Many Italy visitors (and plenty of people who haven’t yet been to Italy) have heard about the Palio of Siena, that centuries-old bareback horse race that occurs in the Piazza del Campo of one of Tuscany‘s most popular tourist towns twice every year. What’s not necessarily self-evident, however, are the allegiances of the competitors in the event. It’s not just that the riders represent rival teams, they each actually represent one of Siena’s historic neighborhoods.
Read more about what to do in Siena and check out my Italy festivals and holidays calendar
There are 17 neighborhoods in the historic center of Siena that participate in the Palio (a neighborhood is a “contrada,” and the plural is “contrade”). During the running of each Palio in Siena, 10 of the participating contrade send a horse and rider to the race. Each contrada is represented by a symbol – most are animals, but there are also mythical creatures, architectural symbols, and icons taken from nature – and certain color combinations, just like any other team in a sporting event.
The contrade support their rider with medieval marches, complete with flag-throwers and musicians, all wearing the symbol and colors of the neighborhood. Residents of the contrada fall in behind the marchers, typically wearing or waving a scarf with the contrada colors. There are historic allies between contrade, as well as historic enemies, though animosity is usually limited to trash talking these days.
The different contrade each have historic professions associated with them, but of course those don’t carry through to present-day. Each one also has its own museum, and many families will even baptize children born into a contrada at the contrada own baptismal font. While the original reasons for dividing the city into contrade are no longer significant, the contrade have remained integral to life in Siena.
As mentioned, in any given Palio – there are two each summer – 10 of the 17 contrade will appear in the race. The list below of the names, symbols, and colors of each contrada to help you determine what contrada you’re wandering through or staying in, so you can root for the “home team” in the race.
Contrada symbols in neighborhoods. Clockwise from top left: Onda (creative commons photo by romana klee), Oca (creative commons photo by stefanopaganini), Chiocciola (creative commons photo by Boris Kasimov), Bruco (creative commons photo by romana klee)
It’s also fun to identify different contrada symbols as you wander around Siena, whether you’re there for the Palio or not. On my first visit to Siena, I stayed in the Leocorno contrada and I still have the tiny ceramic tile I bought – with a painted prancing unicorn – perched on my bookshelf. Get your kids involved in spotting the symbols – they’re even worked into the mosaic floor of Siena’s cathedral! – and you’ve got a ready-made scavenger hunt.
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