Selva

Selva
Overzicht
ColorsOrange and green with white band
SymbolRhino (forest)
TerzoTerzo di Città
HeadquartersPiazzetta della Selva 4
MuseumPiazzetta della Selva 3
ClubhouseSocietà “Il Rhinoceronte”, Via Vallepiatta
ContradaioliSelvaioli
OratoryChiesa di San Sebastiano in Vallepiatta
Paitron SaintAssunzione della B.ta Vergine (16 august)
Enemie(s)None
Allied ContradeChiocciola (dal 1792)
Drago (dal 1824 al 1979)
Pantera (dal 1780 al 1789)
Tartuca (dal 1788)
Torre (dal 1790 al 1960)
Victories40 officially recognized
Websitehttp://www.contradadellaselva.it
Info
Territorium

The Bando di Violante di Baviera from 1730 determined the division of the city of Siena into 17 Contrade. People referred to buildings and their owners instead of the streets (as they do now). The document is still seen today as the basis on which the actual boundaries of the districts were determined.

Today, the following streets are part of the area’s territory:

  • via Franciosa
  • vicolo delle Carrozze
  • via di Vallepiatta
  • vicolo di Vallepiatta
  • via del Costone
  • via di Fontebranda (part)
  • via dei Pellegrini
  • via di Città (deel)
  • via delle Campane (part)
  • via delle Terme (part)
  • piazza dell’Indipendenza (part)
  • via di Diacceto (deel)
  • via di Beccheria
  • via di Monna Agnese (part)
  • via dei Fusari
  • Costarella dei Barbieri (part)
  • piazza San Giovanni
  • piazza del Duomo (part)
  • piazzetta di bocco
  • piazzetta della Selva
  • vicolo di Vallepiatta
  • vicolo del Pozzo
  • vicolo di San Girolamo
  • Chiasso del Bargello (part)
  • Ex macelli
orso

The former territory of the extinct Contrada dell’Orso is also included in the Selva area.

The Contrada dell’Orso contained the following streets in Siena:  piazza Tolomei, Banchi di Sopra until Arco dei Rossi, via dei Termini, piazza dell’Indipendenza, via delle Terme, via di Città, Banchi di Sopra until Piazza Tolomei. The streets of the neighborhood were divided among Civetta, Oca and Selva.

gallo

In addition, the territory of the extinct district of Contrada del Gallo is also included in the territory of Selva. The Contrada contained the following streets in Siena: Costarella dei Barbieri, via di Fontebranda (until via di Città), piazza dell’Indipendenza , via di Diacceto, via dei Pellegrini, via di Città tot Chiasso del Bargello. The streets of the neighborhood were divided among Civetta, Oca and Selva.

History

Selva was then the area of the hunters (cacciatori). You can still find this in the coat of arms. Also in the Corteo Storico Selva runs with bows and other hunting material.

Important locations and Festa Titolare

The Oratory of Selva, the Chiesa di San Sebastiano in Vallepiatta is located on the Piazzetta della Selva and is today owned by the Selva district. In 1492, the weavers who lived in the Selva district wanted to build a church in honor of their patron saint San Sebastiano. Construction began in 1493 under the supervision of Girolamo Ponsi. Between 1786 and 1810 it was used by Pantera. It was not until 1818 that she was commissioned by Selva. This is still the case today.

The baptismal fountain is located in Piazza della Selva and was designed in 1965 by Vinicio Guastatori.

Selva 1

The Festa Titolare in honor of patron saint Assunzione della B.ta Vergine is celebrated on the third Sunday of August.

Selva and the Palio

Selva has 40 officially recognized victories. The last one was on July 2, 2023, with Giovanni Atzeni (Tittia) on Violenta Da Clodia.

To date, Selva has never won a Cappotto.

After a particularly painful 19th century with only 6 victories, Selva seemed to suffer the same fate in the 20th century. They won in 1901, 1904 and 1919. After that they had to wait 34 years (and a world war) for a new victory. In 1953 Selva was again at the party. Since then, Selva has won no less than 17 Palios (up to and including 2019). No other neighborhood, even Oca, did better.

Anecdotes

On August 16, 1919, Selva was involved in a very bloody Palio that degenerated into a stabbing of Aldo Mantovani detto Bubbolo by a contradaiolo of Selva, the neighborhood where he had ridden for the Palio.

