The palio of Siena and the contemporary contrada system
Adam R. Kenny1,2 and Laura Fortunato1,2,3
1 Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology University of Oxford
2 Calleva Research Centre for Evolution and Human Sciences Magdalen College, Oxford
3 Santa Fe Institute
This is a pre-print document. A CC BY or equivalent license is applied to the author accepted manuscript arising from this submission.
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1 Abstract The palio of Siena, Italy, is a bareback horse race held in the city’s central square twice a year over the summer months. Over the centuries, this phenomenon has at- tracted the attention of scholars and visitors alike — perhaps more so than the 17 contrade, the city’s territorial communities that participate in the event. Our aim is twofold. First, we provide a primer on the contemporary contrada system. Second, we describe systematically the relationships between contrada pairs, which can be classified into one of three types: alliance, neutral relationship, and rivalry. To this end, we draw on published materials and on recent field-based research, including a cross-contrada survey of over 500 contrada members, a psychological item measuring the attitude of members towards the contrade, and the analysis of GPS data from an annual ritual. We find that membership size varies from a few hundred to several thousand in- dividuals, a majority of whom are members from birth with familial and social ties within the contrada. We also find patterned variation with respect to relationship type in the attitude of contrada members, as well as in ritualized behaviour. We highlight the importance of the contrada phenomenon and the impact of group relationship on perceptions and behaviour.
2 Contents
1 Introduction 4
2 Background to Siena and to the palio 5
3 The contemporary contrada system 7 3.1 Historical sketch and basic elements ...... 7 3.2 Contrada membership ...... 9 3.3 Aspects of contrada life ...... 10 3.4 The patronal festival and the procession ...... 11 3.5 Relationships between the contrade ...... 12
4 Insights from fieldwork-based research 13 4.1 Survey of contrada members ...... 14 4.2 Evaluation of attitude towards the contrade ...... 15 4.3 Investigation of relationship type through a ritual ...... 16
5 Discussion 18
Acknowledgements 19
References 20
3 1 1 Introduction
2 Every summer, thousands of visitors descend on the city of Siena, Italy, to attend the
3 palio, a bareback horse race held in the central square. The horses are urged to victory
4 by members of the contrade, the communities that make up the city and participate in
5 the event. The race over, and extravagant celebrations underway in the winning contrada,
6 visitors may leave Siena with the impression that the palio is simply an exciting game
7 for contrada members. Yet the contrada carries great emotional and symbolic significance 1 8 beyond the palio, structuring social interactions in the city throughout the year.
9 The palio and the contrade have received considerable attention across a range of dis-
10 ciplines, including anthropology, history, and sociology (e.g. Boos 2020; Cecchini and Neri
11 1958; Crociani-Windland 2011; Drechsler 2006; Dundes and Falassi 1984; Handelman 1998;
12 Heywood 1899; Operti, Lampronti, and Sgourev 2020; Park 1992; Parsons 2004; Pomponio
13 Logan 1978; Silverman 1979; Solinas 1987; Warner 2004). Overall, this literature has tended
14 to focus on the palio rather than on the contrade themselves, and it is largely qualitative.
15 The first aim of this paper is to provide a primer on the contemporary contrada sys-
16 tem, drawing on published materials and on recent field-based observations. The primer is
17 supplemented by information we collated on estimates of membership size, and the results
18 of a survey we conducted with multiple contrade. The second aim of this paper is to pro-
19 vide a systematic description of the relationships between contrade, relying on two studies
20 completed during a period of extended fieldwork. One study involved a questionnaire that
21 measured the attitude of contrada members towards the contrade, the other used GPS
22 devices to track a ritual procession.
23 The paper is divided into four sections. The first provides information on Siena and
24 outlines the basics of the palio (Section 2), followed by the primer on the contrade based on
25 published materials and fieldwork observations (Section 3). The third presents the meth-
26 ods, results, and discussion of three elements of original research relating to the contrade
27 (Section 4). Finally, we discuss broader implications of our research, highlighting the im-
28 portance of the contrada phenomenon and the impact of group relationship on perceptions
29 and behaviour (Section 5).
1We use original Italian terms, italicized for clarity. We limit terms to those unique to the Sienese context, and provide literal translations where appropriate, following Italian rules for pluralization, such that singular contrada (ending with “-a”) becomes plural contrade (ending with “-e”), and singular palio (ending with “-o”) becomes plural palii (ending with “-i”).
4 30 2 Background to Siena and to the palio
31 Located in the region of Tuscany in central Italy, Siena is a city with a population of
32 approximately 55,000 inhabitants (Comune di Siena 2017). The historic city centre is
33 divided into three areas called terzi (lit. “thirds”): Camollia, Città, and San Martino.
