Captured on Cobblestones in Sienna, Italy

ITALY | Sunday, 13 January 2013 | Views [322] | View Smaller 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.

The days before the Il Palio horserace are filled with continuous drumming and flag-waving parades in colourful and ornate costumes. There are also horse blessings where the horses are physically blessed inside a church with a crowd from the contrada. These are events taken very seriously by the locals and the traditions are passed on to each generation.

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After hours of crowd pleasing marching parades and flag throwing the jockeys attempt to line the horses up on a rope to begin the race. One horse that faltered more than a few times was disqualified to the great disappointment of its contrada.

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Captured on Cobblestones in Sienna, Italy

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