The "Festa Titolare"

The celebrations in honour of each Contrada's patron Saint take place every year from the end of April to the middle of Sept.  The patron Saint celebrations are the occasion for all the people of the Contrada to come together, especially the ones who live outside Siena and beyond. It is also the time in which children and young people enjoy playing the traditional games while singing traditional songs. The main place where the celebration unfolds is the Contrada's own church open to everyone who belongs to the district, the 'contradaioli', regardless of their religious convictions. That is the place where both the opening and the closing cerimonies take place, the latter ending with the contradaioli singing a thanksgiving chant. 

A big part of the patron Saint celebration consists of the Contrada’s pageant, a large group of young and older people wearing the Contrada’s historical costumes that parades thoughout the city. The purpose of this parade is to pay homage to all the ‘protettori’, litterally the protectors, all those people who, through their contributions, have made it possible for the Contrada to live and preserve in full autonomy its properties such as its church and  museum.The ultimate goal, in fact, is that of protecting these assets and hand them on to future generations. The parade, called ‘giro’, is accompanied on the sound of a unique drum roll that is being taught to the men of the Contrada only since their childhood. 

The true symbol of each Contrada is its flag as it portrays its colours and  coat of arms.  The flag can be displayed not only along the streets of a Contrada to identify its territory, but it can also be displayed outside the window of house of a member of the Contrada as a sign of membership. Similarly to what happens with the drums, only men can taught how to wave them. These people take the name of ‘Alfieri’ and during the parade mentioned above bear and wave the flags in the air in that that is considered to be a true and fine art.The flag is made of silk and is tailored by the women of the contrada. This is only a way in which is possible to see how both men and women equally take part and contribute to the life and fortune of their Contrada. 

Each of the 17 contradas of Siena has a Patron Saint, and every year its Anniversary is celebrated  with civil and religious ceremonies, the most important of which is the ?Giro’, the traditional tribute paid to the Contrada's protectors. The protectors are those Contrada members who take part in the life of the Contrada and sustain it with their offerings. A long procession of "contradaioli" (people belonging to the Contrada) dressed specifically in historical costumes portraying the Contrada’s colours and coat of arms, bearing drums and flags wanders through the narrow streets of Siena. Walking riht behind this procession are all the other people of the Contrada. As the long procession enters the territories of the other contradas, homage is paid by visiting the Contrada’s church and singing a chant to the Madonna, to whom Siena is dedicated.