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<v Speaker 1>What lasts around ninety seconds and takes over the entire

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<v Speaker 1>city of Siena in Tuscany for four whole days. It's

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<v Speaker 1>an historic horse race that's happening this Thursday, July the

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<v Speaker 1>second Joo. I'm Katie and this is your weekly travel

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<v Speaker 1>update from Untold Italy, recorded on June thirtieth, twenty twenty six.

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<v Speaker 1>This week we are going deeper into one of the

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<v Speaker 1>most extraordinary cultural events you will find anywhere in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>the Paleo d Sienna. If you have ever wondered what

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<v Speaker 1>all of us is about, or how to experience it

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<v Speaker 1>for yourself, this one is for you. Now, let's start

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<v Speaker 1>with the basics. The Paleo is a bareback horse race

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<v Speaker 1>held twice a year in the shell shaped Piazza del Campo.

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<v Speaker 1>The July edition, run on July twelve, is called the

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<v Speaker 1>Palio di Provenzano, and it's named after the Madonna of Provenzano,

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<v Speaker 1>whose miraculous image hangs in a small church just up

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<v Speaker 1>the hill from the Campo. The race has been running

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<v Speaker 1>her honor since fifty six, so a very long time.

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<v Speaker 1>The second race of the year happens on All the

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<v Speaker 1>sixteenth and is called the Paleo Delanta in honor of

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<v Speaker 1>the assumption of the Virgin Mary. Both are taken very

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<v Speaker 1>seriously by the c Andes. There is no hierarchy between them.

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<v Speaker 1>Both winners get the same hand painted silk banner called

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<v Speaker 1>the Drappolonne, the same celebration and the same place in

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<v Speaker 1>city history. The ten riders represent the contrade, which are

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<v Speaker 1>the historic districts of Siena. There are actually seventeen contrada

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<v Speaker 1>in total, each one a tiny world into itself, and

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<v Speaker 1>only ten race in the Paleo, so the other seventeenth

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<v Speaker 1>seven are guaranteed a place in the following year. Each

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<v Speaker 1>contrada has a name, an animal, a color, a flag,

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<v Speaker 1>a church and a museum and a fountain where babies

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<v Speaker 1>born into the contrada are baptized, people marry, fall out,

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<v Speaker 1>make peas, have children and are buried inside the contrada.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not a club, it's an identity. So to understand

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<v Speaker 1>the Paleo and the city of Sienna, you really must

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<v Speaker 1>understand the contrade feel a lot of it just by

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<v Speaker 1>walking through Siena. On this very special week of the race,

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<v Speaker 1>each district is hanging out its flags, painting its emblem

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<v Speaker 1>on the street lamps and gathering in its corner of

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<v Speaker 1>the city. But the best thing to do is chat

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<v Speaker 1>with the locals or visit one of the Contrata museums,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can do that whenever you visit Siena. This

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<v Speaker 1>is actually one of our guests favorite activities on our

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<v Speaker 1>Untold Italy Tuscany tour. So even if you don't make

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<v Speaker 1>it to the race yourself, the four days around it

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<v Speaker 1>are when Siena is most fantastic and most itself. So

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<v Speaker 1>what's happening right now? The horses were assigned by lottery

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<v Speaker 1>on Monday, June twenty nine. From that morning through the

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<v Speaker 1>morning of the race, there are six trial runs in

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<v Speaker 1>the Campo two a day, morning and evening. These are

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<v Speaker 1>practice for the horses and jockeys, and they are also

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<v Speaker 1>very entertaining. They are free to attend, much easier to

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<v Speaker 1>get a spot at, and they all have the color

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<v Speaker 1>and noise of race day with a fraction of the pressure.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want a taste of the plio without committing

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<v Speaker 1>to many hours standing in the sun, this could be

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<v Speaker 1>your move. Now. The evening before the race, there is

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<v Speaker 1>a dress rehearsal known as the Prova Generade and afterwards,

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<v Speaker 1>each competing contrada throws a huge outdoor dinner along the

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<v Speaker 1>streets of its district. Rows of tables filled the lanes.

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<v Speaker 1>Neighbors sit elbow to elbow with the jockey at the

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<v Speaker 1>head table, and songs and toasts carry along into the night.

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<v Speaker 1>Visitors are sometimes welcome, sometimes not, depending on the contrata.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have a connection in town, it is the

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<v Speaker 1>best night of the year. On the morning of the race,

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<v Speaker 1>there is a final trial called the provat. Mass is

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<v Speaker 1>held for the jockeys in the early afternoon in each

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<v Speaker 1>competing contrata's own church. The horse for the contrata is

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<v Speaker 1>let inside and blessed by the priest. The priest sends

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<v Speaker 1>them out with the words The priest sends them out

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<v Speaker 1>with the words, go and return victorious. Then, from around

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<v Speaker 1>four pm, the corteos Dorrigo forms up. Hundreds of people

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<v Speaker 1>in fourteenth century costume with drums, flag frows and trumpets

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<v Speaker 1>wind from the Duomo down to the Campo. The race

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<v Speaker 1>itself goes at seven thirty pm. It is three laps.