34 Terzi used to represent important military divisions in the medieval period, but they are
35 currently of limited functional significance (Dundes and Falassi 1984:29–31). The three terzi
36 comprise 17 territories, the contrade (Figure 1). Three main areas within the city centre
37 are not part of any contrada territory: the Siena Cathedral, the central square (Piazza del
38 Campo) plus the city hall, and the Medici Fortress.
39 Colloquially, the term contrada is used to describe both the territory and the social
40 community composed of contrada members. Technically, the contrada territory is called
41 rione (lit. “neighbourhood”). In this paper we use the term contrada to refer specifically to
42 the community, and we designate the cathedral, central square, and fortress as non-contrada
43 territories.
44 The central square is the location of the palio, a horse race held every year on 2 July
45 and on 16 August. Each race is the culmination of a four-day festival, also termed palio,
46 in honour of the Virgin Mary. In addition to the two “ordinary” palii, some years include
47 an “extraordinary” one, to mark a significant event (e.g. the millennium in the year 2000).
48 Detailed information about the festival and the race is in Dundes and Falassi (1984: Chs.
49 3–6). In this paper we use the term palio to refer specifically to the horse race.
50 The race involves three clockwise laps of the square, lasting approximately 75–90 seconds
51 in total. The victorious contrada secures a silk banner, also called palio, depicting the Virgin
52 Mary or the significant event (for ordinary and extraordinary palii, respectively). The palio
53 festival is an event heavily imbued with ritual and symbolic significance, and the highlight
54 of the contrada calendar (Dundes and Falassi 1984: Ch. 9; Handelman 1998; Parsons 1997;
55 Pomponio Logan 1978; Silverman 1989; Solinas 1987). Emotions are heightened in the days
56 before, and the moments during and after, the palio. For example, fights (Ita. cazzotti,
57 lit. “punches”) regularly occur around the period of the palio, when competition intensifies
58 (Drechsler 2006; Operti, Lampronti, and Sgourev 2020). The current palio format developed
59 in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Dundes and Falassi 1984:23), but competitive
60 events linked to distinct local groups are documented as early as the twelfth century (Hook
61 1979:223).
62 In the days preceding each palio, earth brought in from the countryside is laid in the
63 square to form a track, and infrastructure (e.g. viewing stands) is built. Only ten of the 17
64 contrade take part in each event, due to the limited space on the track. The ten contrade
65 include the seven which did not participate in the corresponding race the previous year,
5 N
4 5 A 1 3 2 6 13 14 11 C B 16 15 7
10 9 17
12 8
500 m
church Camollia San Martino building terzo clubhouse Città
Figure 1: The territorial boundaries of the 17 contrade of Siena. Numbers correspond to those in Table 1. The three non-contrada territories are the fortress (A), the cathedral and its square (B), and the central square plus the city hall and tower (C). Boundaries drawn by us, based on several versions of the boundaries; see Section A.1.
6 66 plus three from the remaining ten drawn at random just over a month before the palio.
67 Horses are provided by local breeders. The contrade are randomly assigned a horse
68 through a draw, conducted publicly in the square, four days before the race (Dundes and
69 Falassi 1984: Ch. 3). Jockeys, who are typically professional riders and not contrada mem-
70 bers, are subsequently hired to ride and represent the contrada.A contrada assigned a
71 horse perceived to be of higher quality has an incentive to hire a more skilled jockey, who
72 commands higher fees.
73 Secretive deals (Ita. partiti) are often made between contrade in the days preceding the
74 palio, and/or directly by the jockeys at the starting line, in order to influence the outcome
75 of the race (Dundes and Falassi 1984: Ch. 4). Deals are not publicly recorded, so details are
76 unknown. Generally, they involve the promise of money in exchange for favours during the
77 race. For example, a common tactic is for a jockey to position his horse to block another
78 horse at the starting line. The outcome of the race is influenced by these deals, and by
79 variation in skill both among the horses and among the jockeys, as well as by several other
80 factors, including luck. The palio is a source of pride and joy for members of the winning
81 contrada, and of grief and distress for members of the losing contrade.
82 3 The contemporary contrada system
83 The primer on the contrade is informed by previous accounts, notably Dundes and Falassi
84 (1984), Park (1992), Parsons (2004), and Pomponio Logan (1978). Descriptions in the
85 literature were corroborated by fieldwork, most of which was conducted by A.R.K. while
86 he was based in Siena for approximately 14 months between August 2016 and August 2018
87 (Section C). In this section we refer to interviews held and observations made during this
88 period. First, we provide basic information relating to the contrade (Section 3.1), followed
89 by a discussion of membership (Section 3.2) and life as a member (Section 3.3). We then
90 detail an important annual festival observed by each contrada (Section 3.4). Finally, we
91 outline the different relationships between contrade (Section 3.5). Further details of the
92 contrada system are in Section A.
