And Now....
With all of his heart Giorgio Terni believed that Gaudenzia's first victories were only a beginning. And so they were. Proving herself queen, she went on to win the Extraordinary Palio that fall, held in honor of the Marian Year. Giorgio was again her fantino. Thousands of people shuddered as she flung herself at the starting rope, then leaped over it before it touched the ground. From that moment on she won the race majestically, unchallenged. It was her third victory in succession. In all of Palio history no horse had ever done this before!
Strangely enough, Gaudenzia is famed, too, for not racing. Because of her spectacular record she was excluded from both Palios in the following year. She was too great a threat to the other contenders. But the next year, in deference to the will of the people, they allowed her to race again. And again she won.
Where is Gaudenzia now? As befitting a queen, she lives in a medieval castle near Siena, one with a history longer than the Palio. In this eventful place where pacts were made and wars were plotted, she has her stable-home. It is big and high-ceilinged, with windows that open wide upon the sweeping hills of Tuscany.
Is she lonely there? Perhaps. But in the months to come there may be a colt for her to nurse, and to teach to race. Meanwhile, she has a hunting dog for company, a groom to exercise her, and visitors from near and far—as far away as America. Most of them she eyes in an aloof and regal manner, permitting none to touch her. She seems always to be looking through and beyond them, looking for a familiar slight-built figure. Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon her looking is rewarded, for among the visitors comes Giorgio, man-grown now.
Nostrils fluttering, she sifts the mixture of scents, sorting and discarding until she finds the right one. Then with a small whicker of remembering, she reaches out to welcome him.
Always their reunion is the same. Giorgio extends his open hand, and after she has licked the salt from it, she playfully nips his shirtsleeve and snuffs his hair. Always it is like this. Never any demanding, "Where were you last Sunday?" Only her eyes holding his, and her ears flicked for the tone of his voice.
"Gaudenzia," he tells her, "the others cannot hold the candle to you. You are still the pride of the Palio, and I'll be back to see you again, maybe in the time of the little fingernail moon or when the moon is full. Maybe both times!"
And usually he is.
For helping her understand the mystery and meaning of the Palio, the author is grateful to:
Lelio Barbarulli, Chief Magistrate of the Contrada Onda, and his daughter Gloria, Siena
Giuseppe Bosi, guide, Siena
Ezio Cantagalli, President of Ente Provinciale per il Turismo, Siena
Tami Gurovich Cascino, Professor of Literature, Siena
Giorgio Celli, Doctor of Accounting, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena
Mario Celli, Manager of the newspaper Il Campo di Siena, and his daughter Paula, Siena
Mario Chigiotti, Manager of Ente Provinciale per il Turismo, Siena
Angelina Ciambellotti, President of Centro Italiano Femminile, Siena
Egidio Corsini, Vicar of the Contrada Giraffa, Siena
Mario Costanti, Castello Medioevale di Bibbiano Buonconvento, Tuscany
Dorotha Dawson, Supervisor of School Libraries, and Julia Coe, Detroit, Michigan
Fini Demolito, Captain of the Contrada Giraffa, Siena
Vittorio De Santi, Captain of the Contrada Nicchio, Siena
Ettore Fontani, owner of many Palio horses, Siena
Benito Giachetti, Chief of the Guards, Siena
Vasco Giusti, Contrada Giraffa, Siena
Giovanni Governato, interpreter and Doctor of Accounting, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena
Guido Guidarini, official starter of the race, Siena
Ruth Harshaw, conductor of "Carnival of Books" radio program, Chicago
Veronica Hutchinson, author and book buyer, Halle's, Cleveland, Ohio
Richard A. Knoblock, Colonel, U.S. Air Force, American Embassy, Rome
Aldo Lenzi, Doctor of Veterinary Science, Siena
Katherine Lindsay, translator, Wayne, Illinois
Aldo Lusini, editor of the periodical Terra di Siena
Conte Goffredo Manfredi, Rome
Tommaso Masini, Secretary to the Mayor of Siena
Della McGregor, Chief of Youth Services, Public Library, St. Paul, Minnesota
Mario Neri, President of Cine Club, Siena
Alfredo Pianigiani, owner of many Palio horses, Siena
Vincenzo Ramalli, owner of many Palio horses, and his daughter Anna, Siena
Mario Rossetti, Doctor of Accounting, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena
Nello Sainati, Westchester, Illinois, who vividly re-created the Tuscany of his boyhood
Renato Senesi, Manager of the Azienda Autonoma del Turismo, Siena
Erica Stoppini, counselor and friend, and her daughter Maria Luisa, Siena
Roberta Sutton, mentor, Chicago, Illinois
Domenico Cardinal Tardini, Secretary of State of the Vatican
Giorgio Terni, his mother, his father, his sister Teria and his brother Emilio, Monticello Amiata
The Most Reverend Mario Toccabelli, Archbishop of Siena
Adriano Tortorelli, Captain of the Contrada Onda, Siena
All the boys of Villa Nazareth and their teachers, Rome
William Winquist, horseman, Wayne, Illinois
Raimondo Zalaffi, journalist, Siena
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
