The flags of Palio of Siena are the protagonist of the La Città del Si, City of Yes, to celebrate the seven hundred years of Costituto Senese. The exhibit was inaugurated on September 26th 2009 at the Santa Maria della Scala in Siena with the title “The Dream of the Middle Ages”.
To create the exhibition many elements were recovered that tell the story of the Palio and the seventeen contrade. The Palio flags on show present interesting iconographic elements both graphically and structurally. The meticulous and careful restoration lasted more than three years.
The flags are part of the collection of Frederick Stibbert that on April 20, 1884 purchased from the merchant Gaetano Basetti seventeen silk flags. Twelve were placed at the center of the ceiling of a hall of his villa called the “flag hall”. The other five are still being searched for.
Some bear the manufacturing date, such as the one of the Panther made in 1826, the Giraffe in 1828 and the Goose in 1859, in addition to the initials or full names of the authors.
The original flags were replaced in the hall of the museum with faithful reproductions of silk, made by a Dutch specialist firm, and can now finally be admired by visitors as a sort of anticipation to the future museum of the Palio.
At the Santa Maria della Scala you will also find the ongoing exposition of the carrocci, the chariots, used iduring the historical parade of Palio. In particular, it is possible to admire the one designed in 1928 as a sort of triumphal chariot enriched by five panels on which are painted the seventeen Contrada through ancient allegories worthy of a miniaturist.
Frederick Stibbert was born in Florence in 1838 to an English father and Italian mother. He was educated in England and was a famous collector of art, weapons and armors from all ages that he collected and arranged in his villa on the Florentine hills. The property, together with the park that surrounds it, was given to the City of Florence by his will in 1906 at his death. Today his prestigious residence is the home of the museum dedicated to him.
Stibbert remained attached to his house in Florence, bought by his mother, Giulia Cafaggi, and home of the family. In 1859 he came into possession of a huge wealth, which he kept maintained with great commitment and vision, taking advantage of his multiple nature of international financier, passionate collector and traveler. Indeed, for nearly fifty years, in order to complete the project of his life, the transformation of Montughi villa into a museum, he could easily control the antiquity market across Europe.
His collection, about fifty thousand pieces, was collected between 1860 and the end of the century, and is composed of paintings from various eras, a large number of pieces of armor, swords and guns, especially from the Sixteenth and Eighteenth centuries from Italian, German and French schools.
For more info on the Palio flags exhibition please contact Phone: +39 0577 292340, email: urp@comune.siena.it
The exhibit is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 12,30pm and Tuesday and Thursday from 3pm to 4,30pm
The flags of Siena are beautiful! Go see this exhibit if you can. If you can’t make it to Italy, you can also see the flags in the dining hall of The Hearst Castle in San Simeon.