93 3.1 Historical sketch and basic elements
94 The contrade have a long history, with antecedents in the medieval period (Silverman 1979).
95 Beginning in the twelfth century, territorial divisions in Siena were loosely associated with
96 parishes, subsequently serving as units for military recruitment (Cecchini and Neri 1958:10–
97 13). Entities broadly comparable to present-day contrade emerged over the period from the
98 end of the fifteenth century until their formalisation in the eighteenth century (Savelli 2008:
7 Table 1: Characteristics of the 17 contrade of Siena1
terzo no.2 contrada name (symbol)3 colours4 festival5 ally6 rival7 Camollia 1 Bruco Caterpillar green, yellow July 2 Istrice, Nicchio, Torre - 2 Drago Dragon red, green Apr 29 Aquila - 3 Giraffa Giraffe red, white July 2 Civetta, Istrice, Pantera - 4 Istrice Porcupine red, black, blue, white Aug 24 Bruco, Giraffa, Chiocciola, Civetta Lupa 5 Lupa She-Wolf white, black Aug 16 - Istrice 6 Oca Goose white, green Apr 29 - Torre Città 7 Aquila Eagle yellow Sep 8 Civetta, Drago Pantera 8 Chiocciola Snail red, yellow June 29 Istrice, Pantera, Selva Tartuca 9 Onda Wave (dolphin) white, pale blue July 2 Nicchio, Tartuca, Valdimontone Torre 10 Pantera Panther red, blue Aug 29 Giraffa, Leocorno, Chiocciola, Civetta Aquila 8 11 Selva Forest (rhinoceros) green, orange Aug 15 Chiocciola, Tartuca - 12 Tartuca Tortoise blue, yellow June 13 Leocorno, Selva, Nicchio, Onda Chiocciola San Martino 13 Civetta Owl red, black June 13 Aquila, Giraffa, Istrice, Pantera Leocorno 14 Leocorno Unicorn white, orange June 24 Pantera, Tartuca Civetta 15 Nicchio Shell blue Aug 7 Bruco, Onda, Tartuca Valdimontone 16 Torre Tower (elephant) burgundy red July 25 Bruco Oca 17 Valdimontone Ram red, yellow Apr 26 Onda Nicchio 1 Information from Dundes and Falassi (1984:32, 36, 47). 2 Number corresponds to territory in Figure 1. 3 Symbol only shown if different from the translated name of the contrada. 4 Does not include decorative colours. 5 Date of patronal festival. 6 All alliances are reciprocal. Order of allies as per the contrada column. 7 All rivalries are reciprocal except that between Onda and Torre. 99 Chs. 2–4). Specifically, fatal clashes in the early eighteenth century led to the establishment
100 of a commission with the aim to delineate formal boundaries, culminating in the issue of
101 a decree in 1729. The boundaries remain nearly unchanged to this day (Silverman 1979).
102 See Section A.1 for details of the boundaries.
103 Each contrada has an official title (Table 1; full titles are in Table A1, see Section A.2).
104 Colloquially, the title is shortened, e.g. contrada della Torre (lit. “contrada of the Tower”)
105 becomes Torre. Contrada symbols feature an animal, real or imaginary, and a distinctive
106 set of colours. In most cases the animal appears in the title (Table 1).
107 Governance follows a written statute, with a governing structure (Ita. seggio, lit. “seat”)
108 elected biennially (Dundes and Falassi 1984:43–44); details of governance are in Section A.3.
109 The leadership is responsible for the running of the contrada, including management of its
110 assets (e.g. residential property). A subset of the leadership is in charge of involvement in
111 the palio. A church, a clubhouse, and a museum linked to the contrada are located within
112 its territory (Figure 1).
113 3.2 Contrada membership
114 Historically, being born in contrada territory was the key criterion for membership. Ex-
115 ceptions to the birth criterion applied to the nobility, with children acquiring membership
116 on account of a long-standing relationship between their family and the contrada, and to
117 non-native residents of the territory involved in contrada activity over a period of several
118 years (Park 1992).
119 In current practice, membership criteria can be grouped into three broad categories:
120 birth, kinship, and choice (see analogous scheme in Parsons 2004:129). Following a decline
121 in the practice of home birth, the birth criterion has extended to encompass residence of
122 the child’s parents in contrada territory. The other two criteria apply to individuals not
123 born in contrada territory, whether resident in the territory or not. These criteria grew
124 in importance following social and demographic changes that occurred in the twentieth
125 century (Park 1992). The kinship criterion is based on family ties (e.g. typically, but not
126 exclusively, the children of contrada members). The choice criterion is based on sustained
127 involvement in contrada activity and acceptance by the community.
128 The three criteria apply broadly across contrade, but the statute of each contrada may
129 spell out specific additional requirements (e.g. loyalty towards the contrada, in the case of
130 membership by choice) and outline relevant procedures. The attainment of membership
131 is marked by a secular baptism (Ita. battesimo contradaiolo, lit. “contrada baptism”; see
132 discussion in Parsons 2004:121–123).
