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give the final starting order. These are written on a piece of paper and handed over to a policeman who holds his hand high so the whole 20,000-strong Piazza, which has fallen totally silent, can see the envelope at all times. He then hands it to the Mossiere and reads out the starting order. Once the names are read out, the horses file in between the ropes in their new order. Many of the deals that have been done are now void, hence more talking, pushing, hitting. Selva has been drawn right alongside Nicchio: there is much bumping and the grey horse is unwilling, or not being allowed to, line up at the starting rope. It has half-turned, the jockey keeping an eye on the 10th horse outside the ropes. In and out they go, for about 25 minutes. Most people have been here since 4pm, it’s now 8pm. It has been a long day already. Some contradaioli have been in the square since 5am, securing their places. At 6am, Niels stumbled upon a horse being walked in front of his secret stable, guarded only by two steel barriers. A man approached, his arms laden with breakfast for the groom and the other stable lads. Niels helpfully started to move the steel barrier aside: “No! Don’t touch! You don’t belong here!” The man was angry: “Go away, you just can’t understand!” A couple of hours later, Siena’s archbishop blessed the jockeys in Piazza Del Campo. It was noted that he made no mention of the Palio, not as in the race, but as in the banner that is given to the winning contrada. These are newly commissioned for each Palio: the artists have some connections to Siena and it is such a great honour that they do it for free. The silk banner is then kept in the contrada’s own museum. Siena, therefore, has 17 museums, full of inestimable gold, silver and paintings bequeathed by loyal contradaioli. This year the painter is Ali Hassoun, a Lebanese who came to Siena as a refugee and after studying art in the city’s academy, is now famous. His painting shows the Virgin Mary with middle eastern traits, above her is a verse from the Koran, praising her. Below her stands St George slaying an evil dragon. The saint was the patron of those Teutonic cavalrymen in 1260 and the presence of the Saracen archers is shown in the keffiyeh St George wears instead of a helmet. The archbishop was not happy about this non-catholic approach. The mayor, who commissioned the Palio from Ali Hassoun, rebuffed the archbishop, and the whole town has been a-buzz over this. At 3pm we are back at the Giraffa contrada, pushing our way into the small oratory where the horse will be blessed by the parish priest. Outsiders are decidedly not welcome, the small church is packed as the horse is led in by the usual posse of bodyguards. It is then solemnly blessed by the priest who also tells it to: “Go fight, come back the winner.” The horse seems unperturbed by the noise, smell of incense, this strange man whispering to him, and by the subsequent roar and chanting which accompanies it back to its stable. Outside the church, two flag wavers, the alfieri chosen by this contrada, are about to start the last practice for their routine. Dressed in costume, they wave the flags in intricate patterns, following the rhythm of the drum, and finally hurling them in the air, each catching the other’s flag. As soon as they finish their routine, they are buried by the crowd, women kissing, men bear-hugging, many are crying, others shouting. And so to Piazza del Campo, where at 5.15pm a group of mounted carabinieri canter into the square, beautifully aligned, riding erect and proud. One lap, two laps, the noise rises, something is about to happen. The lead carabiniere unsheathes his sabre, urges his horse to a gallop and charges ahead, the 54