Siena’s Palio takes place twice a year and sees horses race through the streets of the Tuscan town. Today, the first round of the race has been held and La Torre won the Palio with Andrea Mari (called Brio) that mounted the horse before arrears. Second place for La Onda.
Last time the contrada La Torre won the Palio was in August 16, 2005 and, with today’s win, it has collected 44 victories total. Andrea Mari, 38, has participated to 22 Palios and won five of them. The last victory by Mari dates back to August 16, 2014 for the district of Civetta and the horse Occalè.
Originally, there were about fifty-nine “Contrade”; now only seventeen remain, ten of which take part in the historical pageant and in the race at each Palio (seven by right and three drawn by lots). The 17 Contrade are: Eagle, Snail, Wave, Panther, Forest, Tortoise, Owl, Unicorn, Shell, Tower, Ram, Caterpillar, Dragon, Giraffe, Porcupine, She-Wolf, Goose.
Each Contrada has its own unique emblem and colors and represents an area of the city. As one walks through the streets of Siena it is easy to know in which Contrada you currently are in by observing the flags and emblems displayed along the street. Much like street signs, corners often designate the entrance into a different Contrada with signs as the ones in the picture below.
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