Il Palio August, 2013 Preparations: Part Two

Here is the scene of the one contrada as they traveled down to Il Campo that Tuesday before Il Palio. Very strong, so awesome they were. I apologize for the lack of audio and the amateur vertical video faux pas I have been told that I commit. Next time, I will work to improve the quality of my posts.  Thanks for your patience! And now, I continue below....

The day of horse assignment was very exciting but incredibly hot! It must have been 90 degrees F and in dry heat. And the heat was part of the excitement! One by one, each of the 10 designated competing contrade paraded in singing with echoed glory inside the Palazzo's walls. As the time passed, the center of Il Campo began to fill in. People standing in the shade of the Torre Manga~ a sight for sure. Then, it happened...the heat got to me and I suddenly became a Sienese citizen! A girl, maybe 17 years-old started to lean on me, and it was hot.  I was sweating standing still and not used to this close bodily contact with strangers. She was trying to craftily push me into the sun and save space for her "girls in the hood" well, I suppose, my evil twin pushed back a little to let her know, "eh, I am a momma and I do not play". Well, girlfriend got huffy and decided to cross in front of me in an effort to get a "new space". Evil twin stuck out my foot so mean girl could feel a little trippy - poo. She looked and said " EHH" I smiled and said Lo Siento in my best Spanish to let her know it must have been a fluke~ after, I shook my head and returned to my normal Lynore sensibilities. It was time for Gelato!

Huge, glorious, mountains of Gelato!

We enjoyed walking about town as the singing and posting of horses continued!

Then it happened again, the contrada of Lupa passed us on the street. apparently, we were in their neighborhood. But this was exciting! They were singing while they escorted their newly assigned Palio Horse, Lo Specialista, to their church stable to be cared for and guarded until Friday. Another incredible experience! We were astounded! If anyone would like to hear any of the footage, message me privately, I will forward it to you!

We went for a lovely lunch nearby with Suzi and Debi and sat for what they call Pomi Giourno ( similar to a Mexican Siesta) We ate noddles and drank prosecco and red wine before we called it a day and headed home. Next, the day of IL Palio: Friday, August 16, 2013!

Another bit of research helped me to uncover that each contrada has their horse and their jockey blessed in their contrada's church prior to Il Palio, a tradition. So, we decided to pick a contrada to root for and it turned out to be Lupa ( the she-wolf, mother of Romulus and Remus) Very fitting! So, we bought flags for the contrada and set out to find the church. We found it noting that we needed to return by 1:30 and headed into town. Debi had given us a tip that the bank in Siena : Banca dei Paschi di Siena has ancient relics of banking dating back to the 15th century! For the record, it is Europe's oldest established bank! By tradition,  It's museum is only ever open to the public on the day of Il Palio. It houses collections of art, old money minting machines, and ancient written documents and bookkeeping. We climbed inside, enjoyed and appreciated the many relics, tapestries and paintings and we even climbed to the top, on the roof to catch a glorious view!

Now, onto the Contrada of Lupa~

We arrived at 1:45pm in time to see people entering the church. It was small and there were no benches in the center, like they were cleared away for the crowd. The alter was incredibly gorgeous complete with frescoes and family crests the size of bathroom tiles lined up side by side to show the age of the church. We were lucky to establish ourselves close to the front. and once again, it was HOT! Mandingo crazy Hot! Knowing the starting time of the horse blessing was at 2:30 was daunting. More and more people came... the air became thick with the smell of musk and wet paint, neither smell easy on the nose nor the stability of the stomach. So, with the heat you can imagine what happens next, E? Well, I had my Ipad ready to shoot video and shots of Lo Specialista when he entered the church. Once the well costumed group of parade participants came out and stood before the altar, I began shooting. Then, this cute little Grandmom suddenly stood to my right. She was smiling. We communicated with winks, smiles and nudges. I held up my Ipad with sweat literally weeping from my thumbs. She encouraged me to keep my arms up and film so she could see (her height came to my shoulder). When I would bring my arms down for a rest and recirculation, the crowd behind me would say "ahhh" but in a whisper. I became the human jumbotron (quite funny). Then, my grandmom friend became bent and angry but, not at me, (thank God) but at what seemed like her long time contrada rival. He must have been 70 and he was pushing his way to the front of the church and using a cute, little kid as his hostage to gain sympathy. You see in Italy, children are adored, and doted upon with love and care. She was livid at his behavior and motioned for me to shove him. I shook my head no, I was merely a guest visiting. So, what did Grandmom do? She hauled off and rammed into my right shoulder shoving me into him. Thankfully, the crowd held me up. And I did not fall over, But I was embarrassed and amused all at once. I felt her disapproval and I liked her retribution! The crowd calmed and just a bit later, the horse entered the church from the side door with his jockey! A HORSE IN CHURCH? It was wonderful! And I understand the superstition is if the horse poops on the alter, it is very good luck. No poop today!

Following the horse and Jockey's blessing, the men of the contrada began serenading the Jockey wishing well to lead them to victory! Lots of love, lots of pressure!

Then, simultaneously, all the contrade from the whole city exited their churches and joined in a formation of a parade route. It was glorious with drum cadences, flag throwers, and well-costumed men! something to behold.

We had made an arrangement to meet Donna Zena, the woman who owned the apartment we were going to enjoy the parade from. She found us while we watched the parade and took us into an alley which led to the Il Campo parade entrance.  We arrived just before they closed a main gate. She walked with her two grandchildren: Mauricio and Julia.

We were able to see the parade horses for many of the contrade and to our surprise, was Lupa's parade horse ready to go.

This was not Lo Specialista, but a horse that enters the parade in Il Campo to introduce the contrada. The race horse is usually walked in behind the contrada to absorb the high energy of the audience.

Once inside the apartment, Siena made fast friends with Julia. Her mother is Argentine and Julia speaks Spanish and Italian. Since Siena is fluent in Spanish, it was a treat to see them have fun together and communicate well.

Donna Zina was adorable and very helpful to us, we gave her gifts of appreciation and hugs of joy!

We had to climb several steps to get to the apartment while carrying so many foods and drinks but we did so in awe of the architecture and the excitement of the event.

parade watchers ready to get out of the heat!

 Siena  and friends watching the parade in shelter as we witnessed some people carried away on stretchers!

In the end, Il Palio after the regalia of the parade is a 90-second horse race. Contrada Lupa held the lead two loops around Il Campo only to bump the baracade and fall to 6th place. The contrada, Onda, meaning wave and represented by a dolphin, was the ultimate winner !