Il Palio: le Contrade

Il Palio: le Contrade

Il Palio: le Contrade

The history of a tradition

As early as the 11th century, the population was in the habit of gathering at churches and town chapels to discuss topics of common interest.

This habit in Siena led to the formation of districts that took the name of Contrade. These represented a territorial body with its own legal personality, administrative competencies and the capacity to own property and regulate the rules of common life of the population within its boundaries. The Compagnia on the other hand, was but a section of the general military organisation of the municipality, without legal capacity or the power of deliberation.

Today, the Contrade have lost most of their original functions, yet they seem to be the true continuation of the old ones, having preserved their constitution almost unchanged. Instead, the Compagnie are now represented by the ‘Comparse’, who only have a limited function at Palio and representation events.

Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the Contrade completed their mythological bestiary from which they took their coats of arms. In the absence of documents and records in this regard, it can be assumed that the Contrade chose the animal to be represented by drawing from the repertoire of festive heraldry in vogue at the time, taking cues and symbols from the coats of arms of sovereigns and noble families, companies of fortune, arts and crafts, towns and cities. By the mid-16th century, the symbols of the Contrade were already the current ones, while the colours underwent further variations over time.

Of the many Contrade that originally existed, the number and boundaries of today’s Contrade were finally established in 1729.

Contrade such as il Leone, la Vipera, il Gallo, la Quercia, l’Orso e la Spadaforte. Even today, their knights parade in the historical procession with their coats of arms lowered, testifying to the ancient activities that no longer exist.

Thanks to the distinctly delineated borders, the Contrade were able to adopt their own ordinances that regulated the common living within them.

Historically, most of the Contrade celebrated feasts and held their meetings in the parish church or in the oratory of some lay company, often finding themselves in conflict with the parish priests or brethren of the Compagnie. Meanwhile, those Contrade that had no seats of their own came forward to ask to be allowed to take possession of certain parishes and confraternities that were suspended by a measure taken by Grand Duke Peter Leopold I of Lorraine.

The magnificent venues that are still the pride of every Contrada today therefore owe their survival to the Grand Duke through their renewed function as aggregating places rich in memories, furnishings and objets d’art.

The Seventeen Contrade

TERZO DI CITTÀ

Aquila, Chiocciola, Onda, Pantera, Selva, Tartuca

TERZO DI SAN MARTINO

Civetta, Leocorno, Nicchio, Torre, Valdimontone

TERZO DI CAMOLLIA

Bruco, Drago, Giraffa, Istrice, Lupa, Oca

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The Cathedral of Siena

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Il Palio: the origins

Il Palio: the origins

Il Palio: the origins

In the Campo of Siena

Il Palio di Siena is the ritual of a city and the historical memory of a civilisation, whose history and tradition it evokes twice a year (2 July and 16 August).

Siena was an Etruscan city well connected to the major centres of Etruria and some have pointed out fascinating analogies of the early Palios with the equestrian games of the Greeks and later the Etruscans.

Among the events that most commonly accompanied celebrations in the Middle Ages in honour of patron saints, or crowned those held on joyous occasions, were horse races, either jockey-mounted or shaken.

The prize for the winner was a gonfalon of precious cloth, which was designated by the Latin name ‘pallium’, and from the name of this presumably began to be referred to as the Palio races.

Il Palio as a festival was not an exclusively Sienese event. Consider, in fact, with due differences, the Florentine calcio storico, the Pisan giuoco del ponte, the giostra del Saracino in Arezzo, just to remain in Tuscany. Il Palio was also run in other places, but only in Siena has it survived through the turbulent events of the city’s history and indeed it has come to acquire an even more solemn and sumptuous form, until in recent years it has become the most vivid expression of the city’s soul.

At the beginning, the Palio was closely linked to a ceremony in which the sovereignty of Siena was affirmed. It was not a celebration in itself, but concluded a very important political-religious event for the municipality. On the eve and feast day of the Assumption, the municipality and citizens brought candles and censuses to the cathedral as a sign of subjection to the bishop.

Il Palio we are talking about here was run “alla lunga” i.e. in a line on a route that went from outside the walls to the Cathedral, from the meadows of the Contado, through tufa-covered, muddy and bumpy roads like Pantaneto, to the sacred marbles of the Cathedral. And to run it, on 15 August, were the nobles and notables on their horses. Il Palio”alla tonda” in July, on the other hand, did not begin until the 17th century.

