The Corteo Storico, a pageant to the sound of the March of the Palio, precedes the race, which attracts visitors and spectators from around the world.

The town's central piazza was the site of public games, largely combative: pugna, a sort of many-sided boxing match or brawl; jousting; and in the 16th century, bullfights.

Public races organized by the contrade were popular from the 14th century onwards; called palio alla lunga [it], they were run across the whole city.

The second race is held on 16 August (Palio dell'Assunta), the day after the Feast of the Assumption, and is likewise dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

After exceptional events (e.g., the Apollo 11 Moon landing) and on important anniversaries (e.g., the centennial of the Unification of Italy), the Sienese community may decide to hold a third Palio between May and September.

[5] The race is preceded by a spectacular pageant to the sound of the March of the Palio, the Corteo Storico, which includes (among many others) Alfieri, flag wavers, in medieval costumes.

They take one lap at a walk, in formation, and a second at a gallop that foreshadows the excitement of the race to come, before exiting down one of the streets that leads out of Piazza del Campo.

Spectators arrive early in the morning, eventually filling the centre of the town square, inside the track, to capacity; the local police seal the entrances once the festivities begin in earnest.

This process (the mossa) can take a very long time, as deals have usually been made between various contrade and jockeys that affect when the rincorsa moves—he may be waiting for a particular other horse to be well—or badly-placed, for example.

The enthusiasm after the victory, however, is so extreme that the ceremony of attribution of the palio is quite instantaneous, being the first moment of a months-long celebration for the winning ward.

The Palio differs from "normal" horse races in that part of the game is for the wards to prevent rival contrade from winning.

When a contrada fails to win, its historical enemy will celebrate that fact nearly as merrily as a victory of its own, regardless of whether adversarial interference was a deciding factor.

The most successful ward is Oca, the Goose, which has won 64 races (at least according to their records, which start from 1644), followed by Chiocciola, the Snail, with 51, and Tartuca, the Tortoise, with 46.

In recent history (from 1900 to the present), only three wards have succeeded in winning both the July and the August races in a single year (the term in Italian is fare cappotto) with the same jockey.

Formal and informal rituals take place as the day proceeds, with each contrada navigating a strategy of horsemanship, alliances and animosities.

It is held vertically on a black-and-white shaft halberd and topped by a silver plate, with two white and black plumes draped down the sides.

The plate is returned to the city of Siena before the two Palii of the following year, after the date and the name of the victorious contrada are inscribed on its back.

Beginning in early winter, the contrada leaders talk and develop strategies, making contacts with the jockeys and horse owners.

These leaders prepare those who will race in the Piazza del Campo or take part in minor Palios elsewhere in nearby towns (la cosiddetta provincia) and bring them to training courses organized by the city in the spring.

The full activities of the Palio start to grow in momentum towards the end of May, with the drawing of lots of the three remaining contrade that will join the seven that have won the right to race.

With districts and teams outlined, contrade begin to talk about "deals" (engagement of jockeys) and "parties" (secret pacts for the win), despite not knowing which horse they will draw in the lot.

The children of the contrade are assembled in bleachers to sing closest to the city hall during the trials, but adults will sit there on the race day.

An extraordinary Palio on 9 September 2000 coincided with the advent of the new millennium and was won by Selva (Forest), by jockey Giuseppe Pes riding on the horse Urban II.

Prior to this, the last extraordinary Palio was held on 13 September 1986 to celebrate the centenary of the abolition of the Balia and Biccherna governments.

From the second half of the 19th century, extraordinary Palios began to be organized for celebration of special events, rather than illustrious visits.

However, the calculations carried out by supporters of the Palio for the same period, which include all the tests held before the real race, give a rate of 2.05%[11] of fatal accidents per ride.

Many rules governing the protection of animals have been developed and implemented only since the 1990s; supporters of the Palio stress that injuries have been drastically reduced since then.