Dr. John C. McLucas: The Culture of Palio di Siena

Towson professor emeritus Dr. John McLucas brings to life the world-famous Palio di Siena horse race. The city of Siena, Tuscany, provides an usually vivid example of Italians’ extreme devotion to native towns and neighborhoods. The Italian word for this feeling is campanilismo, “bell-towerism,” meaning that Italians like to live within earshot of their parish church’s bells. Twice a year, good-natured rivalries among neighborhoods are enacted in the “Palio” horse race, a tradition dating back to 1633.