Palio is the name given in Italy to an annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a comune against each other. Typically, they are fought in costume and commemorate some event or tradition of the Middle Ages and thus often involve horse racing, archery, jousting, crossbow shooting, and similar medieval sports. Once purely a matter of local rivalries, many have now become events that are staged with an eye to visitors and foreign tourists.
The Palio di Siena is a horse race held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colours, represent ten of the seventeen contrade, or city wards. The Palio held on 2 July is named Palio di Provenzano, in honour of the Madonna of Provenzano, a Marian devotion particular to Siena which developed around an icon from the Terzo Camollia area of the city. The Palio held on 16 August is named Palio dell'Assunta, in honour of the Assumption of Mary.
Montagnana is a town and comune in the province of Padova, in Veneto. Neighbouring communes are Borgo Veneto, Casale di Scodosia, Urbana, Bevilacqua, Pojana Maggiore, Pressana, Minerbe and Roveredo di Guà. As of 2017, the population of Montagnana is 9120. The town was awarded with the Bandiera arancione and is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Monselice is a town and municipality (comune) located in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region, in the province of Padua about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of the city of Padua, at the southern edge of the Euganean Hills.
Monselice is the most picturesque town I have seen in Italy. It has an old ruin of a castle upon the hill and thence commands a beautiful and extraordinary view. It lies in the wide plain – a dead level – whereon Ferrara, Bologna, Rovigo, Este, Padua stand and even Venice we could dimly see in the horizon rising with her tiara of proud towers. What a walk and what a wide delightful picture. To Venice 38 miles. Ralph Waldo Emerson Journals
Castiglion Fiorentino is a small, walled city in eastern Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Arezzo, between the cities of Arezzo and Cortona. It is known for its annual festivals and its Etruscan archeological site.
Mordano is a town and comune in Emilia Romagna (Italy), situated in the province of Bologna. The municipality is organized in two major villages: Mordano and Bubano.
Vittoria is a town and comune in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. With its 64,212 inhabitants, Vittoria is the second most populated municipality of the province after Ragusa.
Aquara is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.
Terno d'Isola is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northeast of Milan and about 11 kilometres (7 mi) west of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,004 and an area of 4.0 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi).
Cavriana is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, part of the municipalities of Alto Mantovano.
Castel del Rio is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Bologna.
Pontassieve is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 14 kilometres (9 mi) east of Florence, nearby Fiesole, at the confluence of the Arno and Sieve rivers.
Poppi is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 40 km east of Florence and about 30 km northwest of Arezzo.
Abbadia San Salvatore is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 110 kilometres (68 mi) southeast of Florence and about 60 kilometres (37 mi) southeast of Siena, in the area of Monte Amiata.
Castiglione d'Orcia is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) southeast of Florence and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Siena, in the Val d'Orcia, not far from the Via Cassia.
Arcidosso is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Florence and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northeast of Grosseto and near the town of Montalcino.
Cinigiano is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Florence and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of Grosseto.
Santa Fiora is a comune (municipality) in the province of Grosseto, in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about 110 kilometres southeast of Florence and about 40 km (25 mi) east of Grosseto. Santa Fiora borders the following municipalities: Abbadia San Salvatore, Arcidosso, Castel del Piano, Castell'Azzara, Piancastagnaio, Roccalbegna, and Semproniano. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Seggiano is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Florence and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Grosseto.
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. Siena is the 12th largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 53,062 as of 2022.
