The Palio in Siena

Siena's Palio, the centuries-old horse race run twice each July, because there are too many contradas (neighborhoods, but intensely so) for one race, is a truly amazing event. See http://www.ilpalio.org/index_english.htm ] And the pagentry and festivities go on both days before and after the race. What a party it is! As for the race, the horse wins, not the jockey, and is the hero. The jockey is inconsequential. There are no rules to speak of. Jockies may lash the other jockies with their whips, and the horse can win even if the rider falls off. The horses are blessed inside each contrada's church. Many Siennese couples have their weddings during Palio week. A wonderful film of the Palio can be found on the DVD of "A Summer's Lease", a 1989 BBC miniseries seen in the U.S. on Masterpiece Theater. http://www.tvdvdreviews.com/sumlease.html It is a splendid movie about a family's month in a villa near Siena, and John Gielgud, among others, is hilarious in it, although the plotline is a murder mystery. It really captures the languid and dreamy quality of a month in the Tuscan countryside.