The «Drappellone» (a sort of large pennon) of the next Palio di Siena, the Palio dell'Assunta race of the 16th of August, will be painted by the Columbian artist Fernando Botero. Every year this exciting, involving and exuberant event takes place twice, in July and in August, with the customary days of rehearsals, parades and moments of true «sacredness» for all those belonging to the «contrade». In the sun drenched and roasting Piazza del Campo the jockeys for each neighbourhood descend onto the beaten earth to compete for the yearned reward. A race animating and lighting the souls of all «contradaioli» who crowd together, elbow each other and clamour under the shadow of the Torre del Mangia.

Those who have never directly taken part, who haven't lived the atmosphere of the preparations cannot comprehend what a palio means for a Siena born, and with that the symbol representing it, the «Drappellone» or «cencio» as is commonly called by the «contradaioli».

Fernando Botero, further to the request of the Municipal committee of the palio city, accepted painting the yearned for prize of the best known palio in Italy. The Colombian artist had stayed for quite some time in Tuscany where he was able to know and appreciate renaissance art. Today the Colombian artist's works are exhibited in museum collections the world over.

Every year the Municipal committee asks a contemporary artist to paint the highly contended «cencio»which then stays in the museums of the contrade as a token of the victory. In the past few years the task had already been entrusted to Renato Guttuso hose work is kept in the museum of the contrada of the Giraffe; Aligi Sassu painted the «drappellone» conquered by the contrada of the Snail and Mino Maccari painted the one kept in the museum of the Forest. (Photo: Luca Lozzi)

March.2002

Municipality of Siena (In Italian)
Fernando Botero
Un-official website of the Palio di Siena (In Italian)
Consortium for the protection of the Palio di Siena