails to win, its historical enemy will celebrate that fact nearly as merrily as a victory of its own, regardless of whether adversarial interference was a deciding factor. Few things are forbidden to the jockeys during the race; for instance, they can pull or shove their fellows, hit the horses and each other, or try to hamper other horses at the start.

Of all the sporting events around the world, this might be the one I’d most like to see live.

I had walked past the duomo of Siena in 2017 but didn’t go inside. This time I was able to see inside this masterpiece. Built in the 1200s, the cathedral is built with black and white stripes and the inlaid marble mosaic floor is one of the most ornate of its kind in Italy, covering the whole floor of the cathedral.

After Siena it was almost time to return to Canada. We had a day left to explore the best city in Tuscana, Lucca. We spent the evening with everyone at Casa Cesaretti. Grazie, è stato bello vedere tutti. Alla prossima.