133 Today, membership is effectively linked to the status of protettore (lit. “protector”),
9 134 which involves payment of an annual fee (Ita. protettorato). The fee varies by age and
135 by role (e.g. lowest for young children and for the elderly, highest for those with official
136 positions within the contrada). In particular, protettore status confers members certain
137 rights relating to governance of the contrada, such as participation in the general assembly,
138 the ability to vote in elections, and eligibility for official positions (typically subject to age
139 and other restrictions, e.g. tenure as a member for a minimum number of years). Members
140 who are not current on payments forfeit such rights.
141 Membership size is not systematically reported by the contrade. We derived estimates
142 from two sources; full details are in Section B. In 1981, a total of 21,818 Sienese declared
143 themselves to be contrada members (Falassi 1983:13, 79). The number ranges from 287
144 (Civetta) to 3,871 (Istrice). The second set of figures relates to the number of protettori
145 in 2012–2013, from a series of interviews published in a local newspaper (Siena Free 2012).
146 Across the 16 contrade for which information is available, the total number of protettori
147 has an upper bound of 33,694. The number ranges from approximately 750–800 (Selva) to
148 3,000–4,000 (Istrice) and approximately 3,500 (Nicchio, Torre).
149 Comparison of the two sets of figures is complicated by the fact that residence in Siena,
150 contrada membership, and protettore status do not overlap completely (Park 1992; see
151 Section B.3). It is important to note that both sets of figures likely overestimate the
152 number of people who are active participants in contrada life. These issues notwithstanding,
153 the figures indicate that membership size varies across contrade. Overall, the data are
154 in line with the common perception of an increase in the number of members and/or
155 protettori over recent decades (e.g. Boos 2020). Most strikingly, they underscore the extent
156 of the phenomenon: the contemporary contrada system involves on the order of over 30,000
157 individuals — men and women, old and young — who identify as contrada members and/or
158 contribute to the contrade financially.
159 3.3 Aspects of contrada life
160 The contrada is a source of symbolic and emotional attachment for members across their
161 lifetime (Park 1992; Pomponio Logan 1978). A member’s birth is marked by the display
162 of an unfurled flag with a blue or pink ribbon in the contrada territory. At death, a furled
163 flag with a black ribbon is placed outside the contrada church, and a service is held to
164 commemorate the deceased; the grave may be decorated with contrada symbols.
165 During fieldwork, members often described the contrada using kinship terms, such as
166 famiglia allargata (lit. “extended family”). For example, a Civetta member interviewed in
167 May 2017 stated, “It’s very obvious to me that the contrada is something natural like the
168 family.” The familial symbolism is, to a degree, based on actual links between members,
10 169 even yet-to-be realized ones, as connoted by a Leocorno member in July 2018, “In the flag
170 [of the contrada] I see an orange thread that passes from my grandparents and will extend 2 171 to my children.”
172 Emotional attachment is fostered by participation in contrada activities from a young
173 age, and reinforced by exposure to relevant symbols, songs, and expressions. The Civetta
174 member from the above interview spoke of their niece, whose first word was a clipping of
175 Civetta, “Her mother opened the window and [the niece] saw the Civetta emblem above the
176 church and went ’etta!” The contrada is also a system of institutional and social support,
177 for example by providing financial aid to members in need.
178 Unsurprisingly, then, membership skews interactions towards members of the same con-
179 trada, and strong intra- and inter-generational ties emerge both through family connections
180 and through involvement in activities year-round. Aside from the palio (Section 2) and other
181 annual rituals (see Section 3.4), activities include communal meals (Section A.4). Generally,
182 these are open to all members of the contrada, and they take place either in the clubhouse
183 or on the streets adjacent to it. At one end are small informal gatherings held on a regular
184 basis; at the other end are large formal gatherings like the dinners hosted on one of the
185 three days preceding the palio.
186 Friendships, bounded by age and sex, are often within contrada (as demonstrated in Sec-
187 tion 4.1). Marriage is also influenced by membership, but there is no prescribed endogamy.
188 This pattern is supported by analysis of surname distributions (Vienna et al. 1998) and of
189 genetic markers (Fuciarelli et al. 1997), which both indicate romantic relationships across
190 contrada boundaries.
191 Demographic changes as described above mean that people increasingly interact out-
192 side the contrada. Of course, members interact with individuals affiliated with different
193 contrade, or individuals with no contrada affiliation (e.g. at school, in the workplace). Fur-
194 thermore, they express their collective identity on the internet (e.g. by creating websites,
195 Boos 2017, 2020), in part a response to increased tourist and media interest (Warner 2004).
196 3.4 The patronal festival and the procession
197 If the palio festival is the most important event in the contrada calendar, the annual patronal
198 festival (Ita. festa titolare, lit. “titular festival”) takes second place. The event celebrates the
199 patron saint of the contrada (e.g. Falassi 1983:28–29; Parsons 2004:110–111). Celebrations
200 last at least a week, but the main ceremonies normally occur on the weekend nearest the
201 date devoted to the saint (ranging from 26 April until 8 September; Table 1). Activities
202 include a Catholic service held in honour of the patron saint, cemetery visits to pay respect
2 The Leocorno flag features the colour orange (Table 1).
11 203 to deceased members, the secular baptism of new members, and an initiation ceremony for
204 adolescents able to vote.
