Lost in Italy: Siena and the Palio

After a long day at work and a scramble to get to the airport on time I arrived in Bologna and jumped right into the car with my friend Nick (crazy guy, after a 7 hour drive from Vienna he agreed to pick me up and drive another 2.5 hours) to make the first stop on my Italian holiday: Siena!

So as I mentioned before I managed to locate some unbelievable luck in getting accommodations for this trip. There's an Italian holiday on today and it just so happens that tomorrow is the second Palio in Siena.

Now you may be wondering to yourself: What exactly is this Palio thing she's writing about. . .

Glad you asked. You can read all about the Palio on Wikipedia, but I'm going to give you the insiders scoop from my experience so far. Basically all I know about the Palio I learned from a guy named Dario Castango. He is a former tour guide, author, olive oil maker, documentary maker and passionate member of the Bruco (Caterpillar) contrada in Siena. A few years ago when my father, brother and I toured Italy (a tale not for the faint of heart), we had the luck of having Dario take us through Chianti country. Over lunch that day he starting sharing stories about the Palio, a famous medieval race that takes place twice a summer (July and August) in Siena. It was a story of rivalries and alliances, deal making and politicking, and loyalties stretching back generations. I was hooked as I listened to him talk. After that trip I dreamed of making it back to Tuscany to see the Palio for myself, this mythic horse race in the Siena campo. . .

Of course, as you know I decided to try and plan this trip last minute, but as soon as plans started to shape up I emailed Dario and reintroduced myself to see if he had any suggestions. With a warm welcome (and a gentle chastisement for leaving my planning so late in the season) he told me that I had to see the trials the day before the race and then I should head over to the Bruco headquarters for dinner. So pointlessly long story short I decided then and there that I would do just that.

Now here I am, in Siena about to witness the trials and then head to the Bruco headquarters for dinner. Gotta love living in Europe . . .