The story of the accidental discovery of the cave is taught in school. It’s the old story of how four children who were playing on the field accidentally fell into a cave and discovered a valuable relic. This cave was discovered in 1940, and was opened to the public several years after the war. However, in 1955 it was found that breathing of thousands of visitors decreases the clarity of color paintings. Therefore, the cave was closed to the public and now you can visit only its replica, called Lascaux II, serving visitors since 1983.

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Twenty days prior to the July 2nd race, a total of 10 contestants will be draw to compete in the first event of the year. The remaining 7 contestants will participate in the second event on August 16th; along with the top three contestants from the July race. Three days before each race, the contestants are assigned the horse that they will be running in the race.

The Palio di Siena is considered to be one of the most famous and historic of festivals in the whole of Italy which takes place every year in the Piazza del Campo square; a fan shaped earthen race track. The actual festivities of the event start on June 29th and will continue on until August 13th of each year.

Horse race, Palio di Siena, Tuscany, Italy by Janus Kinase

On race day, there is a special mass held in Siena where the contestants and their horses are blessed before the start of the competition. Trial runs are held until around 3 in the afternoon; after which a procession makes its way throughout the historic town center of Siena. The procession ends at the Piazza del Campo just in time for the 4:30 official start time of the Palio di Siena competition.

The race is composed of three laps around the Piazza del Campo which is roughly 1,000 meters in all. The winner wins a victory flag for their neighborhood known as the palio. It is a huge honor to win the Palio di Siena.

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