Four Days in Summer 'The Palio is life itself distilled into four days.' 'The Palio is a love - a passion. But unlike other human passions which can be exhausted, the Palio is only exhausted by death.' The Palio of Siena, in Tuscany, is the most dangerous horse race in the world. The competition, which has been held for nearly 1,000 years, is restricted to 17 contradas or districts of Siena. To the Sienese the contrada is everything. Each one is a closed community which has the passionate loyalty of all its members who are united by ancient rivalries with the other districts.
These rivalries come to a head during the four days of the Palio. The race is the culmination of the Sienese year. Winning is everything, and each district spends hundreds of millions of lira in pursuit of victory. This film goes behind the scenes to show the lives of two enemy districts as they try to make their dream come true.
Photography IAN STONE
Film editor RAY FRAWLEY
Producer JONATHAN DARBY Series editor CHRIS CURLING
* TRAVEL: page 101
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