THE CONTRADE, THE PALIO, AND THE BEN COMUNE: LESSONS FROM SIENA Cover Image

THE CONTRADE, THE PALIO, AND THE BEN COMUNE: LESSONS FROM SIENA
THE CONTRADE, THE PALIO, AND THE BEN COMUNE: LESSONS FROM SIENA

Author(s): Wolfgang Drechsler
Subject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus
Keywords: Siena; contrade; Palio; social capital; Monte dei Paschi

Summary/Abstract: Siena’s unusually high level of both wealth and social capital and extremely low level of crime make it, in spite of all its specificity, an obvious object of lesson-drawing for other communities. The reason of Siena’s success seems to be the historic contrade system, which again is closely linked to the famous horse-race, the Palio. Based on recent literature, and corroborated in situ, this essay sets out to investigate how the Palio-contrade complex works today, what effects and side-effects it has, and what lessons might be drawn from it.

  • Issue Year: X/2006
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 99-125
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: English
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