GRE Test Centers

The time calculation in Siena is measured according to the Palio delle Contrade. Twice a year it takes place as the most important event in Siena: in honor of the Madonna di Provenzano on July 2nd and on August 16 in honor of the Madonna dell’Assunta.

The districts (contrade) hold a horse race on the Piazza del Campo in front of the town hall, its beginnings go back to the 11th century. Siena is divided into 17 such quarters, their borders were established in 1729. Originally, the quarters were military recruiting districts, the residents of which were grouped together in companies. This results in the cohesion that can still be felt today: A stranger in the Contrada is also considered to be a resident of another district. Today the neighborhoods have important socio-political functions, e. B. in youth work or care for the elderly. Every two years the residents of a contrada elect their independent administrative bodies. Small ceramic plaques on each street indicate which Contrada it belongs to.

Since the Piazza del Campo does not offer enough space, only ten contrade are allowed to compete against each other for the Palio. The process and schedule are strictly regulated. At the end of May, three contrade will be drawn from the participants from the previous year, who will contest the race on July 2nd together with the seven districts that did not take part. On the morning of June 29th, the horses will be selected to be drawn among the ten participating contrade. A first trial race will take place in the evening, and further trial races will follow the next day. The dress rehearsal on the evening of July 1st always starts at 7.45 p.m. In the late evening there is a feast in every contrada, which is supposed to bring good luck and blessings and in which all residents of the district take part. The horse drawn is strictly guarded in a special stable (“casa del cavallo”). On the feast day, a service is held in the church of each contrade in the morning, during which the horses are also blessed. Then the delegations of the Contrade go to the Piazza del Campo for a historical procession: each a drummer, two flag throwers, the head of the contrada (“capitano”) elected for the duration of the Palio, two armed men, the standard-bearer with the flag of the contrada, accompanied by two squires with the standards of the former military companies from which the contrade emerged. This elevator is followed by a parade horse with the rider (“fantino”) led by a groom and finally the actual racing horse, which is led by its guardian. The race starts in the evening at 8 p.m. For the event, the square is covered with tamped sand and clay, and to protect the riders in this life-threatening race, house corners are additionally padded. To propel them – also to hinder their opponents – the riders are given bull pizzas, and they are ridden without a saddle. According to Directoryaah, the Campo has to be lapped three times, the winner is the Contrada, whose horse crosses the finish line first. This can also be done without a rider. Therefore, the horse is given a place of honor on the table at the subsequent feast.

World Heritage Sites (K) and World Natural Heritage (N)

• Rock paintings in Val Camonica (Lombardy) (K; 1979)
• Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with Leonardo da Vinci’s »Last Supper« in Milan (K; 1980)
• Historic center of Rome, also in Rome the basilica “San Paolo fuori le mura” (“Saint Paul Outside the Walls”), which belongs to the State of the Vatican City, and the Vatican City (K; 1980)
• Historic old town of Florence (K; 1982)
• Venice and its lagoon (K; 1987)
• Pisa Cathedral Square (K; 1987)
• Historic center of San Gimignano (K; 1990)
• Cave dwellings on the rocky slopes (» Sassi “) of Matera (K; 1993)
• Vicenza and the Palladio villas in the Veneto region (K; 1994)
• Historic Center of Siena (K; 1995)
• Historic Center of Naples (K; 1995)
• Model settlement Crespi d’Adda (K; 1995)
• Old town of Ferrara (K; 1995)
• Castel del Monte (K; 1996)
• Trulli (round buildings) by Alberobello (K; 1996)
• Early Christian-Byzantine monuments and mosaics from Ravenna (K; 1996)
• Historic old town of Pienza (K; 1996)
• Royal castle in Caserta with park, aqueduct and the village of San Leucio (K; 1997)
• Residences of the House of Savoy in Turin and the surrounding area (K; 1997)
• Botanical Garden in Padua (K; 1997)
• Cathedral San Geminiano, city tower Torre Civica and Piazza Grande in Modena (K; 1997)
• Archaeological sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata (K; 1997)
• Villa Romana del Casale with its mosaics in Piazza Armerina (Sicily) (K; 1997)
• Nuraghi (Bronze Age towers) from Barumini (Sardinia) (K; 1997)
• Cultural landscapes of Portovenere and Cinque Terre (K; 1997)
• Cultural landscape rocky coast of Amalfi (K; 1997)
• Archaeological sites of Agrigento (Sicily) (K; 1997)
• Cilento National Park and Val di Diano with Paestum, Velia and the Charterhouse of Padula (K; 1998)
• Historic center of Urbino (K; 1998)
• Archaeological sites and Aquileja Cathedral (K; 1998)
• Hadrian’s Villa near Rome (K; 1999)
• Aeolian Islands (N; 2000)
• Church of San Francesco (basilica) and memorials of Francis of Assisi in the city of Assisi (K; 2000)
• Buildings (since ancient times) in the old town of Verona (K; 2000)
• Villa d´Este in Tivoli (K; 2001)
• Late baroque towns in Val di Noto (Sicily) (K; 2002)
• Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) in Piedmont and Lombardy (K; 2003)
• Etruscan necropolis of Cerveteri and Tarquinia (K; 2004)
• Val d’Orcia on Monte Amiata in Tuscany (K; 2004)
• Syracuse and the rock chamber tombs of Pantalica in Sicily (K; 2005)
• Strade Nuove (»New Streets«) with the »Palazzi dei Rolli« in Genoa (K; 2006)
• Mantua and Sabbioneta (K; 2008)
• Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina cultural landscape (K; 2008)
• Dolomites (N; 2009)
• Places of power: Longobard Empire 568-774 (K; 2011)
• Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps (K; 2011)
• Medici villas and gardens in Tuscany (K; 2013)
• Etna volcano in Sicily (N; 2013)
• Wine-growing areas in Piedmont: Langhe, Roero and Monferrato (K; 2014)
• Arab-Norman Palermo and cathedrals of Cefalu and Monreale (K; 2015)
• Old beech forests and primeval beech forests (N; 2017)
• Venetian defense system of the 15th-17th centuries Century (K; 2017)
• Industrial city Ivrea (K; 2018)