The Palio of Siena
July 2nd and August 16th

Siena, one of the few Italian cities that are so comple and organic from the artistic point of view as to make them archetypes of particular style and period.

In Siena you can live as during the Medieval Age, especially the days of the famous Palio. You can see people singing along the streets, smailing and crying at the same moment; all this is due to the strong feeling grown with and inside each Sienese inhabitant.

Siena still preserves intact its medieval aspect: it is built on three hills; full of steeps, winding small ways, enclosed within the circle of its Medieval walls (circa seven kilometres in lenght) which seem to save and defend its culture and the treasures of its art and history.

The Palio, for city such as this, with its ancient aspect still intact, shows very well the tone and colour of the past, brought to life again in the present.

The Calcio in Costume of Florence
June 16th, 24th, 30th Piazza S, Croce Florence

A rolling ball is an irresistible invitation for man to follow it, overtake it, push it and fight other men for it in a contest which may, wrongly, appear to be useless and even absurd.
The game of Calcio in Costume (no resemblance to soccer) must almost certainly have originated in the military encampments where, the arms and armor laid aside between battles, the soldiers would have lost strength without exercise.

Here was a game which developed muscles in a real hand to hand struggle for what was the size and shape of a cannon ball.
It was first played in Florence not so much as a sport as for training young men in the art of combat.

This violent and colorful spectacle is definitely the highlight of the Florentine summer and must be seen at all costs.