Palio of Provenzano (Wed, 2 July 2025) Source: Cor Magis Tibi Sena Pandit, Facebook In a typical year, three additional contradas (contrade) are selected by lottery to join the seven that did not run the previous July, providing ten competitors. This race is unique, however, in that five lucky contradas were selected in the extraction … Continue reading Palios of July and August 2025: Who’s Running?
Tag: siena contradas
The Extraction of the Contrade: How Ten Competitors are Chosen for the Palio
Visitors who are fortunate enough to be in Siena during the days of the Palio (by sheer accident or otherwise) are often unaware of all the preparation well prior to the event. One of the more emotional rituals takes place about six weeks prior to each summer Palio. This is known as the extraction (estrazione) … Continue reading The Extraction of the Contrade: How Ten Competitors are Chosen for the Palio
Why do the Sienese wear neck scarves?
Excerpt adapted in part from my book, Living the Palio. Panther contradaioli (contrada members) wearing their fazzoletti while walking to the Duomo on the day of the Palio The strongest direct symbol of personal contrada identity is the contrada scarf, or fazzoletto, which is typically worn around one’s neck. Today, as in the past, the … Continue reading Why do the Sienese wear neck scarves?
Understanding Siena’s 17 Contrade
Exerpt adapted from my book, Living the Palio. (It's already written, so I'm happy to share it here.) The Goose contrada membership enjoying the pre-Palio dinner, the Cena della Prova Generale on July 1, 2018. This is the only event of the year to which the public are invited (with pre-purchased dinner tickets.) To understand … Continue reading Understanding Siena’s 17 Contrade
The Siena Visitor 