The postponement of the Palio due to rain with the horses at the rope had never occurred in history; there is only one precedent for rain that takes us back to the last century and precisely to July 1932. Horses out of the Entrone and sudden downpour with the Podestà who decided to postpone it to the following day.
The envelope today must be the same in the order of entry as yesterday, even if the Regulation does not enter into the merits. The precedents, which make history, date back to 1983 and 1991. Mayor Mauro Barni found himself in the position of suspending the race due to a still mysterious drop in brightness mixed with an attempt to enter the track, not completely successful, by the contradaioli of the Chiocciola.
In 1991, Mayor Pierluigi Piccini was forced, due to the voluntary attitude of the chase (Nicchio), to postpone the race. Massimino’s behavior towards Valdimontone led to integrating the agreement on the start times, granting more power to the starter in relation to the chase.
At a regulatory level, the decision of the mayor Nicoletta Fabio is flawless and reflects the power that is attributed to her by article 102 in the figure of the municipal authority that must only consult with the Deputies of the Festival, who must only be ‘heard’, and if it wants with the captains.
In the current century there are no Palios of Provenzano postponed due to rain; the previous ones of the century instead concern August 2015 and 2022.
The case of 1932, mentioned above, is not the first of the last century, which was ‘inaugurated’ with the postponements due to rain two years earlier, in 1930. The second postponement of Provenzano due to rain occurred in 1978 and subsequently in 1979, 1992 and 1997.
Worth noting is what happened in 1976, when the unusability of the track forced captains, stewards and jockeys to go on a reconnaissance tour to test the consistency of the tuff. In that Palio, won by the shaken Quebel, only Aceto remained on horseback.
All the more reason to consolidate the correctness of Mayor Fabio’s decision. Siena could not afford the luxury of repeating what happened 48 years ago yesterday.
