The Valdimontone has waited thirteen long years. And yesterday, at the end of a Palio that will forever remain etched in the city's memory, it regained glory thanks to the flawless running of Giuseppe Zedde, known as Gingillo, and the bay Anda e Bola.

Three laps in the lead, a decisive push at the moment of the move and no chance of reply for the opponents : this is how a clear triumph was born, which brought the yellow, red and white colours back to dominate Piazza del Campo.

The race began after more than half an hour of waiting and skirmishing over the ropes, with Pantera, Leocorno, Aquila, and Civetta locked in a no-holds-barred tug-of-war. Then, the moment that changed everything: Gingillo broke the deadlock, took the lead, and never looked back. The efforts of Pantera and Leocorno, the latter with the winning pairing from last July, Tittia and Diodoro, were to no avail.

The Drappellone painted by Francesco De Grandi will thus enrich the museum in Via dei Sordi, alongside the other forty-four.

Making the 2025 Palio dell'Assunta even more unique is the presence of illustrious guests. Madonna chose Siena to celebrate her 67th birthday, watching the race from a window overlooking the Campo , along with Sting and Eddie Redmayne. Maurizio Lastrico, Matteo Martari, and Pietro Sermonti were also in town.

The audience gave an international flavor to a deeply Sienese celebration, culminating in the district members' emotional embrace of their jockey and horse.

For 43-year-old Zedde, yesterday's victory was his fourth on the Palio . Born in Siena to a family of Noragugume jockeys—his father Antonio, known as Valente, won twice; his brother Virginio, "Lo Zedde," ran six Palios—Gingillo has written a new chapter in his career, which had been without a win since 2018. He made his debut in 2002 with Bruco. His last victory dates back to 2018, on Porto Alabe for Lupa during Assunta's career; previously, he had won the 2008 Palio dell'Assunta for Bruco on Elisir Lugodoro and the 2009 Palio di Provenzano on Già del Mehnir for Tartuca.

Riding Anda e Bola, a 9-year-old gelding at his third race, he transformed his thirst for redemption into a perfect ride.

"We should talk about the contrade before the Palio, because without them, the Palio wouldn't exist," Mayor Nicoletta Fabio reminded us this morning. And indeed, last night, more than the race itself, it was the entire city that won: a "lucid madness," as the mayor described it, that lit up the sky above Siena with the colors of the Valdimontone.

(Unioneonline/Fr.Me.)

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