Il primo giorno
I didn't have any troubles with my flights. Both landed earlier than expected, and although my baggage took forever in Rome-Fiumicino, I managed (barely) to catch the bus on time. At the bus, I stumbled across Mariano and two of our housemates, Kathleen and Nicole. It was comforting to see familiar faces, although I hadn't been distressed at the thought of traveling alone.
Cinzia picked us up at the bus stop with her friend, Riccardo, who lives next to us and is an exceptional asset, a very funny and sweet guy, and a good friend. Riccardo and Cinzia first took us to our house, which is incredible. I won't describe it in much detail, because you won't be able to imagine it anyway. That's for pictures, later, if they can even do it justice. But one thing must be said, and that is: most incredible balcony view ever.
And so seven of us lived in la casa gialla: the yellow house. In addition to the four of us, we soon met Chelsea, Eddie, and Nathaniel. We went to the grocery store, where (perhaps it's an illusion, but I don't think so) everything is very cheap, and everything we've bought so far is delicious. When it comes to food and drink, the Italians best us in every way. Even their juices and sodas are better. Even their cheap, 39-cent beers are better.
That evening we visited la piazza, where la Fontana Maggiore can be found, and walked a bit downtown. We sat on the steps of the cathedral, a local hangout, and spoke with several Italians. Mariano and I spoke with a woman, Valentina, who was so sweet, even when she had to repeat things several times for us to figure them out. In general, the Italians seem to love to hear us try and love to help us understand. They're very patient.
That night we made some food at the house and sat on the porch, overlooking the hills of Perugia and having wine and conversation. Within hours of having met these people, we talked and joked and laughed like old friends. It is truly a blessing how easily we fell together. After the rest went to bed, Eddie and I had a few more beers, and we ended up going to sleep possibly two hours before our wake-up call in the morning. But it was so worth it.
Il secondo giorno: Siena e il Palio
Having lived in Italy for less than 24 hours, we set out already for our first trip, a day in Siena. We left the house at 6:40, and since I slept for an hour of my overnight travels and two hours the night before, I was running on almost no sleep at all. After I got some food and water in me, though, I felt marvelous.
Siena. Siena, Siena, Siena. La citta' piu' bella che ho mai visto. Oh, Siena. I love Perugia, but Siena was such a perfect place to go on my first full day in Italy. And what's more, we went during one of the most famous and important local events held in Italy: il Palio. Il Palio is a famous horse race between le contrade, best described as perhaps different "districts" or "wards" of the city with ancient rivalries and traditions. The Palio is so important to the people of Siena. The things we saw are stunning, and while I can describe them, you can't understand how shocking and moving they were.
Each contrada has a church, and before the Palio, the horses that represent each contrada are actually brought into the churches and blessed. The horse is the true winner or loser of the race. For example, if the jockey falls off, the horse is trained to finish the race without him, and only the horse need cross the line to win. Through Riccardo's knowledge and experience, we were able to get into la chiesa dell'onda, the church of the contrada called "the Wave." L'onda is a rival to la torre, the tower. There were very strict rules in the church. Riccardo advised us not to speak, so that we weren't viewed as outsiders, and due to the dangers of bringing an incredibly high-strung race horse into a small church, everyone was silent. Honestly, it's a dangerous thing to do, and we were told many times no talking whatsoever, no flash photography, and don't do anything else likely to spook a horse. However, some complete stronzo (not a member of our group, of course) began taking pictures with his flash on. And not just one, as if he didn't know how to turn his flash off and forgot, but several. In a row. I saw the camera in the air flashing, but I couldn't see who was holding it. The horse began to freak out. It was tragic. The crowd broke their calm and those who were near the exits backed out. Riccardo pushed several of us back through a doorway into some hall. It was honestly terrifying. Someone finally got the spooked horse outside, and so it wasn't blessed in the church. This was a sign of incredible sfortuna: bad luck. If I ever had a chance in my life to confront the idiot (presumably a tourist, which embarrassed all of us) who spooked the horse, I don't know what I might do to him. The people of l'onda were heartbroken. The horse was blessed outside while most of the crowd was still inside, reeling. Nathaniel got a small bit of video of the horse spooking. I can't really explain the experience. It was dangerous and scary, but it was worth seeing. And after the blessing, the people in the church broke into the anthem of their contrada. I didn't expect it, but their anthem was incredible. I didn't understand the words, but they all changed dynamics as one, shouting and chanting, and different vocal parts came in and out at different times. Their were harmonies in their spontaneous chant. It was so impressive and so amazing. I had goosebumps the entire time from how unexpected and beautiful it was. I felt heat rising as if I were going to cry. My eyes probably welled up. I cannot describe how important the tradition of il Palio is to the people of Siena. After that experience, we were ashamed to be tourists, but unanimously supported l'onda.
