Piazza del Campo and the Palio
Among the examples of civilized architecture, the Piazza del Campo, or "the Campo", as it is called in Siena, is certainly one of the most beautiful in the world. When it was built in the beginning of the 1300's, it could hold the entire population of the city, transforming it into a place for performances, jousting matches, and bull and buffalo races. The most important public manifestations have always been held here, on the nine sections of bricks in the form of a fish spine that form the foundation of the piazza.
In Siena, the typical contrast in Italy between the city's cathedral and the Palazzo Pubblico (City Hall) took on an even more distinct character, as the varying levels of the terrain prompted a unique solution: since the Palazzo Pubblico had already been constructed as the backdrop of the Piazza del Campo, a new and magnificently large Duomo (cathedral) was planned, although its construction was never fully completed. The Baptistery was selected as the actual, and truly marvelous, connecting point between the two piazzas with the transept and the choir of the Duomo rising above it to take advantage of the different levels. In the Campo, the monuments, palaces and in particular the Palazzo Pubblico with its dizzying Tower of the Mangia have made the Campo unique to the world, a huge open space that invades with light those who find their way to it from the narrow surrounding streets.
The white banisters of Fonte Gaia (the Fountain of Joy) stand out from the red bricks and yellow facades of palaces of the Campo, most of which have been restored and modified over the centuries. With this elegant construction, the Sienese celebrated the arrival of water in their city, a much desired and even legendary commodity in an environment poor in hydraulic resources.
Climbing the 400 stairs of the tower, called "la Mangia" from the nickname of the bell-ringer Giovanni di Duccio (the Mangiaguadagni, or "Earnings-eater"), it is possible to admire one of the best preserved examples of city planning still in existence in Italy. The piazza is not only an urban setting; the Sienese meet there to go down to the market behind the Piazza Pubblico, to talk to friends, to enjoy the silence of a fresh summer evening or to soak up the sun during the winter, when life in the piazza slows down along with the flow of tourists.
The Campo is the unfailing point of reference for every event that involves public life in Siena; therefore it is obvious that the race of the Palio finds its most worthy setting there. It is also because the Campo is a neutral zone belonging to everyone, since the boundaries of the 17 "contradas" end there, and because the track covered with soil called tufa, the large, shell-shaped central area full of people, and the other spectators in the bleachers and watching from the windows form a composition that would be impossible to create in any other place. And yet, all of this just forms a frame around the picture, because for the Sienese that belong to the contradas, the most important things are others - most of all the horse and the jockey.
It is not easy to define what the Palio is; it has been defined in hundreds of different ways. It is easier to say what it is not: it is not a commemoration in costume, for example, such as are many other events in Tuscany. Not that the procession encircling the race is not a scene of elegance and color in a setting that is an iconography rich with secular symbols; even if there is not one color or coat of arms that does not have a significance, all of these things are extras with respect to the race, to that brief minute and a half of intense passion.
The contradas are what make up the soul of Siena: they consider the days of July 2 and August 16 as essential moments in the life of the entire Sienese community. The Palio, therefore, is not to be considered lightly, and it takes seeing it just once to fully realize this. The driving force is not just the spirit of competition, because that would not explain the many, complex contrada activities that take place all year long and in which the social life of the members of the contradas finds a constant point of reference. It is important to note, however, that this attachment to the contradas has nothing to do with political ideas; in the last 30 years the social situation in Siena has changed, and even though the historical center has emptied out in favor of new neighborhoods outside the city walls, this has not meant the end of being truly Sienese.
The contradas, in some cases "bled" of their members, have continued to act as a decoy, even to those who have left their old residences, while the passion towards the contrada is deeply rooted in the new generations, sometimes even going as far as behavior similar to that of European soccer fans. The contradas live for the Palio, but at the same time the Palio prospers because of the intensity of life in the contradas, truly natural communities, and one of the few forms of association in which crisis are unknown.
|