205 The culmination of the patronal festival is a day-long procession around the city centre,
206 a ritual called the giro (lit. “tour”; see Dundes and Falassi 1984:136–137; Parsons 2004:110–
207 111). We use the term procession, rather than parade, due to the religious nature of the
208 patronal festival and the visitation of sacred sites during the procession. On the whole, the
209 procession is far from solemn: members walk through the city bearing colourful flags and
210 symbols of the contrada and make noise with repetitive drumming and collective singing.
211 There is also plenty of eating and drinking.
212 The procession departs from the contrada church in the early morning and returns to
213 the church in the late evening. Men lead the procession, dressed in costumes based on
214 medieval attire. Each contrada has around 100 costumed representatives, most of whom
215 are either flag-wavers (Ita. alfieri) or drummers (Ita. tamburini). Following them are the
216 contrada leaders, then women, children, and older men, none of whom are costumed but
217 are typically wearing a scarf emblazoned with the contrada symbol (Ita. fazzoletto).
218 During the procession, the contrada enters the territory of other “host” contrade where
219 it is “received”. Members of the host contrada accompany the procession through their
220 territory, and provide refreshments. In the host contrada territory, the procession visits the
221 church to collectively sing a brief hymn devoted to the Virgin Mary before a choreographed
222 flag-toss (Ita. sbandierata) is performed outside the church. The flag-toss involves a series
223 of synchronized flag movements to a rhythmic drum roll that concludes with flags being
224 simultaneously thrown between pairs of flag-wavers. Members of the host contrada perform
225 the flag-toss alongside the visitors. Flag-tosses occur elsewhere, such as the patronal site,
226 which has a connection to the saint being celebrated.
227 3.5 Relationships between the contrade
228 A key factor shaping interactions between the contrade is the relationship type (Filiani
229 and Zaffaroni 2002:3–7). The default type, which we term “neutral”, involves no formal
230 relationship. The other two types, alliance and rivarly, are formally recognized — that
231 is, the relationship is stipulated in the official statute of each contrada, with alliances
232 additionally sanctioned by a treaty (Filiani and Zaffaroni 2002:3). All such relationships
233 are reciprocal, with one exception (Onda stipulates Torre as a rival, but not vice versa;
234 Table 1). Rival pairs may feature a common ally (e.g., Aquila and Pantera are rivals, and
235 each is an ally of Civetta; Table 1).
236 All contrade feature at least one formal relationship: 15 of the 17 contrade have at least
237 one ally (the range is between one and four allies; Table 1) and 13 have a rival (no contrade
12 238 have multiple rivals; Table 1). Thus, two contrade have no allies, and four have no rivals.
239 Alliances and rivalries can exist for centuries. For example, the rivalry between Oca
240 and Torre emerged in the seventeenth century (Filiani and Zaffaroni 2002:5). All current
241 alliances and rivalries have been in place for at least 50 years. However, relationship status
242 is subject to change. A recent analysis found that 46 alliances formed and 33 ended,
243 compared to 11 rivalries formed and six ended, over the period 1743 to 2011 (Sgourev and
244 Operti 2019).
245 Except for Oca and Torre, rival pairs share a boundary, suggesting that territorial dis-
246 putes contribute to the establishment and maintenance of this type of relationship (Filiani
247 and Zaffaroni 2002:5–6) (Table 1 and Figure 1). Rival contrade denigrate each other in ex-
248 pressions and songs memorized from a young age (Dundes and Falassi 1984:39–43, 51–53).
249 Alliances usually entail a number of commitments throughout the year, such as honouring
250 an ally during certain rituals and sharing feasts (Falassi 1983:29); see Section 4.3.
251 The relationship type is most visible during the palio, and the proceedings of a race can
252 influence the status of a relationship. It is almost a given that rival contrade will attempt to
253 prevent each other from winning the palio (Dundes and Falassi 1984:78). In circumstances
254 where a rival stands a good chance of victory, the chosen strategy may be to direct effort
255 towards thwarting the rival during the race, rather than aiming to win themselves. This is
256 possible through deals (Section 2), in particular with allied contrade, which can be relied
257 upon to make advantageous agreements (Operti, Lampronti, and Sgourev 2020). Aggression
258 (e.g. altercations during or after the race) is more common between rival than allied pairs —
259 both for members and for jockeys (Drechsler 2006; Operti, Lampronti, and Sgourev 2020).
260 By extension, among neutral contrade there is little expectation for positive exchanges, such
261 as the advantageous deals between allies, and fewer negative behaviours (e.g., fights) than
262 between rivals. The relationship type is also visible during the procession, as demonstrated
263 by analysis of two such rituals (Section 4.3).
