I’ve had the pleasure and the privilege of spending a lot of time in Siena, Italy in the past year, as you’ve seen from these blog posts and from a “few” posts on Facebook. This Medieval city in Tuscany is beautiful, of course, but it really won me over with its history and the tradition …
My Unicorn contrada guide Fabio has seen eight Palio victories for the Unicorn. Two of those, 1983 and 2001, the horse won without the jockey. Remember, with the Palio, it’s all about the horse. Then Fabio reminded me of something. At the horse blessing, before the race, the priest doesn’t look at the fantino, (jockey) …
I took a walk to the Lupa contrada on Wednesday to see how the members, the Lupaioli, were celebrating their historic Palio win. Quick refresher: Lupa (She-wolf) is one of 17 contrade, or districts, in Siena, Italy. The Palio is the city’s medieval, traditional horse race that takes place twice a year: July 2 and …
I never thought I would get choked up watching a horse being blessed. I stood in the back of a few hundred Dragon contrada members, watching as a priest sprinkled holy water on the horse. Then he ordered him to “Go and come back a winner!” Such is the tradition of the Palio of Siena. …
I stood in awe of the crowd gathered in the Piazza del Campo in Siena Wednesday evening, June 30. Thousands sitting in the bleachers, standing in the center of the piazza, others on balconies or hunched at their windows in the buildings that line the piazza. I think come Saturday, as I head to the …
Continue reading Palio Week: Contrade, Horses, Dinners, Race Trials
It's that time again. I’m going back to Italy, back to Siena, where I spent six weeks last year at a language school. I plan on continuing my intensive studies there but my first item of business is experiencing the Palio. This became a bucket list item last December. The Palio is the city's historic, …
Last fall, I spent six weeks at Saena Iulia Italian language school in Siena, Italy, deciding that I wanted to get as close to fluency in Italian as I could. Six weeks, full immersion, Siena, Italy. What’s not to love? How about the subjunctive tense of verbs? Or prepositions? I don’t love prepositions. Nor trying …
Continue reading Studying Italian in Italy: Bella. Grande. Favoloso.
Mauro Faleri was 18 years old the first time he participated in the “Passegiata storica,” the ceremony before the start of The Palio, the historic horse race held twice a year in Siena. He is a member of the Torre contrada, or neighborhood. “I was very proud,” he tells me. “It was fantastic. It was …
Continue reading The Palio of Siena: Tradition, Passion and Glory
Siena holds a two-day market in Piazza del Campo the first weekend in December. Not only did I see the usual – pecorino of all kinds, panforte from Siena, prosciutto, salame, chestnuts – there were meats from Alto Adige (speck), cheese from Sardegna, sweets from Sicily, tortelli from Emilia-Romagna, and yes, vodka and caviar …
December 1 in Siena is a holy day for the city. The Sienese celebrate their patron saint, Sant’Ansano with a march by members of the 17 contrade from the Piazza del Campo to the Duomo, where they then celebrate mass. For me, this was an experience like none other. It is filled with history and tradition. …
1cannolo, 2cannoli 