Who is running the Palio di Provenzano (dedicated to the Virgin of Provenzano) on 2 July 2023? By right:
• Aquila 🦅 • Giraffa 🦒 • Selva 🦏 • Onda 🐬 • Nicchio 🐚 • (Oca 🦆) • Tartuca 🐢 •
Listen for the chiarine (the clarions) - when they play, the remaining 4 Contrade will be drawn by lot in the Piazza del Campo!* Who will fortune favour?
UPDATE: The 4 Contrade drawn this evening were: Istrice 🦔 • Drago 🐉 • Torre 🐘 • Chiocciola 🐌 •
Details from 21 May: Civetta was the first flag drawn (by their own Captain), which means that it has “expiated” a Palio (they were disqualified from 3 Palii due to their behaviour in the Piazza in August 2022). The Captain of the Leocorno was the next to draw, and he picked Istrice. The Captain of the Pantera chose Drago, the Captain of Bruco picked Torre, and the Captain of Torre drew Chiocciola. The remaining Captains each had their turn to draw a name, and the order of the remaining Contrade were: Valdimontone, Pantera, Bruco, Leocorno, and, finally, Lupa.
*How does it work? The names of the eligible Contrade will be placed in an urn, and the Mayor of Siena will select the Contrade one by one (16 are eligible; Oca is not) at random. The captains of these Contrade will then each choose one Contrada from another urn where all but the 6 listed above are placed.
The flags will then displayed one by one outside the trifore (3-light windows) of the Palazzo Pubblico to complete the lineup of 10 for the 2 July 2023 Palio (so the first four will run on 2 July). The Mayor will then choose (at random) the remaining 6 (usually 7, but the Oca has been disqualified) Contrade one by one, and their flags will be displayed on the upper windows of the Palazzo Pubblico, determining their order in the Historical Procession. The process continues: these 7 Contrade will therefore run by right in July 2024, and the remaining 4 Contrade will be chosen by lot the last Sunday in May 2024 (unless more shenanigans occur and more sanctions are issued, in which case, I’ll update you!)
If you’d like to witness the event, I’d recommend having an early aperitivo in the Campo! Grab a table and order a spritz, and enjoy watching all of the Contrade enter the Piazza. At 7 sharp the clarions will play and you will feel the anticipation in the air as the window opens and the first flag is revealed!
NB: The Estrazione is usually the last Sunday in May, but since the Mayoral election will take place the last weekend in May (yes, Italians vote on Sundays!), the current Mayor (not up for re-election) decided to move the event forward one week.
