July edition of Palio postponed for third year in a row.The Palio di Siena horse race has been postponed by one day due to bad weather, organisers announced on Thursday afternoon, just hours before the event was due to start.The historic race - which sees bareback riders battle it out in the mediaeval heart of the Tuscan city - will now take place at the same time on Friday 3 July, weather permitting. "The rain that fell from yesterday evening, Wednesday, 1 July, until well into this morning, Thursday 2 July, makes it impossible to hold the Historic Parade," reads the official statement released by the city of Siena. The Palio dates back to the 17th century and is traditionally held on two dates - 2 July and 16 August - with the colourful spectacle attracting tens of thousands of spectators. This is the third consecutive year that the July edition of the Palio has not been held on the scheduled date due to bad weather. Over the centuries the race has been cancelled only a handful of times: notably in 1855 due to a deadly outbreak of cholera, during world war two, and as a result of the covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The event sees riders and horses race three laps around the central Piazza del Campo, in a fiercely-contested competition between 10 of the city's 17 rival contrade or neighbourhoods. The contrade competing on 2 July are: Onda, Civetta, Giraffa, Leocorno, Aquila, Torre, Bruco, Drago, Oca and Valdimontone, the latter of which won the Palio last August. In recent years the Palio has been the subject of protest from animal rights activists who claim that horses endure suffering during the event. The race will be screened live on Italian television network La7. For updates about the event see Comune di Siena website. Photo credit: Dietmar Rauscher / Shutterstock.com

The Palio di Siena horse race has been postponed by one day due to , organisers announced on Thursday afternoon, just hours before the event was due to start. The historic race - which sees bareback riders battle it out in the mediaeval heart of the Tuscan city - will now take place at the same time on Friday 3 July, weather permitting. "The rain that fell from yesterday evening, Wednesday, 1 July, until well into this morning, Thursday 2 July, makes it impossible to hold the Historic Parade," reads the official statement released by the city of Siena. The Palio dates back to the 17th century and is traditionally held on two dates - 2 July and 16 August - with the colourful spectacle attracting tens of thousands of spectators. This is the third consecutive year that the July edition of the Palio has not been held on the scheduled date due to bad weather. Over the centuries the race has been cancelled only a handful of times: notably in 1855 due to a deadly outbreak of cholera, during world war two, and as a result of the covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The event sees riders and horses race three laps around the central Piazza del Campo, in a fiercely-contested competition between 10 of the city's 17 rival contrade or neighbourhoods. The contrade competing on 2 July are: Onda, Civetta, Giraffa, Leocorno, Aquila, Torre, Bruco, Drago, Oca and Valdimontone, the latter of which won the Palio last August. In recent years the Palio has been the subject of protest from animal rights activists who claim that horses endure suffering during the event. The race will be screened live on Italian television network La7. For updates about the event see . Photo credit: Dietmar Rauscher / Shutterstock.com