Destination: Siena

On Siena’s main square, Il Campo, my tour guide Roberto Bechi explains, “For the Sienese, you’re born…there’s the Palio…and then you can die.” We’re in the square for a “charge of the carabinieri” and a practice run where the jockeys get to know their horses (and vice versa). The square is pretty full — but it’ll be twice as packed for the big race tomorrow.

While the jockeys — usually from out of town — are hired hands, the horses are stars. Each neighborhood gets its horse through a lottery. They’re then adopted and showered with love — respected as if special neighborhood citizens. They’re groomed and washed in stables like 5-star hotels.

This is Day 95 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, Siena, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.

Two nights before Siena’s Palio horse race, the Dragon district gathers for dinner. I’m wearing the Dragon colors, in the backyard of the Church of San Domenic, enjoying a multigenerational party. Each banquet is beautifully situated in the heart of the district. Even if I don’t fully understand what’s happening, the excitement is contagious, and the wine is delightful.

With the horses and jockeys chosen, competing neighborhoods gather for big communal dinners that last well into the night. The excitement builds, and it’s a multigenerational affair — some people revving up for their 100th Palio (two per year for 50 years)…and others for their first. There are rousing choruses, with everyone cheering their contrada, and little ones soaking up the traditions — a scene that’s changed little over the centuries.

Looking out my hotel window, I was impressed at how the Panther contrada throws a big dinner party. With legions of volunteers, they set up, served, partied until late, and then cleaned the entire thing up in a flash. The next morning, you wouldn’t know there was a big dinner filling the square just last night.

This is Day 94 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, Siena, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.

(Central Italy was hit by a devastating earthquake last night. Aftershocks could be felt in Siena, almost 150 miles away from the earthquake’s epicenter. My crew, friends, and I are all OK. Our hearts go out to all who have been affected.)

The night before Siena’s Palio, at midnight, the streets were filled with eating, drinking, singing, and camaraderie, as neighborhoods gathered to pump each other up for the big horse race. The city is full of both locals (who live this ritual as if it’s in their DNA) and tourists (who are generally clueless and are just waiting for the race), living in parallel worlds. Your challenge is to bridge those worlds.

Siena is divided into 17 neighborhoods, or contrade. Historically, these were autonomous, competitive, and filled with rivalries. Each contrada — with its own parish church, fountain, and square — still plays an active role in the life of the city. And each is represented by a mascot (porcupine, unicorn, she-wolf, and so on) and a distinctive flag — colors worn and flown all year long, but omnipresent as the race nears.  And, tonight, each contrada has a party going on.

This is Day 93 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, Siena, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.

The coveted Palio banner is the trophy that gives the wildest horse race anywhere its name. This clip shows a dramatic procession through Siena, with the Palio held high. A highlight of the parade is that famed and treasured banner — lovingly painted and featuring the Virgin Mary, to whom the race is dedicated — that will be awarded to the victorious contrada. The Palio is being carried by adoring masses through Siena to the Cathedral. As race day approaches, this and other processions break out across the city. Locals belt out passionate good-luck choruses. With the waving flags and pounding drums, it all harkens back to the Middle Ages, when these rituals boosted morale before battle.

This is Day 92 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, Siena, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.

Twice a year, each July and August, Siena readies itself for the big horse race (in which 10 of its 17 neighborhoods — chosen by lottery — will compete). Siena’s central square, Il Campo, is transformed into a medieval racetrack. Tons of clay is packed atop the cobbles, padding is added to the treacherous corners, and bleachers and railings are set up in anticipation of the big day.

In Siena (as you’ll see in the photos at the end of this clip), the police were out in force, with busloads converging on the town center, lines of security troops checking anyone entering the square, and (of course) bars busy with heavily armed cops getting their cappuccino. It’s all part of the festive mix.

Security is on high alert at any big event in Europe these days. And I appreciate the security. The first decades of my life were spent in a Cold War, where our very existence was at risk. I’m resigned to the fact that my last decades will be spent in a world where terrorism is the new norm. The way I see it, we’re all combatants. And, rather than give up our freedom of movement, we’ll suffer random hits — which get way more attention than they merit, rewarding and therefore encouraging more such attacks. “Soft targets” such as festivals will be ringed by ever more effective security, and life — for the vast majority of us — will go on.

This is Day 91 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, Siena, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.