"Colours, crowd, celebratory shouts, a piazza covered with tufa, ten horses ridden bareback in a race that lasts only a few seconds. For those who are seeing it for the first time, this is the Palio. For the Sienese it is life, passion, history. It's the miracle of a game that becomes real life, where there is a place for joy and pain, courage and intrigue, loyalty and betrayal".

This is a brilliant way to describe one of the most ancient Italian traditions, the one of the Palio, a horse race that is held twice each year, on July 2 and August 16, in Siena. If you are planning to go to Italy the coming summer, it would be great to pass by Siena just to experience the Palio.

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