08/07/2024
Warning: long post ahead!
Summary: the start was clearly invalid, but Onda ran a beautiful Palio and won on 4 July 2024.
For those of you with more stamina, here’s my take:
And so another Palio has become history, and like much of history, it is not without its controversy.
We have grown more and more accustomed to Mother Nature’s quirks (thanks in no small part to our own follies), and I’ve borne witness to her capricious nature on more than one occasion. On 16 August 2022, for example, just minutes before the Corteo Storico (Historical Procession) entered the Piazza del Campo, the heavens opened and a 5-minute downpour soaked right through the dirt track so that the Palio had to be postponed until the 17th. On 2 July, however, the Corteo Storico entered the Piazza, the Palio banner was hoisted up next to the Palco dei Giudici (Judges’ Balcony, where the Mayor, city officials, and Contrada Captains all stand), the Sbandierata della Vittoria (Victory Flag Display) took place, and the jockeys came out onto the track. A light rain had begun, but the Mossiere (the “Starter”, the person in charge of dropping the rope and determining whether or not a start is valid) received the envelope with the order of the Contrade in between the starting ropes.* The rain continued, but the jockeys were able to line their horses up a few times, and all hoped that the Palio could be run. However, soon it became clear that a few minutes more and the track would turn to mud, putting the horses and jockeys at risk. The Mossiere ordered the Contrade back to the Entrone (the courtyard of the Palazzo Pubblico), and shortly thereafter, the green flag was displayed on the town hall to indicate that the Palio had to be postponed (but this of course was clear to all).
The Palio of Provenzano was thus moved to the evening of 3 July. All day in Siena the air was heavy, with uncertainty, stress, and humidity. As everyone made their way to the battlefield that is the Piazza del Campo, the rain drops began once more, and then, an absolute downpour. For some reason there was a bit of a delay in bringing out that green-does-not-mean-go flag, but it was immediately obvious that we would need to move to 4 July.
The Palio di Provenzano has been run on 2 July since 1656 (in honour of the Madonna di Provenzano), but 27 times it has had to be moved to 3 July, and only 14 times to the 4th, making this just the 15th time in history a Palio was to be run on this date. The weather was on our side, but this turned out to be an odd Palio indeed.
Very rarely has a Palio been run with the order in between the starting ropes already known, but the rules state that unless there is an impossibility of running with the prescribed order, the second “busta” (envelope with the order, determined by lot) shall not be used. And so it was that strategies had been ongoing up until 19.00 on the 4th, as deals were made with Lupa (which was in the “rincorsa” or run-up position), and the rivals Valdimontone-Nicchio and Civetta-Leocorno, placed next to each other by the Fates, were able to think of new plans of attack (or lack thereof, given what transpired).
You all know that the Palio is the longest continuously run ba****ck horserace in the world, and that it continues to evolve. In 1930, the “rincorsa” was introduced, so that 9 Contrade would line up in between the “canapi” (ropes), and the 10th would remain outside. When the 10th horse began its run up to the back rope and the horse’s nose was about to reach the back rope, the Mossiere would drop the front rope. Of course false starts could occur, should the Mossiere realize he dropped the rope too soon (either by anticipating the rincorsa’s move, or by lowering the rope if the horses were pressing up against it too much, risking their safety or their jockeys’).
The first “mossa” (start) of this Palio did not look to be too bad, but the “mortaletto” (cannon) fired immediately to indicate that the Mossiere was not convinced. The second mossa was clearly invalid, so that the cannon fired once more. The third mossa was then declared valid, to the surprise of absolutely everyone (including yours truly, who was calling the race in English), and the Mossiere was whisked away as the 10 Contrade began to race for glory. Here is a (mostly) objective description of what happened:
Nicchio pushed up against the front rope, Valdimontone was almost pushed back from the rope, and Pantera on the inside nearly stumbled over it. The front rope dropped as Lupa (rincorsa) was nowhere near the back rope. Oca, Leocorno, and Onda (at the top of the lineup) got off to a strong start, with Bruco and Pantera hot on their heels. At the first San Martino curve, it was Oca, Leocorno, then Onda, followed by the others, when Civetta tried to pass on the inside, lost control, and fell (both horse and jockey are fine, but the Civetta jockey threw his hands up in exasperation before he was escorted off the track). The first Casato curve was taken well by Oca and Onda, with Leocorno still there and now Montone gaining speed. Onda then snuck ahead and took the second San Martino well, with Oca and Leocorno right behind. But then Montone fell, taking Pantera down with it, and then Nicchio! It was a nasty pile up, with the jockeys for Montone and Nicchio being carted off in stretchers and spending the night in hospital (they’re both fine, as are all 3 horses).
At the second Casato, this Palio was now truly between Onda, Oca, and Leocorno. With one more lap to go, it was still anyone’s race. Onda took the third San Martino beautifully, whereas Oca went a bit wide and lost that momentum it had been gaining. Some observed that Leocorno appeared to be pulling back a bit, but whatever other strategies were at play, after a perfect third Casato, the jockey Carlo Sanna (aka “Brigante”, “Bandit”) raised his whip in triumph as Tabacco (C12, 7th Palio) won its first ever Palio for the Contrada Capitana dell’Onda, with Oca finishing second. But there is no silver medal in the Palio. Oca finished in the worst position, “first loser”, so its rivals, the Torre, could take some solace in this humiliation; however, its unrecognized other rival, Onda, won (unrecognized because Onda considers Torre their rival, yet Torre refuses to acknowledge them), so all was certainly not well in Salicotto that evening.
The “ondaioli” (members of the Onda) crowded round their victorious horse and jockey (Brigante’s third Palio win) as others embraced and still more went to claim the prize, the Palio banner. This drappellone truly is a work of art, as the artist Giovanni Gasparri was able to produce a painting on silk worthy of any museum. But no matter its artistic merits, the “cencio” is now a part of the Onda, a new member of its family, tangible evidence that on only the 15th Palio ever run on the 4th of July, the Onda reigned supreme.
But what of this clearly invalid mossa? What’s done is done. The Mossiere was interviewed later that evening and admitted that the first mossa was better than the third, and that he had made a mistake. Other Captains of the Contrade expressed their dismay, and we needn’t get in to what was said in the other Contrade and/or on social media. What is clear is that the rincorsa must be taken more seriously; the Palio should not start between the ropes.
Ma anche tutto questo è Palio - all of this, too, is Palio. Unpredictable weather, 6 debut horses and 2 debut jockeys, more time for strategies than ever before, almost all rendered useless when the “non-mossa” was declared valid. But watching the replay you will appreciate the skill with which Brigante directed Tabacco, the most experienced horse in the Campo that day, and realize that no, this is not just a horse race, this is PALIO. La terra in Piazza - the earth in the square - to the Sienese their entire world is in the Piazza del Campo twice a year. The dirt will soon be gone, but it will be back in August, when we will do this all again. How utterly wonderful. Evviva il Palio, evviva Siena.
*The order in between the ropes is revealed minutes after the Contrade exit the Entrone. There is a bulbous flask with a long neck called the “fiasca” (“flask”), inside of which 10 marbles of equal size and weight are placed. They are swirled round and then the fiasca is turned upside down so that they line up in the neck, and then little windows reveal the order. This is done 3 times. The second and third envelopes each had Oca as the rincorsa; what a different Palio that would have been!
Replay (with Italian commentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ8ZtJTx_2A