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<v Speaker 1>It lasts less than ninety seconds. Then the winning contrada

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<v Speaker 1>erupts and the celebrations begin. If you want to be

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<v Speaker 1>the campo for the race itself, you need to plan carefully.

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<v Speaker 1>Free Standing in the center of the piazza is open

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<v Speaker 1>to everyone, but it feels very early in the day

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<v Speaker 1>and the gates close once the square is at capacity.

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<v Speaker 1>You really want to be inside by five pm, but

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<v Speaker 1>I would say actually much earlier, which means at least

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<v Speaker 1>two to three hours on your feet in the sun

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<v Speaker 1>before the race even starts. You'll need to bring water.

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<v Speaker 1>Do not expect a bathroom, or if you need to go,

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<v Speaker 1>you're probably going to lose your spot. Balcony and grandstand

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<v Speaker 1>seats exist, but they start at around two hunty euros

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<v Speaker 1>and run into the thousands, and they sell out months

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<v Speaker 1>in advance. For most travelers, the evening trial races during

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<v Speaker 1>the week are a much easier and cheaper way to

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<v Speaker 1>experience the campo in Paleo mode. A note on Siena itself.

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<v Speaker 1>The city is small, walkable, full of contrada museums, deep

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<v Speaker 1>medieval atmosphere and some of the best sweet treats in Tuscany.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have not listened to episode two h NIVEH

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<v Speaker 1>of the podcast, where I sat down with local tour

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<v Speaker 1>guide at Anareta Farranti, I really recommend it. She talks

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<v Speaker 1>about how the contrata really live and breathe, and what

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<v Speaker 1>it's like to be born into one, and why the

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<v Speaker 1>palio sits at the center of the c Andes life.

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<v Speaker 1>She talks about how the contrata really live and breathe,

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<v Speaker 1>what it's like to be born into one, and why

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<v Speaker 1>the palio sits at the center of cienes life all

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<v Speaker 1>year round, not just on two days. It will give

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<v Speaker 1>you a much richer picture of what you are looking

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<v Speaker 1>at if you do go. Now. If all of this

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<v Speaker 1>sounds wonderful but the crowds and logistics feel like a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit too much, we do have an alternative. We

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<v Speaker 1>could not get a car space at three pm one

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<v Speaker 1>year when we arrived in Siena for an event there,

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<v Speaker 1>but in over ITTs so it was much easier. Local

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<v Speaker 1>people drive in from all over the surrounding countryside for

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<v Speaker 1>these things, so you need to be organized, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>just not on the same scale. The event that we

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<v Speaker 1>love in Eritzzo is the Giostra del Saracino. It is

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<v Speaker 1>a jousting tournament between the four quarters of the city.

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<v Speaker 1>Pairs of knights gallop at full speed across the sloping piazzada,

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<v Speaker 1>and they strike a wooden figure called the Burrato, the

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<v Speaker 1>King of the Indies, who spins around on his pivot

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<v Speaker 1>and strikes back if they're not so quick. The next

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<v Speaker 1>edition runs on Sunday, the September the sixth, which is

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<v Speaker 1>the ultun fiftieth anniversary of the Palio. So that's incredible.

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<v Speaker 1>There are hundreds of participants in fourteenth century costume corteostorico

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<v Speaker 1>of the same caliber acienas and the same fierce neighborhood pride.

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<v Speaker 1>Tickets and standing spots are much more available, and a

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<v Speaker 1>reds in itself is a beautiful Tuscan city. While you're there,

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<v Speaker 1>you can see the Piero de la Francesca, frescoes in

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<v Speaker 1>the Basilica di San Francesco, browse the famous antiques markets

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<v Speaker 1>on the first weekend of the month, and eat very

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<v Speaker 1>very well. This is one of the things we love

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<v Speaker 1>most about Italy. These traditions are not put on for tourists.

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<v Speaker 1>They are how Italians live year in year out, celebrating

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<v Speaker 1>the same traditions, often for centuries. There are dozens of parali,

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<v Speaker 1>giostra and faih stare like this all over the country

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<v Speaker 1>and we curate them inside the Untold Italy app so

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<v Speaker 1>you can plan your trip around what is happening on

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<v Speaker 1>the dates you are traveling. It's the easiest way we

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<v Speaker 1>know how to feel part of the country rather than

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<v Speaker 1>just passing through. That's your update for this week. Our

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<v Speaker 1>usual programming continues this Friday with a look at how

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<v Speaker 1>you can travel with kids throughout Italy. So until then,

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<v Speaker 1>it's chow for now.