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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 the only one that has been run without interruption since it started in the 1630s and is definitely the most famous all over the world. Its historical origins are documented since 1239 even though the version seen today was the final evolution of races held from the second half of the 16th century. In 1935, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini sent out an official declaration that only the one of Siena could bring the designation of Palio. All other horse races held in various parts of Italy are actually just modern reenactments. After the Second World War, nevertheless, many other palios arose throughout the various regions of Italy. Here is an incomplete list:
Ugo Nespolo is an Italian artist, painter, sculptor, filmmaker and writer. He lives and works in Turin.
A comune is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions and provinces. The comune can also have the title of città.
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, in a tradition dating back to the 17th-century. 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.
A contrada is generally a district within the Italian countryside. In the city of Siena, the term indicates the 17 urban wards, whose representatives race on horseback in the Palio di Siena, run twice every year in July and August. Each sienese contrada is named after an animal or symbol, with a long history and complicated heraldic and semi-mythological associations.
Regola is the 7th rione of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. VII, and belongs to the Municipio I. The name comes from Arenula, which was the name of the soft sand that the river Tiber left after the floods, and that built strands on the left bank.
Bugnara is a comune and village in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Castel del Piano is a town and comune (municipality) of Province of Grosseto in the Tuscany, central Italy.
Fagagna is a comune (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Trieste and about 13 kilometres (8 mi) northwest of Udine. As of 2011, it had a population of 6,279 and an area of 37.0 square kilometres (14.3 sq mi). It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
San Biase is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Campobasso in the Italian region Molise, located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Campobasso.
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.
The Corteo Storico is a historical costume parade in Siena, Tuscany, Italy. It takes place before the famous horse race known as the Palio on the 2nd of July and on August 16, each year.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.
Traditions of Italy are sets of traditions, beliefs, values, and customs that belongs within the culture of Italian people. These traditions have influenced life in Italy for centuries, and are still practiced in modern times. Italian traditions are directly connected to Italy's ancestors, which says even more about Italian history.
Bagnolo is a village in Tuscany, in central Italy. It is administratively a frazione of the comune of Santa Fiora, province of Grosseto. At the time of the 2001 census, its population amounted to 566.
The Palio di Legnano is a traditional event generally held on the last Sunday of May in the city of Legnano, Italy, to recall the Battle of Legnano held on 29 May 1176 by the Lombard League and the Holy Roman Empire of Frederick Barbarossa. This Palio is composed by a medieval pageant and a horse race. Until 2005 the whole event was named Sagra del Carroccio.
The Palio of Districts of Trento is a celebration in remembrance of the Battle of Calliano (1487) and takes place every year in September in the city of Trento, the capital of Trentino in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, a region of Northern Italy.
The contrade of Legnano are the eight historical subdivisions into which the city of Legnano, in Lombardy, in Italy, is divided. They participate annually in the Palio di Legnano.
The "Marcia del Palio", commonly also called Squilli la fe', is an ancient hymn that accompanies the historical costume parade called Corteo Storico that precedes the Palio of Siena.
The Contrada of the Tortoise is one of the seventeen historic subdivisions of the Tuscan city of Siena. It takes part in the Palio di Siena.