Frequently Asked Questions

The Palio in Siena is held twice a year; on July 2 and August 16 (no matter the day of the week). In total, the event is held over 4 days.

Since the mid 1600s the Palio di Siena has been run in the city’s famous city ‘square’, Piazza del Campo. The piazza is not in a typical square or rectangular shape, but more in the shape of sea shell, curved at the top, flat on the bottom. The race is run (3 laps) in a clockwise direction around the piazza on the clay “track” that is layed down in the campo a few days before the race.

Our Apartment/Window options do provide for drink refreshment (wine, water and or juices), plus an assortment of food items and snacks. Certain Balcony locations do provide some drink refreshment and or food items or snacks, depending on the particular balcony; however, the drink options are limited usually to sodas and or water and juices; no alcohol is served or allowed to be brought in. Consider as you might with any modern sports arena or stadium, when you wish a drink or food items, you step out to a concession stand; in the same way you can step off the balcony and exit the shop to spend time in one of the many bars and or cafes that just outside the Campo for your food, wine or other alcohol refreshments. With either (apartments or balcony) access to a restroom is either directly in the adjoining space or just outside the space. The Grandstands (which represent approximately 80% of all reserved tickets) do not provide refreshments or access to a restroom, as the restaurants and or bars in the buildings behind the grandstand seating are not open during the time of the Palio; only before and after the time of the parade/race are they open for business. With Grandstand seats we suggest to visit your favorite bar and cafe to enjoy a pre-race drink and or snack; as well as take car of any bathroom needs.

Actual Palio Tickets for the race and tickets for the Contrada dinner will be given to you in Siena. The specific location for “pick-up” or delivery and the time for receiving your tickets will be given in with your time line summary, in most cases the location will be your hotel. Our tour director and other company personnel are in Siena for each race and will be in available during the days of the festival in order to help you with tickets or other festival related issues. We do not mail Palio tickets for several logistical reasons, primarily to avoid any problems (i.e. lost in the regular mail; forgotten at home, etc…).

You cannot see the race or the historical parade that precedes it unless you are in a reserved ticket position or in the the center of the campo, where you can stand (possibly in the sun) for the 3 plus hours prior to the race. Our ticket positions are in the shaded sections of the campo.

The time to be in your reserved ticket position is by 4:45 pm; in most instances the race/event will over by 8:15 pm.

After the winning horse/jockey crosses the finish line, a full celebration of the winning Contrada will begin (as one could expect). Once this celebration starts there is no time limit; eventually the winning Contrada members will make their way with their winning horse and jockey to leave the campo, passing Fonte Gaia and exiting the campo at San Martino. In July, the winning Contrada take their celebration to the Church of the Provenzano; in August the initial celebration finds its way to the Duomo (Siena Cathedral). Eventually the winning Contrada will make their way back to their own neighborhood to continue their celebrations. These celebitory actions are not “closed” to the public.

The horse blessings are a featured activity with your package; however, a ticket is in fact not actually needed to witness a horse blessing. They take place in the early afternoon on the day of the Palio (approx 2:30pm) in the respective churches of each Contrada. As part of your ticket pacakge, you will receive suggestions on which blessing to witness and where these are located.

Yes, there are defined pay-to-park (blue line) areas and also pay-to-park covered parking garages around the perimeter of the historical city. From these areas you would then walk in to the city center. With the many people arriving, naturally the earlier you arrive, the more chance of finding a spot to park.

There are several activities to be aware of. On the day of the race (July 2 or August 16) the ‘horse blessings’ begin at about 2:30pm (2pm in August) in the respective churches of each Contrada. This activity is free, but obviously you will give way to any Contrada member before entering the church; the ‘in city’ parade begins after the hourse blessings; the historical parade begins in the campo just after 5:00pm (a little earlier in August); the historical parade lasts approx 2 hours; the race gets ready to begin after the parade is completed. After the race by tradition, the winning Contrada will leave in celebration from the campo to go first the Church of Provenzano (July race) or the Duomo (August race). Afterwards they will proceed to their own neighborhood church and for more celebrations.

There is no particular “dress code” for any of the functions/activities. It is basically casual clothing and according to the weather and tempature. However, our suggestion, NO beach wear (“ie. tank tops, flip flops), in particular for the contrada dinner.

The city tour lasts about 1.5 to 2 hours and includes the major highlights of Siena, including the most unique part of the tour, a visit to one of the Contrada Museums. Each Contrada (17) has their own museum, which contains many historical and artistic pieces, representing the history of the Contrada and Siena. One of the items of interest are the victory banner taken by the Contrada when it wins a Palio. During the Palio, only through a special reservation request can one access these museum treasures. Our hotel/ticket package provides you this special reservation.

The practice/trial races (prova) can be interesting, and for visitors more a tool to understand how the Palio race is conducted, but the prova in no way can be considered an equal replacement for the final race. The trial races are not for qualification; all of the 10 participants are in the race regardless of how they may finish in a practice run; they can only be eliminated if their horse is somehow injured or unable to run. And if a horse is unable to run, the Contrada does not receive a replacement; so the trial races are not run at full speed for the entire 3 laps. There is certainly a unique atmosphere during the trials (more like a pep rally for all the Contrada), but the level of intensity is no where near the same as the final race.