The Procession before the Palio - 1546 by Lorenzo Fratellini Copy from the original by anon. artist Azienda Auto-noma di Turismo Siena Palio is the name given in Italy to an annual athletic contest, very often of a historical character, pitting the neighbourhoods of a town or the hamlets of a comune against each other. Typically they are fought in costume and commemorate some event or tradition of the Middle Ages, and thus often involve horse racing, archery, jousting, crossbow shooting, and similar medieval sports. Once purely a matter of local rivalries, many have now become events staged with an eye to visitors and foreign tourists. The most famous is undoubtedly the Palio di Siena; but there are hundreds of others throughout Italy and the surrounding countries. ?006 TopFoto