Next Month: The Palio di Siena

We tend not to dedicate entire blog posts to one-off events or festivals – or, at least, we’ve never done it before now, accustomed as we are to writing up bizarre lists and hard-to-find wine recommendations instead. That should shed some light, then, on just how exciting the Palio di Siena is.

It’s something you’ve probably seen before: the photos border on the iconic and it’s shown up in a range of Italian films (oh, and Quantum of Solace); it’s all vibrant flags and bustling crowds and horses stampeding through the city. It’s one of Italy’s most famous events, and that’s even with some fairly stiff competition.

For the uninitiated, the Palio is essentially a horse race, held twice a year – once on the 2nd July (that’s today!) and once on the 16th August. It takes place, as you might have guessed, in Siena, Tuscany. Ten riders, representing ten of the city’s contrade, race bareback, bedaubed in the colours of their wards. The whole thing is preceded by a genuinely magnificent parade known as the Corteo Storico, which, frankly, is an event in of itself.

The whole thing is over in 90 seconds, but it’s no easy ride – aside from being bareback, the riders are often in peril of being dismounted by the tricky layout of the Piazza del Campo. It’s no Ascot. The various contrade have also, over the 360 years that the race has been running, developed intensive rivalries with each other – like they are with almost everything else in life, the Italians are very, very passionate about the Siena.

It’s not an event you’ll want to miss, and (you know there’s a reason we wrote this) it is of course an event we can get you to. Go check out our Tuscan Wine & City Experience – it’s 3 days of absolute luxury for only £544pp in total, with a gorgeous hotel in central Siena, wine tours around the Tuscan countryside and, of course, time in between to see the Palio. Just give us a call on +442088774940 and we’ll sort out the rest. You’d be mad to miss it.


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