TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1021151
The sporting—and indeed often un- sporting—contest unfolds over a matter of days under the red-brick hue of what is now a bustling tourist town, but outside the walls of Siena in the surrounding, roll- ing Tuscan countryside, the cyclical busi- ness of preparing horses and jockeys is unending. Every few years each contrada appoints a new captain, usually an influ- ential member of the community, whose business it is not just to raise a war chest for the Palio, but also to conduct the stra- tegic plotting of the campaign which is fervently hoped will end in glory, honour, and power. For in this race, the money is only ever outgoing—to the jockey—while the winning team receives a hand-painted banner, the translation of which gives the event its name and which holds a value to the members of the contrada that tran- scends mere monetary reward. Thoroughbred breeder Massimo Parri, who has also bred and owned Palio hors- es, was the winning captain of the Istrice (porcupine) contrada during its successful campaign of July 2002. He says, "In Siena, everyone knows something about horses. The contrada is not just about the Palio; it's an open club for the community and we all help each other. You live the contrada for the entire year. It's like a family. So you are able to talk all year round about the Palio and the horses." Not all of the 17 contrade can field a horse for every race. Ten horses run in each Palio, but the strategic alliances and sworn rivalries between the various dis- tricts mean that even for those sitting it out, the interest of the members can be sustained either by hope of victory for an ally, or by the defeat and humiliation of an enemy. Despite year-round planning and an un- questionable team spirit within each dis- trict, each contrada is still something of a hostage to fortune. Four days ahead of the Palio, the horses are lined up in the Pi- azza del Campo, numbers chalked on their flanks and a corresponding figure drawn like a lottery ball by the mayor of Siena, allocating a horse at random to each com- peting district. Once the identity of the horse is known, the bartering for jockeys begins and seemingly long-held allegiances can be forgotten as the ten riders are wooed by the captains. The lure to ride the best horse may be overtaken by the size of the sum offered by a contrada. This is no mere riding fee but also a pot from which bribes to fellow jockeys can be paid. In the Palio,