Blessing of the Animals: Il Palio 2007 & Blessing of the Horses

Photos: Il Palio 2007 Banner & Il Palio Horse Race

Twice a year Siena churches conduct a blessing of the horses in conjunction with Il Palio—a competitive horse race around Siena’s main square. This tradition of Il Palio and its equine blessings goes back to the 14th century.

Il Palio is a horse race that happens each July (Palio di Provenzano) and August (Palio dell' Assunta) in Siena, (Tuscany) Italy. There is an amazing amount of pageantry and revelry before this horse race--which lasts only a few minutes.

From Wikipedia:
The first race is held on July 2, which is both the Feast of the Visitation and the date of a local festival in honor of the Madonna of Provenzano (a painting once owned by the Sienese leader Provenzano Salvani, which was supposed to have miraculous curative power). The second race is held the day after the Feast of the Assumption, and is likewise dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

At one time the wild pursuit took place through the streets of the town, but today the event is held in the community’s main square, called the Piazza del Campo. Even though the location has changed—the chaos and fervor remains the same.

The race is a competition between neighborhoods, known as contrade, and each has its own horse and banner. Preceding the race, residents don the traditional dress and colors of their neighborhood. They march, wave flags, and party! In fact, the festivities begin days prior to the race.

Today’s seventeen contrade include: Aquila (Eagle), Bruco (Caterpillar), Chiocciola (Snail), Civetta (Owl), Drago (Dragon), Giraffa (Giraffe), Istrice (Porcupine), Leocorno (Unicorn), Lupa (She-Wolf), Nicchio (Shell), Oca (Goose), Onda (Wave), Pantera (Panther), Selva (Forest), Tartuca (Tortoise), Torre (Tower) and Valdimontone (Ram).

Each contrade races but not all can fit on the track at one time. Six trial races are run, the first on the evening of the horse selection and the last on the morning before Il Palio. The last trial run is followed by a church blessing of the horses…and if a horse defecates during the individual blessing, cheers erupt from the spectators, as it is considered good luck.

Because the race track is so small and short, a lottery is used to select who runs when. The tradition requires that the horses are ridden bareback, and although there are seventeen neighborhoods in Siena, there are only ten spots in each race because there is not enough room to have them all run each time.

So, the two races have only ten spots and there are seventeen districts competing. So, to solve the problem, the captains of the race decide which 3 neighborhoods will get to run in both races. The races are a source of pride and so this sparks even more competition between the neighborhoods. Bribes for the best starting position and strategies to thwart rivals are commonplace--and to say that the spectators are enthusiastic is an understatement. The piazza is packed and the crowd goes berserk when the race starts.

This horse race is only a few laps around the edge of the piazza and the rules are a bit unusual since a horse can win without a rider, as long as the contrade insignia remains in place as the equine crosses the finish line.

Il Palio ends when the cannons fire to signal 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The winning horse is escorted to the nearby church where its hooves are painted in gold and the winners get bragging rights—a coveted honor especially in the August race since the winners can revel in the glory until the following July.

In July 2007, the contrade Oca (goose) achieved victory–but we have yet to see who will win the race on August 16th. Here is the video of the 2007 Palio di Provenzano: