ITALY | Sunday, 13 January 2013 | Views [379] | View Larger Image
Each contrada holds its own dinner to firstly celebrate being selected (ten contradas compete and names are drawn like a lottery from a hat) and secondly for the hope of being the winning contrada, a great honour. There are seventeen contradas and only ten compete.
The official table seats the jockey (far right), the contrada president (middle), the trainer and some town officlals as well as the local residents from their contrada donning their blue contrada flags and tourists, who pay a pretty penny for the privillege to attend.
