The
ANNOTICO Report
The
Kentucky Derby is 130 years old, and is a "see and be seen" Event for
150,000 people held in
The
"Palio" is
750 years old, and is a "Passion" attended by 50,000, run twice a
year on July 2, and Aug 16, held in
There
is stiff competition for jockeys, who will often shift allegiances at the last
hour. There are "deals" among Jockeys to avoid
"encounters". The premiere jockey is Andre De Gortes
who has raced 58 times. The "course" is extremely challenging.
And the "start" of the Race is something all together different!!
IN
Each
summer, passions run high as the city's districts compete for honor in the Palio, an age-old horse race.
By
Alan C. Miller
Times Staff Writer
IN a scene that harks back to the Middle Ages, 50,000 spectators in this city's
packed, fan-shaped piazza explode with emotion as horses representing rival
neighborhoods burst from their starting positions.
Bareback atop the steeds are 10 colorfully clad jockeys. Riding with them are
enormous stakes for themselves and their civic patrons.
For three breathtaking, mud-spattered laps, the riders exhort their charges in
a race known as the Palio — a competition of
the city's districts, or contrade. As the winner
crosses the finish line, pandemonium erupts; members of the winning contrada leap from the stands, and the
multitudes burst into tears, cheers and song. In the soft Tuscan twilight, the
ancient square itself seems to shake and swell with excitement.
The Palio, which my family witnessed last year, is
one of
"The Palio is not a sporting competition; it's
not a horse race," says Chiara Savoi, a
"It's something we feel inside. Is the horse race 75 seconds long? Yes.
But if you win the Palio, you are the boss of the
town. You can do whatever you want against the enemy contrada.
It's the glory. The power. The
tradition. The Palio is the soul of
To experience the Palio is to share, at least
vicariously, in that glory and tradition. For fiercely proud Sienese, victories are so enduring that births, marriages
and deaths are marked by who won that year's Palio.
And the competition is so cutthroat that in the days before the race, fears
abound of horses being drugged or jockeys bribed, and both are closely guarded.
During a hon! eymoon trip
nearly two decades earlier, my wife, Katherine, and I found ourselves in
Siena's main piazza one evening when the sound of song suddenly emanated from
somewhere in the city's narrow streets. A boisterous procession marched into
the square. We learned this was the Palio's winning contrada — still celebrating a month
later. We vowed one day to see the event itself.
We returned with our 11-year-old daughter, Julia, for the full Palio experience. After arriving two days before the August
race, we watched two trials and attended a dinner with 900 members of the Lupa contrada.
By the eve of the Palio, Julia was so caught up in it
that she told me, "I've got butterflies in my stomach."
*
The race's origins
MEDIEVAL
Twice a y! ear, the piazza is transformed. A dirt
track is laid around the perimeter in the days before the Palio,
always July 2 and Aug. 16. The race — a tribute to the Madonna,
The Palio itself is a silk banner dedicated to the
Virgin Mary. Each year,
The city has 17 contrade. There isn't room for
all to race, so 10 compete in each Palio. If a contrada is not selected in July or August,
it is included the following year. The remaining slots are filled by lottery.
The contrade are like extended communal
families. Each is a separate city ward. In the Middle
Ages, each had its own military to defend
Every major event — from birth and baptism to marriage and death —
is marked within the contrada. Most of the contrade are named after animals and other
creatures — Caterpillar, Dragon, Eagle, Forest, Giraffe, Goose, Owl,
Panther, Porcupine, Ram, Shell, Snail, Tower, Turtle, Unicorn and Wave, as well
as the she-wolf, which derives from the legend of Remus
and Romulus.
The day before the Palio, Luca Luchini,
Lupa's president, is visibly tense. We meet at the contrada's headquarters, where Lupa's horse is stabled.
People pay $50 to $60 annually to belong to the contrada.
Most of Lupa's nearly 2,000 members reside beyond the
ward's boundaries. "The people who live outside the town feel the contrada inside themselves," says Luchini, a 56-year-old banker.
During a tour of Lupa's museum, Luchini
shows us the banners his contrada has
won. I ask if he has a favorite. "The next one,"! he
replies with a smile.
That evening, we join 900 members of Lupa and their
friends for dinner. We're seated at 50-foot-long tables with wooden chairs.
Periodically, participants burst into Lupa's anthem.
Noting that all the contrade sing in
tune, Katherine remarks, "That's what happens in a country raised on
opera."
*
Glory … and money
FOUR days before the race, the contrade
captains choose the 10 horses for the Palio from
among 30 to 40 candidates. Through a drawing, each horse is then assigned to a contrada. As the horses are placed in stalls in
front of city hall, contrade faithful
cheer or groan in reaction to the luck of the draw.
The contrade vie for the best jockeys,
hired from throughout
No one better personifies the Palio th! an
Andrea De Gortes, renowned as "Aceto," or Vinegar. De Gortes,
Italy's most famous jockey, raced in 58 Palios, for
14 different contrade, winning a record 14
times before retiring as "the king of the piazza" in 1992 at 49, an
unusually advanced age for a jockey.