264 4 Insights from fieldwork-based research
265 In this section we present original research relating to the contrade, using data we collected
266 during fieldwork. See Section C for more background information and Table C5 for a
267 timeline.
268 Five contrade agreed to take part in the fieldwork-based research, with the data pre-
269 sented here collected with them between February 2017 and August 2018. The five contrade
270 include Civetta, Leocorno, and Torre; we do not name the others to protect their identity,
271 and to preserve the anonymity of participants (we disclose names if the identity of the
272 contrada can be inferred from other information we provide).
13 273 The general data collection procedure was the same across the research elements pre-
274 sented here. Research participants were members aged 18 years or older of one of the five
275 contrade. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Data collection occurred
276 in sessions that coincided with events held by a contrada. Within each session we recruited
277 participants and administered the relevant paper-based questionnaire to them. Events were
278 selected following discussion with a contact from each contrada acting as collaborator, who
279 assisted with the logistics of the studies. Data were collected by A.R.K., aided by paid
280 research assistants for some sessions.
281 First, we describe the composition of the contrade using a survey we conducted with a
282 convenience sample of members from the five contrade (Section 4.1). Then we demonstrate
283 the significance of group relationship in the Sienese context, through a psychological item
284 measuring members’ attitude towards the contrade (Section 4.2) and GPS data from two
285 contrade collected during their annual giro procession (Section 4.3). For each research
286 element, we summarize and discuss the results together; full information about each element
287 including the methods is in Sections D to F. Data were analyzed in R v. 4.0.2 (R Core Team
288 2020); see Section G for full list of packages.
289 4.1 Survey of contrada members
290 Between February 2017 and August 2018 we recruited 526 members across five contrade.
291 Participants were provided a paper-based questionnaire, which featured a series of ques-
292 tions relating to demographic factors, and to their relationship with Siena and with the
293 contrade. Following exclusions, we analyzed between 461 and 507 responses per question
294 across 508 questionnaires. We emphasize that we have a convenience sample, which limits
295 generalisations to the entire population of members or protettori.
296 Broadly, the demographic composition of the sample is in line with ethnographic por-
297 trayals, which emphasize variation in age (e.g. Dundes and Falassi 1984:35). The mean age
298 was 42.3 years (SD = 15.5 years, range 18–84 years), capturing the regular scene of mul-
299 tiple age cohorts taking part in contrada events. In terms of gender, 36.7% of respondents
300 selected “male”. The ethnographic consensus is that the contrada is primarily the province
301 of men (e.g. Handelman 1998; Pomponio Logan 1978). At the same time, the limited data
302 available on membership indicate that just under half of protettori in one contrada are
303 women (Voltolini 2012; see Section B). One possibility is that opportunities for participa-
304 tion in contrada events decrease disproportionately for women, as responsibilities linked to
305 adulthood increase with age (e.g. Figliola 2002:26).
306 Around 80% of respondents were born and currently live in Siena. Relatedly, mem-
307 bership was commonly conferred by birth in the contrada (22.2% cited the birth criterion,
14 308 loosely defined to include residence of parents in the territory of the contrada at birth),
309 although kinship ties were most prevalent (53.2% cited the kinship criterion). Therefore,
310 the contrada remains largely a “domain which is exclusively Sienese” (Park 1992:92), but
311 not entirely. Reflecting demographic and social changes in the twentieth century (Park
312 1992), 80.3% of respondents do not live in the territory of their own contrada. A notable
313 proportion of the membership was born outside Siena (20.8%) and/or a member by choice
314 (24.6%). The common perception of an increase in the number of members, discussed in
315 Section 3.2, is likely driven by membership acquired in recent decades.
316 Data relating to participation in the social and organisational life of the contrada in-
317 dicate that the community is active throughout the year. Members socialized frequently
318 during the winter and the summer, although participating at least every week was less com-
319 mon across responses collected during the winter (44.9%) than across those collected during
320 the summer (53.9%). Furthermore, the survey indicates assortativity in friendships: 67.0%
321 indicated that three or more of their five closest friends, and thus a majority, were members
322 of the same contrada. Frequent participation and interaction among members may explain
323 why 65.8% of respondents agreed that their contrada was superior to the majority of other
324 contrade. Generally, then, the survey results echo previous comments, “[e]ach individual
325 seeks to perpetuate contrada power and unity by his or her membership, friendships, and
326 involvement in contrada life throughout the year” (Pomponio Logan 1978:57).
327 4.2 Evaluation of attitude towards the contrade
328 We assessed the attitude of contrada members towards the 17 contrade. Specifically, be-
329 tween July 2017 and July 2018 we recruited 42 members (age: M = 35.1 years, SD = 14.9
330 years, range 18–82 years; gender: 2 or 4.8% indicated “female”) across three contrade
331 (Civetta, Leocorno, and Torre). We asked participants to state their general attitude to-
332 wards the 17 contrade on a 7-point scale from 1 (very negative) to 7 (very positive). Results
333 are to be considered preliminary, in that they relate to a small convenience sample that is
334 strongly biased towards men.
