The gorgeous medievil town of Siena

Me & Azahara on the bus trip to Siena
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Visiting Siena, was an experience & a half. We went on the day of the Il Palio, which is an extremely unique horse race held in Siena twice a year. Basically, there are 17 horses that race from seventeen city wards (or neighbourhoods). Over 50,000 people, including me on this day, pack into one of the squares of Siena to experience a one & a half minute horse race.

Preperation is made all year leading up to the race & it is an extremely big deal for the city ward that wins. There are parades held all day before the race & each horse is blessed by a priest in a church a couple hours before it takes its place in the line up.

One of the piazzas in Siena, decorated with flags for the race
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In the Il Palio, anything goes. The only rule, is that a rider can not touch the reins of another horse. It can be quite brutal for the horses unfortunately & some are known to die from their injuries afterwards. The horse doesnt actually need a rider to win the race, if the rider falls off - the horse can still go on to become the champ.

The atmosphere is fantastic, especially after the race. In the streets is a huge stampeed of the people celebrating the win of their horse, it is quite advisable to stick to a wall to avoid being trampled - prob not a place small kids should be. There are alot of tears from the people, young & old, whose horse did not win. It was a crazily amazing experience & I am so glad I got to witness it. Didnt get a great deal of photos though, as I was to busy experiencing it. :)