Wiry and olive-skinned, he now lives in a villa amid wheat fields in the Tuscan
hills outside
"Sixty percent is good luck, 20% is the jockey and 20% is the horse,"
he says.
The contest is challenging. The piazza was built as a town square, not a
racetrack. The horses want to hew toward the short columns on the inside of the
track for protection, which the jockeys must strain to prevent because running
too close can be perilous. Years ago, a young jockey was paralyzed after
falling from his horse. Others have broken ar! ms or legs. A riderless horse
finishing first is still declared the winner.
Betting on the Palio is forbidden, but money plays a
big role. "The Palio is like life," De Gortes says. "If you start with money, you have more
opportunity to live better and, in this case, to win."
For the race, each contrada operates
with a budget largely of pledges by its members. Based on the total pledged,
the jockey is authorized to promise large sums to other jockeys to disrupt a
rival horse or to steer clear of his own. Only the winning contrada
has to make good on these offers. The cost of victory could be almost $2.5
million, De Gortes says.
The jockeys also are well paid. De Gortes estimates
that a hot jockey riding for an affluent contrada
could earn more than $300,000 to run and twice that sum if he wins.
De Gortes, who has entertained filmmaker Mel Gibson
and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his trophy-filled farmhouse, makes no apol! ogies
for his motivation.
"I have run for the glory," he says, "and the money."
*
'Deafening silence'
EARLY in the morning of Palio day, throngs begin
to line the piazza to grab the best free spots. Meanwhile, the winding streets
around the campo, or square, bustle with growing crowds.
The Tower contrada, denied the Palio for 44 years, is the favorite. Its jockey, Luigi Bruschelli, is riding the majestic Berio
— the combination that won for Caterpillar the month before and for
Turtle the previous August.
By
Before the race comes the slow and solemn procession of contrade
members. Bringing up ! the
rear is the victory wagon, pulled by four white oxen and carrying the black-and-white
flag of
Contrade scarves wave throughout the
piazza as the 10 horses enter the track from city hall. Each rider is given a
whip made of ox tendon. I notice a jockey lean over to another, apparently
seeking to make a deal.
The campo becomes absolutely still. "Listen to the silence," Savoi says. "It's deafening."
The crowd roars as the starting positions are announced. The first slots are
best. Nine horses position themselves between two ropes. They maneuver into the
right order even as they push to gain an edge for a fast start.
Meanwhile, the 10th stays back. This jockey must decide when to start the race
by taking off from behind. He will wait until a rival's horse is distracted.
This jockeying invariably takes far longer than the race itself; it has been
known to go on for more than an hour.
Then, suddenly, t! hey're
off. Lupa's horse jumps out front. But it's soon
overtaken by Berio, who pulls ahead and sets the
pace. The scene is at once frenzied and frozen. For 73 glorious seconds, it
feels as if we are at the center of the universe.
Even before Berio crosses the finish line, Tower
faithful stream from the stands to embrace the animal and the jockey. We see
grown men crying, for joy and sorrow, including the handler for another contrada's horse as he leads his beaten steed
away.
Lupa
finishes 10th. But our Julia is by no means discouraged. Still adorned
in her Lupa scarf, she participates in the ritual of
sucking on a flashing pacifier. This is a symbol of the tenderness felt for the
Palio banner, also known in Siena as cittino, or baby.
Tower's all-night celebration is just beginning as we stand in the
still-buzzing piazza on this unforgettable summer evening. Julia is already
looking ahead.
"Can we come back next year?" she asks.
The
ANNOTICO Reports are Archived at:
Italy
at St Louis: http://www.italystl.com
Italia
Mia: http://www.italiamia.com
*
(INFOBOX BELOW)
Stay the course
GETTING THERE:
From LAX, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa all offer connecting service
(change of plane) to
TELEPHONES:
To call the numbers below from the
GOING TO THE PALIO:
You can stand inside the piazza for free but you'll have to arrive early
and remain in place for hours. Reserved seats are available through the Siena
Tourist Board (www.terresiena.it) for $247 to $469
based on current exchange rates. If you're seeking a guide, try Chiara Savoi; telephone 270623,
or e-mail at chiarasavoi@libero.it.
WHERE TO STAY:
Palazzo Ravizza, ! B>34 Pian
dei Mantellini; 280462, http://www.palazzoravizza.it
. Handsome and small. Doubles during Palio start at $148.
Certosa di Maggiano, 82 Strada di Certosa; 288180, http://www.certosadimaggiano.com
. A 14th century monastery transformed into an upscale country villa. Rooms during Palio from $493.
TO LEARN MORE:
Italian Government Tourist Board,
Vacanze Senesi, 45900, http://www.bookingsiena.it
, works with the Siena Tourist Board.
— Alan C. Miller