Across Europe, festival traditions go back centuries,
and are filled with time-honored pageantry and ritual.
Entire communities hurl themselves
with abandon into the craziness.
There's no better example than here in Italy:
Siena's Palio.
Twice a year, that spirit shows itself
in a five-century-old city-wide competition
that culminates in a crazy horse race.
Siena is divided into 17 neighborhoods, or "contrade."
With their mascots and flags,
these have long been competitive and filled with rivalry.
[ Crowd singing in Italian ]
Each July and each August,
the entire city readies itself for the big race.
Its centerpiece, Il Campo,
is transformed into a medieval racetrack
as tons of clay are packed atop the cobbles,
and bleachers are set up.
Before the race,
competing neighborhoods gather for communal dinners
that last well into the night.
There are rousing choruses
with everybody cheering their "contrada."
[ Crowd singing in Italian ]
For days, processions break out across the city.
With waving flags and pounding drums,
it all harkens back to the Middle Ages,
when these rituals boosted morale before battle.
[ Applause ]
A highlight of the parade is the actual banner, or "palio."
This "palio," featuring the Virgin Mary,
(to whom the race is dedicated),
will be awarded to the victorious "contrada."
Finally, with what seems like
the entire city packed into Il Campo,
it's race time.
Bleachers and balcony seats are expensive,
but it's free to join the masses in the middle.
The snorting horses and their nervous riders line up,
jockeying for the best spot.
Silence takes over.
Once the rope drops, there's one basic rule:
There are no rules.
[ Indistinct cheering ]
They race bareback like crazy while spectators go wild.
Life stops for these frantic three laps...
just 90 seconds.
[ Cheering continues ]
When the winner crosses the line,
the winning "contrada" goes berserk.
Tears of joy flow, people embrace.
The winners thunder through the streets
and eventually into the cathedral,
filled with jubilation.
Then the winners raise their coveted "palio" high:
Champions...until the next race.