In Siena July 2nd and August  16th there is the Palio, the world’s most famous bareback horse race. Some might think that it is organized for  the many tourists who descend on the city for this occasion. Nothing could be more wrong! The Palio belongs to Sienese people DNA.  It is and has always been this way.

The preparation for the Palio officially begins 4 days before the race through different, significant moments: the ballot to assign horses to the 10 contradas (districts of the city), their blessing,  the prayer in the contrada’s church and the 6 trial races in the Campo (the main square of Siena).
The race is preceded by a parade with people dressed with historical  gowns and flag-wavers  that goes through the city streets so to arrive in the square around 5 p.m.
If you want to watch the race you must arrive in the square before the parade, because slowly all entrances to the square start to be closed and the very last one - the little lane by the Public Palace – closes at 4 pm.

The 10 horses have to enter a specific place where there are 2 ropes. The order to enter inside the ropes is determined by lot.  The 10th and last horse is left ouside the ropes.  When he decides to enter the front rope falls down and the race starts. This part of the race is called “la Mossa” and it is always the most difficult and complicated part,  because it takes a lot of time (last year more than 2 hours) .
After a while people start to be overexcited, to shout, to give advice on how to do it, to be desperate because il Campo does not have  electric lighting and if it gets dark the race is postponed!

 If you are not from Siena it is really hard to understand why that 10th horse does not enter the ropes  and it is a mystery why the race is stopped after the start (because it seems absolutely regular to you)! You for sure will think: “Why is it so complicated to have 10 horses lined up!?  On the other side, if you  from Siena, you know very well that if the horse of your enemy is too well-positioned you don’t have to enter the ropes but instead you have to wait that specific moment when the most dangerous horses have a disadvantage position, even if people in the square have to wait for hours!

Finally the race starts, without you even noticing, you  almost don’t believe it anymore, you’re too tired  and exhausted from the heat and for standing for so long.  All of a sudden, without anybody saying a word the whole square  is in complete SILENCE!!!
You are in the square (Il Campo is a spoon –shaped  square and so it is possible to see its higher  part, where the horses run, from anywhere you are) and what you see are  the horses running and all the people that move  following the horses.

All the thousands of people who are there with you  move at  unison as if they were a single person!
The race lasts 90 seconds, that the square passes without breathing. You are there and still continue to understand little about what is going on BUT you feel part of an only body that is moving  together and together is sharing  this emotion. At the end all around you is joy and despair of those who won and who lost  the Palio, which is nothing but a banner dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is very easy to go  to Siena from Florence because the two cities are very well connected and so it is really worth to dedicate a day to this ancient tradition to take home something you will remember for life.

At Hotel Kursaal & Ausonia  there are all the information about the Palio. We can even  find you tickets to comfortably sit in one of the few seats around the square. But I suggest you to suffer a bit and go in the Campo where you definitely are less comfortable, but where you can meet the real Sienese  that will be glad to tell you the littlest detail of each single horse!