Horse race that is held twice each year in Siena, Italy
Palio di Siena
Horse and jockey (fantino) turning a bend of the race course at Piazza del Campo
Status
active
Genre
historical horse race
Date(s)
2 July and 16 August
Frequency
annual
Location(s)
Piazza del Campo, Siena
Country
Italy
Inaugurated
17th century Palio "alla tonda" 1633; 391 years ago (1633)
Most recent
16 August 2023
Next event
2 July 2024
Participants
Contrade of Siena
Organised by
Comune di Siena
Website
Palio di Siena
Palio alla tonda, 1633 by Bernardino Capitelli.Thousands of spectators come to Piazza del Campo during the Palio di Siena.Banners of the city's contrade sold before the race. (A contrada is a district, or a ward, within an Italian city.)
The Palio di Siena (Italian pronunciation:[ˈpaːljodiˈsjɛːna]; known locally simply as Il Palio; from Latin pallium) is a horse race held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colours, represent ten of the seventeen contrade, or city wards, in a tradition dating back to the 17th-century. The Palio held on 2 July is named Palio di Provenzano, in honour of the Madonna of Provenzano, a Marian devotion particular to Siena which developed around an icon from the Terzo Camollia [it] area of the city. The Palio held on 16 August is named Palio dell'Assunta, in honour of the Assumption of Mary.
Sometimes, in case of exceptional events or local or national anniversaries deemed relevant and pertinent ones, the city community may decide for an extraordinary Palio, run between May and September, such as on 9 September 2000, to celebrate the city entering the new millennium and on 20 October 2018, in commemoration of the centenary of the end of the Great War.
The Corteo Storico, a pageant to the sound of the March of the Palio, precedes the race, which attracts visitors and spectators from around the world.
The race itself, in which the jockeys ride bareback, circles the Piazza del Campo, on which a thick layer of earth has been laid. The race is run for three laps of the piazza and usually lasts no more than 90 seconds. It is common for a few of the jockeys to be thrown off their horses while making the treacherous turns in the piazza, and indeed, it is not unusual to see riderless horses finishing the race. A horse is not required to have a rider to win the race.
The PaliodiSiena (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːljo di ˈsjɛːna]; known locally simply as Il Palio; from Latin pallium) is a horse race held twice each...
events that are staged with an eye to visitors and foreign tourists. The PaliodiSiena is the only one that has been run without interruption since it started...
countryside. In the city of Siena, the term indicates the 17 urban wards, whose representatives race on horseback in the PaliodiSiena, run twice every year...
art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year in Piazza del Campo. Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled...
seventeen historic subdivisions of the Tuscan city of Siena. It takes part in the PaliodiSiena. The Notice of Violante of Bavaria (1730) determines the...
a historical costume parade in Siena, Tuscany, Italy. It takes place before the famous horse race known as the Palio on the 2nd of July and on August...
the historical costume parade called Corteo Storico that precedes the Palio of Siena. Between one stop and another, in fact, while the representatives of...
Banca Monte dei Paschi diSiena S.p.A. (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbaŋka ˈmonte dei ˈpaski di ˈsjɛːna]), known as BMPS or just MPS, is an Italian bank. Tracing...
the northwest edge is the Fonte Gaia. The twice-a-year horse-race, PaliodiSiena, is held around the edges of the piazza. The piazza is also the finish...
Fiat Siena is a subcompact car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1996 to 2022. It is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini...
Italy), is a retired Italian Palio jockey, and the modern-day record holder for greatest number of wins in the PaliodiSiena with 14 victories between 1965...
Pienza, Sinalunga, Trequanda. The most important event in Torrita diSiena is the "Palio dei Somari", a race among donkeys, which is run on Saint Joseph's...
also used in the Siena sedan, the Palio Weekend station wagon, the Palio Adventure crossover and the Strada light pick-up truck. The Palio badge originated...
December 1968, Siena, Italy; known as "Trecciolino" or "Gigi") is an Italian jockey, and is the most successful active jockey in the PaliodiSiena with 13 wins...
and are still used in processions such as the corteo storico of the PaliodiSiena. From 1931 breeders began to favour selection of animals more suited...
2024, l'ordine di uscita di cantanti e ospiti stasera". Sky TG24 (in Italian). Sky Italia. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024. Di Grazia, Ida (7...
hymn to the city of Siena, and is popularly sung at sporting events like those of the PaliodiSiena and of the local Robur Siena football club. On 12–13...
the 2017 PaliodiSiena, a twice-yearly tradition stretching back 600 years, in which representatives of the 17 contradae (districts) of Siena race on...
Retrieved 4 April 2022. "Il PaliodiSiena tra luci e ombre" (in Italian). June 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2022. "Siena: Palio e non solo" (in Italian). Retrieved...
known as Bastiano) is a retired Italian Palio jockey, and one of the most notorious competitors in Il PalioDiSiena in the 20th century with a strong rivalry...
screen; there’s also a climax where she gets to win a horse race, the PaliodiSiena – more of a triumphant finale than British cinema ever gave her. However...
famous horse race in Siena. Tacci rode on 15 August 1581 in the challenging race that was the predecessor of today's PaliodiSiena. As a 15-year-old girl...
October 2022. "Siena: Palio e non solo" (in Italian). Retrieved 4 April 2022. "The Palio Horse Race - All the victories at the PaliodiSiena from 1633 to...
Festival (Italian: Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale")...
marble quarry in Carrara, and a recreation of the PaliodiSiena at the Piazza del Campo in Siena. 1,000 extras were hired for a scene where Bond emerges...
Associazione Calcio Robur Siena 1904, commonly referred to as Siena, is an Italian football club based in Siena, Tuscany. The club was re-incorporated...
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