Passion, colour, chaos, history - a report from il Palio di Siena

It was the day of il Palio di Siena, the famous horse race that has been held since the 1600s and sees the Tuscan city's main piazza, il Campo, turned into a race track twice a year in July and August - reports Sarah Pond in The Mercury.

Jockeys representing 10 of Siena's 17 contrade (districts) compete in the fast, unpredictable bareback race in an effort to claim the palio, a hand-painted silk banner.

I'd arrived in Siena four days earlier with the Contiki tour group I was travelling with, so I'd been able to experience the amazing lead-up to the race.

Each day I'd seen groups of supporters from the different contrade marching through the streets chanting, singing and proudly wearing their district scarves, which bore pictures of animals such as geese, owls, rams, snails and giraffes.

Everywhere we went, locals were wearing scarves tied around their necks, slung over their shoulders or draped across their bodies, while tourists like me tried to follow suit.

I'd decided to support Drago contrada, admittedly basing my choice on the "prettiness" of the district flag, which was pink and green with a yellow dragon in the centre.

But you don't have to be Sienese to understand the importance of the race to these people and the immense rivalry involved – claiming the palio is the ultimate honour in this city and the locals' passion was contagious.

In the hours leading up to the race, the excitement and anticipation continued as the campo gradually filled up with thousands of spectators who had arrived early to claim their positions and watch the parade of historical procession.

Later, I found out British actor Daniel Craig had been watching the action from a building above the campo and was seen waving to the crowd from an open window as camera crews positioned around the campo filmed the race for a sequence to be included in the next James Bond film.

Completely unaware that we were among the thousands of extras in the next 007 flick – the closest I'll ever get to being a Bond girl – my fellow Contiki travellers and I were simply soaking up the atmosphere, which was becoming increasingly tense as a cannon went off every now and then, sending ripples of excitement through the crowd.

The people-watching was just as interesting as the parade. Being a hot day, there were plenty of tanned European bods on display and the "posers" were definitely out in force – perhaps they knew about the Bond film and wanted to increase their chances of a close-up.

Standing – or rather striking a pose – in front of me was a bare-chested 20-something "Italian stallion" wearing his shorts folded up so high they made King Gees look like something MC Hammer would have worn.

I couldn't help thinking the men in the parades decked out in velvet tunics, armour and chain mail must be wishing they could swap their tights for some shorts like these but, then again, the Palio is all about tradition, so they were probably quite happy to melt under the Tuscan sun in their costumes.

The Sienese take their festival very seriously – as we learnt when the race finally started and the tens of thousands of spectators packed into the campo suddenly went quiet.

I stood up and was amazed to see the campo had become a sea of people and just about every balcony and window in the surrounding buildings was occupied by spectators.

After a few tense minutes when one of the horses refused to co-operate and take its starting position the race was off, the crowd went wild – and so began one of the craziest 90-odd seconds I have ever experienced.

Watching from the campo is almost like being part of the race because the horses run around a dirt track that circles the bowl-shaped campo.

The horses tore around the track three times, some losing their riders at the notoriously tight San Martino bend (which didn't matter because even a riderless horse can win) and some crashing into the rails – but I was pleased to read later that none were hurt.

Before I knew it, the horse and jockey representing Leocorno contrada had won the race and the Leocorno supporters flocked to the track to celebrate, triumphantly waving the district's orange, blue and white flags with the unicorn emblem.

Thousands of other spectators began pouring out of the campo and into the city streets.

The celebrations began immediately – and so did the television replays. Throughout the night we got to relive every moment of the race, as well as the sight of the winning jockey, Jonathan Bartoletti, shirtless, and riding high on the shoulders of Leocorno supporters – prompting the women in my group to suddenly develop an interest in horse racing.

I'm not a huge fan of racing, but the passion, chaos, colour, excitement, history and tradition surrounding Siena's palio festival embody the characteristics I absolutely love about Italy.

The city itself is a fantastic place to visit with beautiful buildings, great food, good shopping and friendly people, but it's also a great base to explore central Tuscany.

From Siena, our Contiki tour took us on day trips to Pisa, the gorgeous medieval town of Volterra, a couple of beautiful castles nestled in the rolling hills, the Tuscan coast and – one of my favourite cities in the world – Florence.

I don't even have to reach for my Italian dictionary to describe these experiences because there's one word that says it all: bellissimo!

IF YOU GO
Il Palio di Siena is held each year on July 2 and August 2 in Siena's main piazza, il Campo. The race starts at 7.45pm in July and 7pm in August, but you need to get to il Campo several hours earlier if you want to get a good viewing position.

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