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Vintage Plate Palio di Siena Made in Italy Piazza del Campo Bareback Horse Race
This is a souvenir commemorative plate from Siena, Italy made to commemorate the running of the Palio. The plate is in pre owned well maintained condition with a vintage wall hanger attached to the back side as shown. The plate features a graphic of the town square in the "Empire" style with 14K gold around the circumferance of the plate which measures 10 inches in diameter.
In the Middle Ages, Siena was partitioned into 17 neighborhoods and Siena retains a ward-centric culture from those medieval times. Each ward (contrada) is represented by an animal or mascot unique emblem with a colorful banner, and has its own boundary and distinct identity. Ward rivalries are most rampant during the annual Palio, a competitive bareback horse race that takes place on July 2 and August 16 every year in the city's main piazza Piazza del Campo.
The event is attended by large crowds, and is widely televised. Seventeen Contrade, which are city wards originally formed as battalions for the city's defense, vie for the trophy which is a painted banner, or Palio bearing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colors, represent ten of the seventeen 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. The Palio held on 16 August is named Palio dell'Assunta, in honour of the Assumption of Mary. The race itself, in which the jockeys ride bareback, circles the Piazza del Campo, on which a thick layer of dirt has been laid. The race is run for three laps of the piazza and usually lasts no more than 90 seconds. It is common for a few of the jockeys to be thrown off their horses while making the treacherous turns in the piazza, and indeed, it is not unusual to see riderless horses finishing the race.
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