ABSTRACT

There is a certain sense in which the act of bringing a horse inside a church is a profanation of the church. Normally animals are not permitted to enter a church. However, the palio like so many festivals provides a special time of license, an opportunity for reversing reality. During the days that the contrada stable is occupied by the horse, the stable becomes somehow sacred. No one is allowed to enter the stable without permission, and the horse itself becomes more and more a symbol of the destiny of the contrada. Accordingly, it was a horse likely to win the palio. Several informants volunteered explanations of the sign. One suggested that defecating made the horse lighter in weight and hence faster in the race. Another hypothesized that any horse which dared to defecate in a church is bound to be a horse with great courage and spirit. Accordingly, it was a horse likely to win the palio.