335 Overall, there is patterned variation in the attitude of members by contrada status (as
336 own vs. other) and by relationship type (as alliance vs. neutral relationship vs. rivalry;
337 Figure E7). As expected, mean attitude was higher for own contrada (M = 6.8, SD = 0.7)
338 than for other contrade (M = 3.8, SD = 1.5; Wilcoxon signed-rank test, V = 856.0, p <
339 .001). For other contrade, the variation was linked to relationship type, with mean attitude
340 highest for alliance (M = 4.6, SD = 1.4), followed by neutral relationship (M = 3.9,
341 SD = 1.4), followed by rivalry (M = 1.6, SD = 0.9). There was a significant effect of
342 contrada classification on attitude (mixed-model ANOVA, F (3, 652.9) = 143.0, p < .001),
15 343 with significant differences between all contrasts (Table E9). At the same time, there
344 were differences in attitude across individuals, which may reflect personal interactions with
345 members of the various contrade — including one’s own.
346 Additionally, the data for the 19 Torre participants are suggestive of a departure between
347 attitude and classification. The mean attitude was 1.4 (SD = 0.8) towards Onda, a contrada
348 with which Torre has a neutral relationship (Table 1), and 1.7 (SD = 1.0) towards Torre’s
349 rival (Oca). This is linked to assymetry in the relationship between Onda and Torre, and
350 its mutable nature over time (Section E.4).
351 The results are in line with existing ethnographic accounts. For example, the finding
352 that responses for own contrada and for rivalry tend to cluster at the postive and negative
353 ends of the scale, respectively, maps onto the observation that “the degree of love for one’s
354 contrada can only be exceeded by the degree of hate for the rival contrada” (Dundes and
355 Falassi 1984:49). Overall, the results support the notion that relationships between contrade
356 are, at the same time, long-lasting and mutable (Section 3.5).
357 4.3 Investigation of relationship type through a ritual
358 We studied the procession of two contrade, Civetta and Leocorno, using data from GPS
359 devices distributed to members participating in the ritual as costumed representatives.
360 Specifically, in June 2018 we tracked the movement of 12 Civetta and 6 Leocorno members
361 (all men between 21 and 46 years of age). The two processions were similar, lasting around
362 10 hours and covering a distance of approximately 12 km.
363 Figure 2 shows the routes. The GPS data clearly show that relationship type structures
364 both processions (Dundes and Falassi 1984:136). Mean duration in each contrada neigh-
365 bourhood was highest for alliance (M = 59.5 minutes), followed by neutral relationship
366 (M = 24.8 minutes), followed by rivalry (M = 10.4 minutes). Allies prepare a large sit-
367 down meal where members from both contrade are present and speeches are exchanged.
368 Commensality thus explains the substantial time spent in allied contrada territory. Mini-
369 mal time is spent in rival contrada territory because the procession is not received by the
370 rival contrada. As demonstrated by the location data, the procession does not visit the
371 rival’s church. It is likely that the significant amount of time allied contrade spend with
372 each other allows for interactions among their members and positive perceptions, with the
373 lack of time between rival contrade providing no opportunity for interaction and reinforcing
374 negative attitudes (Section E), although explicit testing is required to demonstrate such a
375 link. Furthermore, we speculate that participation in the procession promotes affiliation
376 with the in-group and signals group commitment.
377 The movement during the procession respects local symbolic patrimony. On a typical
16 Civetta (n = 12) Leocorno (n = 6)
N N allied allied own rival
rival own
allied 17 allied allied
500 m 500 m allied
church patronal site time spent (mins) clubhouse 0 20 40 60
Figure 2: The GPS routes of the Civetta and Leocorno procession. The location of all contrada churches, the clubhouses of allied contrade, and the patronal site are indicated. The 17 contrada territories and the three non-contrade territories are shaded with the time spent in each territory. Territories that correspond to own, allied, and rival contrade are labelled; neutral contrada and non-contrada territories are not. The patronal site is different for Civetta and Leocorno, but both are churches located in the same territory (Giraffa). 378 day, contrada relationship has less influence on the routes members take when walking
379 around the city centre. However, conversations during our fieldwork suggest that movement
380 is constrained, particularly with respect to a rival. Anecdotally, members avoid walking
381 through, and living in, a rival territory, citing a sense of discomfort. A Civetta member
382 interviewed in June 2019 indicated that avoidance of rival areas can start from a young
383 age, “but even when you’re a child, you don’t go to play in [the rival contrada] [ . . . ] I’ve
384 always been afraid to go beyond [church at the boundary between the contrade], down there
385 in that nasty place. We used to stop there, as far as I can remember, we never went any
386 further [ . . . ] we would stay there.”
