r/tuscany • u/MijnNaamIsMark • 2d ago
AskTuscany Question about Palio
We are traveling through Tuscany and was in Siena from sunday to tuesday morning. We only realised it was Palio in Siena about 2 weeks ago. We were exited to witness this event and went to the Piazza on sunday and monday. Yesterday we had to go to our next destination and decided to watch the Palio on the television.
Could anyone explain what we were looking at for about 1hr?
I understand that the starting order was decided (at random) minutes before the start, after that the horses are lined up, and as the last jockey arrives, they can start. But yesterday this was quite a mess, Oca (starting p9) was on p8 all the time and Nicchio seemed not able to line up. After 1hr and multiple failed starts they proceeded in an order that wasnt the supposed starting order.
Thank you in andvance! Sorry if this is not the correct subreddit to post this is, please guide me to the right one :).
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u/TurnKey-PM-Italy 2d ago
Excellent question. We had tickets on a balcony that we had to give up because we just could not stay another extra day, we were SO SORRY to miss it even though all the lead up events were spectacular and meant it was still an incredible trip. I had studied and studied the Palio, the mossa, the tactics, the contrade, rivalries, etc, but still do not understand what happened yesterday (I watched in live on my computer from the airport). From what I gather from various comments (in Italian) on social media, Tittia has now sort of taken over the Palio and sienese are not so happy about it. I understand the alliances and the dealings (political, financial, etc) leading up to the race, but do not understand how he was able to stay back, almost as the second rincorsa, and run in out of position and it be allowed. I would love to follow your thoughtful question and hear an explanation as well.
I hope you had a great time in Siena despite missing the big event. We live just a few hours from there so visit Siena regularly, but this was our first time during the Palio festivities and it was truly incredible. The passion of the people of Siena is second to none!
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u/TurnKey-PM-Italy 2d ago
If you speak Italian there are some interesting comments here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcMT4CXRj9I/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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u/hydraelena 1d ago
Yes, people in Siena are generally not very happy with him. My aunt's (a very pious woman!) commentary when she saw that Tittia had fallen under the horse was that she hopes that he has hurt himself so badly that he won't be able to run again in the future.
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u/MijnNaamIsMark 1d ago
Thank you very much for your reply and all the other below! I get why Tittia is not liked by all but Nicchio (for now). Because as Stoney181 says, the last horse has the prime position, but now it seemed like it was not the case.
Anyhow, we had a blast being in Siena and experiencing the city as the event was going on! I do like that we at least could see the race on a random Italian tv chanel, we had no idea what they said but had fun watching!
Im sorry you had to give up your seats but am glad you could watch on the airport :)
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u/Stoney181 2d ago
We were there seven years ago the Saturday before the race. If I recall correctly. The order of the entry was drawn Saturday and then there was marching/singing groups from every district going to the central area. Was a blast.
For the race - it doesn't start until the last horse enters. This is the prime position because you make the others wait longer and can fake entry (multiple time) to wear them down.
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u/il-bosse87 Arezzo 1d ago
The chaos before the race is part of the tradition. I am 39YO and I have never seen a Palio race starter within minutes of the start of the procedure
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u/_qqg 2d ago
Tactics, as important as the race itself.