Why go
Look for contrada colours and emblems as you walk from the cathedral to the Campo. They are clues to a living neighbourhood structure, not simply decorations for race day. Knowing that only ten contrade race at a time also makes the draw and the rivalries easier to follow.
The full story
Siena's contrade began as local districts with medieval civic and military duties. Those functions faded, but the neighbourhood communities remained central to baptisms, festivals and Palio celebrations. Each contrada carries an animal or other emblem, colours and a distinct identity. The 17 present contrade do not all race together: ten enter each Palio, with places allocated partly by rotation and partly by draw. This makes inclusion itself part of the build-up. Alliances and rivalries can run across adjacent streets, so a walk through the city passes through several loyalties even before you reach Piazza del Campo. Six earlier contrade were abolished in the eighteenth century and are recalled in the historical procession. Their appearance is a reminder that today's map is the result of a long civic history rather than a set of teams invented for visitors.