Palio di Siena

Month : July & August
Place : Siena, Italy
Famous For : Horce Race
Attractions : Bareback Jockeys, Colorful Dresses, Unmounted horses finishing the race.

The Palio di Siena is a much awaited horse race festival held in Italy. The main highlight of this race event is that it"s held twice in the year, each on July 2 and August 16 in Siena town of Italy. The Palio held on July 2 is named Palio di Provenzano, in honour of the Madonna of Provenzano, who has a church in Siena. The Palio held on August 16 is named Palio dell'Assunta, in honour of the Assumption of Mary.

Major Attractions

Also popluar by the name of Il Palio, the race involves ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colours to represent ten of the seventeen Contrade, or city wards. The race is preceeded by a magnificent pageant - the Corteo Storico, which attracts visitors and spectators from around the world. During the race, the jockeys ride bareback, circles the Piazza del Campo, on which a thick layer of dirt is laid, three times and usually lasts no more than 90 seconds. Some jockeys are thrown off their horses while making the turns in the piazza. A major highlights of this event is an unusual view of unmounted horses finishing the race without their jockeys. The Palio in fact is won by the horse who represents his contrada, and not by the jockeys. A horse who wins without a jockey is described as winning scosso. The first modern Palio called as palio alla tonda took place in 1656. At first, one race was held each year, on July 2 & a second, on August 16, was added later.