Palio di Siena 16 August 2024: who is the starter Renato Bircolotti and what does he do
Who is Renato Bircolotti, the starter of the Palio di Siena of August 16, 2024 and what does he do? In a Palio, including the Palio di Siena, the starter is the one who, by lowering the start rope, starts the horse race of the event. He is the sole and unquestionable judge of the validity of the start (the so-called “mossa”) of any elimination phases and of the actual race. The starter can also lower the start rope for safety reasons, when one or more contrade “force” the start rope. When the start rope is lowered but the starter, at his sole discretion, does not consider the start valid (incorrect alignment, swapped positions, etc.), he decrees the cancellation of the start rope itself.
He also makes the call inside the ropes according to the orders pre-established by drawing lots, different for any tests and for the Palio. He can have the horses exit and re-enter the ropes, without changing the order of the call, when he deems the alignment difficult. He can call and warn the jockeys in case of incorrect behavior. Calls and warnings then translate into disqualifications for the contrade or for the jockeys.
At the Palio di Siena he is appointed by the municipal administration, upon recommendation of the captains of the seventeen contrade. The mossiere carries out his role inside the verrocchio during the heats of the tratto, for the six trials and for the Palio race, from which he controls both the mechanism for lowering the rope to give the move, and the button for the explosion of the firecracker to decree its cancellation. But who is Renato Bircolotti, the mossiere designated for the Palio di Siena of August 16, 2024? Let’s see him together.
He is a well-known starter and mossiere originally from Castiglion Fiorentino and Cortona by adoption. Bircolotti returns to the verrocchio after the Palio of July 2022, that was not an easy edition for him (Tittia won for the Drago). There was no lack of controversy, also for the decision (not Bircolotti’s) to run only 6 out of 10 horses due to a series of injuries.
Why is the mossiere of the Palio di Siena taken away after the start? Traditionally, the mossiere, as soon as he has given the Mossa, leaves and never watches the Carriera unfold until the end. The reason is related to public order. Since he is essentially the referee of the Carriera, he could be contested or attacked by the contradaioli in the square. Hence the “wise” decision to disappear as quickly as possible.
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