As early as 1546, we find all seventeen of today’s Contrade with today’s symbols, but with different colours (find out more about the Contrade here).

The idea of running Il Palio in the Piazza was officially presented in 1605 for several reasons, including the danger of the previously chosen streets and the impossibility of fully enjoying the spectacle. Instead, the greatest advantage of holding Il Palio in the Piazza was the possibility of watching the entire race from the same seat. From 1656 Il Palio alla tonda became the definitive choice on a regular basis.

During the first Palii alla tonda, the horses were selected by choosing as homogeneous lot as possible and excluding, at the end of the selections, the first and the last to arrive. Although the Contrade in the past procured their own horses independently, in order to offer an equal chance of victory to all, from 1676 onwards, they relied on a draw that assigned each horse in the lot to the competing Contrade.

In those years, the order in which the horse was assigned also corresponded to the order in which the extras entered the Piazza in the cortege before the race, as did the order of alignment for the Palio move.

At the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, it was decreed that a shaken horse, i.e. one without a jockey, could also win Il Palio. E il barbero che vince ‘scosso’ (‘shaken’) is still for the Sienese the most beautiful sign of the favour of fate and joy!

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The Cathedral of Siena

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An experience in wonder

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The company’s predominant cultivation is the Sangiovese grape variety: the prevailing base for the Chianti Classico Gallo Nero wine.

The quality of Villa a Sesta wines is the result of the combination of several elements: the composition of the soil, its slope, altitude, sun exposure, ventilation, the particular microclimate and the selection of the grapes.

The new wine cellar built about 15 years ago covers 5000 square metres and uses modern facilities for temperature-controlled fermentation.

Why I suggest you visit the Azienda Agricola Villa a Sesta

It is only 500 metres from the Borgo di Villa a Sesta

It stands on an ancient quarry

Our favourite wine: Chianti Classico Riserva

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Fèlsina

A meeting of nature, tradition and passion

The Fèlsina farm was bought by the Poggiali family in 1966, who in just a few years placed the vine at the centre of the vineyard.

Located in the Comune of Castelnuovo Beradenga, in the Province of Siena, Fèlsina covers more than 500 ha on the southern border of the Chianti Classico production area.

Due to its geographical extension and conformation, it is a “borderland” between Chianti Classico e Crete Senesi, with Fontalloro as its most representative wine.

A biodiversity-conscious company that still preserves the uniqueness of its vineyards, forests, olive groves, scrubland, ditches, waterways, cereal fields and hunting grounds.

The fruit of a unique combination of soil and vine, culture and the labour of the hands, oenological science and the wisdom of the cellarman, the vines of Fèlsina express the particularity of the terroir, landscapes, perfumes and sounds of this corner of Tuscany, reviving its history and tradition.”

The visit to the winery is shared with other people and can be in either Italian or English, while the tasting takes place separately for each group.

To book your visit to the winery, please contact the Villa di Sotto staff.

Why I suggest you visit Fèlsina

You can request an open-air tasting

You can take a jeep tour through the vineyards

You can taste wine and oil in the barrique cellar if you are in a group

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Between beauty and daily challenges

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The prestigious winemaking tradition of Tenuta di Arceno has an ancient history dating back to the 16th century. Originally owned by the two noble families Del Taja and Piccolomini, in 1994 the property was bought by the American business couple Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke.

The Tenuta covers over a thousand hectares divided between vineyards, olive groves, woods, arable land and native vegetation. Their grape varieties are half Sangiovese and the other half international varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot e Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Arceno winery respects the centuries-old Gallo Nero tradition, but believes strongly in IGT because the latter represents their highest artistic expression.

The tasting takes place exclusively in a large room with a beautiful window overlooking the adjacent vineyards, cypress avenue and grove.

These vineyards, as you can see, have a shape that resembles and respects the hillside below and enjoy an irrigation system that favours the growth of the grapes despite global warming.

To book your visit to the winery, please contact the Villa di Sotto staff.

Why I suggest you visit the Tenuta di Arceno

You feel as if you are entering a world where time has stopped

You can experience the vineyard with an expert

You can complete your tasting with a picnic in the forest

Continue with the discovery of Chianti…

Panzano in Chianti

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