After a lunch, we went to find seats to watch the race. There's basically a track in the middle of the city, and the crowds of spectators sit in the middle of the track, hoping to have a spot on the higher ground. We had a good location to see everything, including an exceptionally dangerous turn where wipeouts aren't uncommon. And so we sat, holding our places, in the sun for two or three hours. It was brutal, but we kept hydrated. Riccardo advised us as the crowd grew not to wear the flag of l'onda, which many of us bought as a souvenir. The Italians wore the flags of their contrade around their necks, around their heads, and in many other creative ways. But the area in which we were sitting is traditionally occupied by many supporters of la torre, and rivalries are known to erupt in violence. If l'onda beat la torre, Riccardo told us, it would be dangerous for us to display support for l'onda. This is a small indication of how important, I cannot stress enough, the Palio is in Siena.
The race itself was an interesting display of both sport and politics. For example, la torre, ending up in an inopportune starting place, had the ability to hold out, refusing to line up. The race would begin as soon as all of the horses lined up, see, and so a jockey in a bad starting position has to wait until a moment when, for example, they see their rival momentarily unprepared, and when they begin to run, the race begins. Riccardo told us that you never knew how long it would take. Sometimes they would line up and start immediately. Sometimes jockeys would refuse to line up for thirty minutes. The tension was so thick. As the announcer read the line-up, this crowd of thousands and thousands of people was virtually silent. Another goosebump moment, honestly. And so la torre, after perhaps ten or fifteen minutes, in which the other jockeys were forced to leave the gates and try again several times, suddenly broke into a run, and the race began. The race itself takes maybe two minutes. Three times around the track. The crowd turns in circles. On the first lap, l'onda pulled ahead. Everyone was screaming and cheering and jeering; it was insane. The second lap, l'onda increased its lead to two or three horselengths! Riccardo was ecstatic. The third lap, l'onda slowed drastically and was passed by two other horses. During the race, two horses fell, and in all the chaos, I was only sure that one of them continued to run. (Edit: I didn't realize this when I originally blogged, but one of the jockey-less horses won second!) I'm not sure what happened to the other jockey-less horse. The instant the race ended, crowds surged toward the track. We all grabbed each other, staying still as a group, fighting not to be swept along. A fight broke out near us. Riccardo and us guys pushed the girls back. The tension at this place was incredible, frightening, and exhilarating. Our group all ended up safe, of course, but it was clear watching Riccardo how much pressure he felt to make sure we weren't hurt, and his expressions gave me a good understanding of exactly how serious the Palio can be. Riccardo told us in the moments of calm that we finally reached that it was clear that l'onda pulled back, and la contrada was likely paid off. Il Palio is political, above all other things, but that sort of thing is just part of the race, the tradition, and the history. We were all disappointed that our chosen contrada didn't win, especially because it could have, but that's not what's ultimately important about the Palio. La selva (roughly translated, the Woods) won il Palio (the prize).
I loved the Palio, simply put. It was a completely unique experience, and I would wait in the hot sun for hours every day for it. It was 100% worth it. We left shortly after. I slept on the bus ride home, and back in Perugia, some of us returned to la piazza, spoke with Italians, and hung out for several more hours, going to bed, once again, around four or five in the morning. Though I needed sleep, it was fun and I don't regret it.
Having written for an hour, I'm afraid I don't have time to write about Saturday or Sunday right now. Nothing big happened, but I have a few small things to share during that time, and so hopefully, later today, I will find another twenty minutes or so to get online. Until then!
Arrivederci, e grazie!
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