Siena Palio Contrade Contrada Priora della Civetta Contradaioli

If you treasure friendship, the passion, the arts and wine...
... keep on reading below, maybe you are one of the
favoured children of the Goddess Minerva, of the
Civetta, and this is your home...

The "Contradaiolo" - member of the Contrada

In order to understand the feelings of a "contradaiolo", a person who belongs to one of the 17 town districts of Siena, one has to experience being in the Piazza del Campo - the town square - when the horserace is imminent, surrounded by friends electrified by a mixture of wine and hope, feeling how your stomach slowly tightens up, and sensing that the same emotions are shared by 35.000 people ....
Suddenly the flags are swinging while the drums stop beating, all the attention is directed toward those ten horses which appear on the "tufo" - the earth on the track - and the emotions of so many hearts beating together is overwhelming and for an instant one feels completely alone and an insignificant part of a great drama; it doesn't help to look for reassurance in the eyes of the Capitano - the contrada's captain, the person who has guided the Contrada during the four days of the Palio...his eyes are just like yours, lonesome.

One does not become a "Contradaiolo" - member of the Contrada - by possessing a membership card or wearing its multi-coloured scarf around the neck.
Sometimes it is not enough to be born in Siena
and to have always heard the sound of the drums and smelled the freshly spread "tufo" (the earth covering the track). One has to have the heart and the passion, something that cannot be bought but that everybody can have, in any part of the world!
In Civetta, every year, many Contradaioli return from around the world and are welcomed back by those friends, who live in Siena and will never leave the city, but never forgot them. Together they will have a glass of wine wishing for another victory of the Civetta, to celebrate over and over, until the end of time.

1949

Wherever you are, you shall always belong to the Contrada Priora della Civetta
where you will always find the warmth and the passion of a never ending friendship.

1960

What the Contrada will give you ....
You can become a member through the baptism, a cerimony which takes place during the celebrations of the Patron ( a week in mid June in the honor of Saint Antonio) and you recieve the colors of the Contrada with a silk scarf and the membership card of Protector -"Benemerito Protettore".
If you are far away and want to come to Siena, the Contrada will give all the necessary assistance to find an accomodation and the services that are needed, it will invite you to the dinners and events, with the leaflet "Il Civettino" it will keep you informed about the activities of the Contrada, which are spread out during the whole year.

What should you give to the Contrada...
Above all your heart and your desire to win...and your passion!