387 5 Discussion
388 Taking the contrada size estimates (Section 3.2) and the cross-contrada survey of members
389 (Section 4.1) together, the start of the twenty-first century has seen continued growth of the
390 contrade, likely driven by the number of members who are themselves not Sienese. Further-
391 more, members no longer inhabit the territory of their own or other contrade. These two
392 trends have been documented in previous ethnographies — notably Park (1992), which de-
393 scribes the general displacement of members outside the city centre. Notwithstanding these
394 changes, the contemporary contrada remains an active community that is primarily based
395 on family ties, and one which structures interactions between individuals, as evidenced, for
396 example, by the majority of close friendships being between members of the same contrada.
397 Taking the results from the attitudes item (Section 4.2) and the GPS study (Section 4.3)
398 together, we see that relationship type constitutes a central feature of the contrada system.
399 Group relationship influences attitudes, such that members generally hold a slightly positive
400 attitude towards allies, and a neutral attitude towards the contrade with which they share
401 no relationship. Conversely, rivals tend to be perceived negatively. Group relationship also
402 affects behaviour in the ritualized context of the giro, such that more time is spent with
403 allies than neutral contrade, and no time is spent with the rival out-group.
404 It was not possible to systematically assess whether other factors that vary between
405 contrade, namely population size, territory size, and prestige, have an effect on contrada
406 identification and behaviour. Instead, we refer to our ethnographic understanding of the
407 Sienese context. Anecdotally, more populous contrade are perceived by members of rel-
408 atively smaller contrade as having difficulties in strengthening social ties and organising
409 collective efforts. Differences in territory size reflect attempts to equalise population size
410 when boundaries where drawn in the eighteenth century, taking into account population
411 density (Silverman 1979); as such, territory size is unlikely to affect contemporary contrada
412 interactions. Historical or recent victory at the palio is mainly of concern to members if the
18 413 successful contrada is a rival — again, reiterating the primacy of inter-group relationship.
414 There may be a link between the psychological feature (attitude) and behaviour (time
415 spent in contrada) we measured. By spending more time with allied contrade, members
416 can form positive associations with the ally and encourage social ties across group bound-
417 aries. Conversely, the lack of contact with out-groups means fewer positive associations
418 and reduces the likelihood of future contact; these may in turn entrench negative atti-
419 tudes. Given limitations with the two studies, caution must be applied in inferring causal
420 links; future research may disentangle the relationship between individual attitudes and be-
421 haviour throughout the year. However, together they show that group identity and group
422 boundaries remain as central to the folkways of the contrade as they did half a century
423 or so ago, such that “each individual’s conceptions of self and of others are patterned by
424 contrada membership and participation, and this conception patterns Sienese social inter-
425 action” (Pomponio Logan 1978:62).
426 In conclusion, we have provided an extensive update on descriptions of the contemporary
427 contrade of Siena, through observations, published materials, and three elements of field-
428 based research. The contrade of Siena present a particular system in a Western, urban
429 environment. Their development over a period spanning several centuries has resulted in
430 communities that today hold strong social identities, where group boundaries are salient.
431 Acknowledgements
432 We are grateful to the contrade with which we conducted fieldwork, the members who participated
433 in our research, and the collaborators in each contrada: Paolo Bartolini, Jacopo Bruttini, Massimo
434 Bianchi, Stefano Marini, and Luca Regoli. We acknowledge the Magistrato delle Contrade di Siena
435 and the Consorzio per la Tutela del Palio di Siena, in particular Paolo Leoncini and Nicoletta
436 Fabio, who provided initial permission to contact the contrade. We thank Gianmaria Bonari,
437 Matteo Mastrandrea, and Gabriele Tozzi for assistance with the GPS study, Graziella Leo from the
438 municipality of Siena for help with the census figures, and Duccio Fiorini for insights on territorial
439 boundaries. We thank Luigi Luini and colleagues from the Dipartimento di Economia Politica e
440 Statistica at the University of Siena, Italy for providing a visiting opportunity to A.R.K.. Research
441 assistance by André Cieplinski, Gabriele Lombardi, and Alberto Mazzon. We appreciate feedback
442 from Emma Cohen, Shai de Vries, Charlie Hadley, Hristo Hristov, Rafael Pereira, and Eleanor
443 Power, on various stages of the manuscript. The research was supported by an Oxford–Leon E. and
444 Iris L. Beghian Graduate Scholarship 2015–2018 at Magdalen College, Oxford (A.R.K.); an Owen
445 F. Aldis Scholarship 2015 from the International Society for Human Ethology (A.R.K.); the John
446 Fell Fund, University of Oxford (L.F., ref. no.: AED11770); and the Calleva Research Centre for
447 Evolution and Human Sciences at Magdalen College, Oxford (L.F.). Ethical approval was obtained
19 448 from the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography Research Ethics Committee at the
449 University of Oxford (ref. nos.: SAME_C1A_16_051/2).
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