Palio di Siena one of the most amazing events held in Italy. What makes this dangerous but exhilarating event so significant is the long standing tradition that is deeply rooted into the Senese culture. The people of Siena live for there Contrada, this is not something that is done for tourists this is for the people and their Contrada. I knew there would be many diehard fans, what I didn’t expect was a mosh pit of people trying to race to the edges of the Piazza del Campo to get the best view. To get from San Francesco to the Campo took 1 hour, due to the procession of Contrada’s and their followers
singing and chanting.
After entering the Campo I was overwhelmed to see the thousands of people packed into one small area. In total this race take around 75 seconds, the most EXCITING 75 seconds of your life. Words cannot describe how it is to be in the center of this race, although you find yourself and the crown in sync spinning around trying to watch each jockey. At the first turn one jockey slams into the wall one the second lap another falls off at the harsh turn. lastly, we have a winner the Oca (goose) the crown went wild and became so loud you couldn’t even hear yourself. This was like nothing I have experienced before in my life, you can see the passion and emotion on each person. Americans has nothing like this, the Super-Bowl does not even come close to this, when you see someone crying over a football game you tend to think to yourself, stop crying it is only a game. Whereas the Palio has centuries of tradition and passion that is passed down from father to father when people cry it has significant meaning. This type of passion and tradition is something I want to share with my children and their children. The Palio di Siena is something that everyone must experience once in their lives, it really shapes your understanding of the meaning of tradition and culture which we I believe we lack in America.
By: Nick Palozzi![]()
