The Valdimontone contrada won the Palio di Siena Saturday night with veteran jockey Giuseppe Zedde aka Gingillo leading form start to finish of the famed medieval bareback horse race aboard bay gelding Anda e Bola.
    It was Valdimontone's first win in 13 years, while Gingillo had been without a victory for seven years.
    It was, as tradition dictates, the second Palio of the year and marked the August 15 Feast of the Assumption of the Madonna into Heaven.
    US pop star Madonna was among the spectators, cheering on the winner from a hotel window overlooking the square.
    The Oca (Goose) contrada won the first Palio at the start of last month.
    Veteran jockey Giovanni Atzeni aka Tittia, on board the chetnut debutant Diodoro, led from start to finish of the race, a 90-minute rush of excitement cheered on by baying partisan locals and many Italian and foreign tourists, three times around the central Piazza del Campo.
    It was Tittia's 11th win, his last being in July 2023, out of 40 Palios raced.
    He is getting ever closer to the all-time record of 14 triumphs held by local hero Andrea de Gortes aka Aceto, the king of 20th century Siena competitions.
    The race was postponed from July 2, the feast of the Madonna di Provenzano to whom it is dedicated, because of a heavy rainstorm that made the tuff track impassable.
    The Palio, meaning "banner", dating back to the 13th century, is one of Italy's most colourful tourist attractions although many newcomers to the event are shocked at how violent it can be and how much deep-rooted intra-urban enmity it arouses, as well as at the shameless haggling and negotiating that happens between jockeys as the race gears to spring into life.
    This year's first Palio looked set for trouble amid pre-race jostling that forced the 'mossiere', or starter, to call back the mounts four times.
    But Tittia's sweeping ride to leave all but one of the field straggling rather than bumping and grinding avoided major incident.
    Siena's trademark race, which formed the backdrop to the opening chase sequence of the 2007 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, takes place each year on July 2 and August 16, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, although some years have an extra one at the beginning of September.
    Jockeys from ten of Siena's 17 'contrade' or neighbourhoods compete for the silk prize in the one and a half minute hurtle around the Piazza del Campo.
    The only rule in the competition is that the jockeys, or fantini, mustn't grab the reins of their adversaries.

That means whipping a rival's horse or even knocking a jockey off his steed is allowed.
    Victory goes to the first horse to complete three laps of the square, even if it arrives at the finishing post without a rider,or 'scosso'.
    The chaotic race in Siena's main square attracts thousands of visitors each year who are mostly oblivious to the punishment the horses take.
    But animal rights activists have long campaigned to get the event banned, saying it is cruel, has little to do with sporting skill and is dangerous for the horses, jockeys and spectators.
    More than 50 horses have died on the course since 1970.

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