Italian Festivals: IL Palio di Siena

One of the most popular Italian festivals is Il Palio di Siena. This medieval race has its roots from medieval times and is celebrated twice a year in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first one is held July 2nd in honor of the Madonna of Provenzano and the second one on August 16th a day after the Feast of the Assumption, in honor of Madonna dell'Assunta. The festival is so famous that even foreigners would visit Siena just to witness this horse race and all the pageantry that goes with it.

The Palio culminates the ongoing rivalry between Siena's 17 contrades or neighborhoods. The contrades have their horse riders or jockeys. The ten contrades will be selected by a drawing twenty days before the race. The ten contrades will participate for the July race and the other seven contrades (who were not picked up for the July race) will compete for the August race with three other contrades from the first race held in July. Horses are assigned to the riders by a draw three days before the race. The horses should be of mixed breed and no purebred horses are allowed.

The event takes place in Piazza del Campo, it starts with a mass, a trial run and blessing of the horses. The race starts with the marching of the Corteo Storico all dressed in medieval costumes playing medieval music and bearing and waving flags. At about 7PM the race is set to begin, the riders will race around the Piazza del Campo for three laps. The racetrack is covered with dirt, tuff and padded crash barriers. The line-up of horses is decided by lottery and when the starting rope is dropped the race officially starts. The race is usually finished in 90 seconds. Surprisingly the winner of the race is not the jockey but the horse who first crossed the finish line, regardless if it finished with or without its jockey.

The winning horse and jockey of the contrade is awarded the palio or victory flag, it is a banner of handpainted silk. Winning the palio gives pride to the contrade for which the horse and its jockey belong too. This festival is the pride of Italy's Tuscan region and the medieval town of Siena.

Photo Credit: The Race of the Palio
Photographer: Jakried
Photo Stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53769668@N06/

Photo Credit: The Corteo
Photographer: Sylvain Boursot
Photo Stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26600187@N08/with/4738866372/

Italian Festivals: The Ardia di San Constantino in Sardinia

The Italians love life. They celebrate life and their Roman Catholic faith with festivals. One of these events is the Ardia di San Constantino which is celebrated in the town of Sedilo in Sardinia. This festival and religious feast honors Saint Constantine (the first Christian Roman Emperor). The Ardia is a competition and devotion all wrapped in one. In the Ardia the local horsemen of Sedilo will be the "defenders of Christianity and the guardians of the Sanctuary." Three men will play horsemen and will be escorted by three men who will also be riding horses. Each three horsemen will be given a flag they would carry as they ride their horses. One will receive a white flag, the other one a red flag and the last one a yellow flag. The other three men acting as escorts will be provided with lances and banners to protect the yellow flag bearer from the red and white flag bearers. The escort's job is to prevent the other horsemen from moving beyond the flags.

The three horsemen will then prepare themselves to race once they reach the steep slope in the area of the sanctuary. The horseman carrying the yellow flag will be the one to abruptly decide when the race must start without giving any warning to the other two horsemen. The two horsemen carrying the white and red flag will do their best to win the race and prevent the yellow flag bearer.

The horsemen will race for the Arch and will do the ritual rotations around the church for about three to seven times for which the yellow flag bearer will again abruptly decide without warning the race towards the rotunda with an iron cross. Then again the whole ritual will be repeated from the start. The spectators may simply watch the event and some will do their the ritual turn by foot or on their knees around the Sanctuary showing devotion to St. Constantine.

Photo Credit: Ardia di San Constantino Festival
Photographer: Cristiano Cani
Photo Stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cristianocani/