Palio di Siena: A Nightmare Ends for L’Aquila—34 Years Later, Provenzano Wins

A historic Palio di Siena, with a winner that had been waiting since the last millennium. It was the Nobile Contrada dell’Aquila, which managed to win the Palio di Provenzano 34 years after its last victory on the tuff of Piazza del Campo. The last time the Contrada, representing Casato di Sotto, won was way back on July 3, 1992. Thanks to the triumph of Tittia—born Giovanni Atzeni—riding Diodoro, the “nonna” has also changed. The contrada that has gone the longest without winning a Palio is now the Nicchio, which has not won since August 16, 1998.

The 2026 Palio di Provenzano began amid great anticipation due to the presence on the Campo of bitter rivals such as Oca and Torre, Leocorno, and Civetta, in addition to the “ancient enemies” Bruco and Giraffa (marking the 30th anniversary of the end of their hostilities) and the Onda, which, though not reciprocated, views the Torre as a rival. The latter, in fourth position at the starting ropes, tried at length to hinder the Oca, which had drawn position 1 and could rely on the horse Benitos, already a winner at the Assunta in 2024 with the Lupa.

The Onda team, which had to make up ground, delayed the start of the Palio despite a certain degree of order among the ropes. The jockey in white and light blue was Carlo Sanna, known as Brigante, who started the Palio at a particularly favorable moment for Tittia and the Aquila. Diodoro then led the race from the first to the last meter, leaving no chance for the Civetta to close a gap that was insurmountable from the very start. Several horses were unseated behind them, though without any serious consequences.

Victory thus goes to the Aquila, its 25th in history and, as mentioned, its first since as far back as 1992. Tittia’s record is quite different: Giovanni Atzeni has now reached 12 wins in 42 appearances at the Palio di Siena. A true “King of the Piazza” in recent years, he had triumphed five times in a row between 2019 and 2023. He also claimed the most recent victory at the Palio di Provenzano, riding for the Oca and once again aboard Diodoro, who has now secured his third consecutive win overall (he also won the 2025 Assunta on Leocorno). The last winner for the Aquila was the legendary Aceto on Galleggiante. Born Andrea Degortes, he triumphed 14 times in his career. Now his successor and fellow regional native trails by just two wins.

It was precisely the 2024 Palio di Provenzano that featured Brigante himself, who is now in the running for the Onda. On that occasion, the jockey from Malborghetto prevailed aboard Tabacco, giving the Contrada Capitana dell’Onda its third career victory and its second in a row following the 2023 Palio dell’Assunta. The 2024 race had been delayed by a full two days due to rain that had poured down on Piazza del Campo, with the event postponed from the traditional date of July 2 to July 4. On that occasion as well, it was the run-up that slowed the race, with the Lupa and its jockey Andrea Coghe—known as Tempesta—at the center of a lengthy delay.

Among Tittia’s most recent performances, the 2023 Palio dell’Assunta stands out, having become a legendary moment in the history of the Sienese competition. On that occasion, the Sardinian jockey had fallen as early as the second turn at San Martino, taking Brigante—who was following him aboard the Oca’s horse—down with him. A double fall that completely reshuffled the deck, initially favoring the Pantera and then the Torre, before the Oca’s jockey-less horse, Zio Frac, managed to fend off all attempts at a comeback and cross the finish line first, giving the Fontebranda contrada a victory that went down in history.

Finally, it should be noted that Zio Frac himself—the horse that starred in that memorable Assunta 2023—had already won the 2022 Palio di Provenzano with Tittia in the saddle, this time racing for the Drago contrada. In that unusual season—contested by just six contrade following the withdrawals of Civetta, Istrice, Leocorno, and Bruco, Giovanni Atzeni had secured his first post-pandemic victory, confirming himself as the most successful jockey of his generation and laying the groundwork for the dominance that has now brought him to a total of 12 Palio victories.