The prologue of this crime took place during the Palio of July of the same year. This was won by Leocorno with Cispa on Giacca. If a small neighborhood won at that time, the money they paid to the other neighborhoods wasn’t really big. Bubbolo, the fantino of Selva gave the money to the stable man of Selva. However, the Selvaioli thought this was a very small amount and suspected the fantino of having kept money for themselves and distrusted him.

At the Palio in August, Selva and Tartuca got the best horses and both became favorites. The Selva captain wanted to engage Bubbolo again to ride. After the disagreement with the stable man, he chose to accept Tartuca’s offer. With this he provoked the selvaioli that overflowed with anger.

After the first prova that was driven by an unknown young fantino, Selva chose Nappa. However, this was quickly replaced because he was immediately suspected of having accepted money from Tartuca not to win. At the provaccia, Selva installed the young Randellone as a fantino. He was instructed to make Bubbolo life miserable.

Selva 3

Both fantini got off their horse during the provaccia and started to fight. Soon other selvaioli and tartucini came to the rescue, resulting in a huge fight. In order to calm the minds, both fantini were excluded from the Palio. Selva, who had succeeded in their design and had driven Bubbolo away, chose Moro. Tartuca Picino.

The news of the exclusion got Bubbolo bad. Shortly before the start of the Corteo Storico he went to Selva with some family members. This quickly degenerated into a fight in which Selva Stalman stabbed Bubbolo with a knife. This was taken to the hospital.

A few hours later Selva won the Palio, ahead of Tartuca. Back in the district with the drappellone, the stalman was arrested and thrown into prison. Selva seemed cursed because for no less than 34 years they no longer won!

Contrada without enemies

At present, Selva has no enemies. In the past, however, there was a rivalry with Pantera.

Palio of 4 October 1745: Selva’s mare, who was in the lead, was stopped on the track by a panterino who wanted to favor his neighborhood. This also succeeded and Pantera won. The panterino was arrested. The relationship between the neighborhoods turned out to be strange, but where unchanged. In 1786 tensions arose again between the neighborhoods. The Chiesa dei Tessitori, which had been the seat of Selva since 1778, was in Pantera territory. In July 1786, Pantera had to leave his Cappella di San Giovanni, where the seat was located to build a new cemetery. The city council decided that Pantera should move into the Chiesa dei Tessitori. Selva was forced to leave his headquarters and had to move to the Chiesa di San Desiderio.

Selva 2

The rivalry was born. In 1813 Pantera voluntarily left the Chiesa dei Tessitori and went to San Quirico. The Chiesa dei Tessitori, however, did not return to Selva. She was evacuated and Pantera turned it into a warehouse.

In the following years the enmity lived enormously on the Piazza del Campo during the Palio. The rivalry also raged alongside the Piazza. In 1867, after a race, heavy fighting took place on the “Fosso di Sant’Ansano”. Four years later, Antonio Mancianti, a shoemaker from Selva, was murdered by a certain Bifino, panterino. Less than three years later, that Bifino was found dead.

After these tragic events, it was time for peace. The rivalry gradually faded. The very old contradaioli sometimes tell stories about it so it is not forgotten.

Victories
1

09/09/1685
Pavolino
?

2

02/07/1698
Pelliccino
Barbarino di Torrenieri

3

02/07/1707
Cappellaro
Bufalino

4

16/08/1711
Pelliccino
stornello

5

02/07/1715
Cappellaro
Bolso

6

02/07/1730
Pettinaio
Rosino

7

22/09/1737
Ceccone
morello di Buonconvento

8

02/07/1739
Carnaccia
baio scuro di Buonconvento

9

02/07/1742
Boccino
stornello del Mascagni

10

02/07/1743
Bechino
morello sfacciato delle Donzelle

11

17/08/1750
Checchino
sauro del Giorgi

12

07/07/1754
Cristofanone
morello maltinto del Giannotti

13

17/08/1794
Dorino
morello del Giusti

14

02/07/1840
Gobbo Saragiolo
baio scuro del Rogani

15

02/07/1865
Mascherino
storno del Pisani

16

17/08/1879
Bachicche
baia del Ceccarelli

17

04/07/1880
Leggerino
baia del Ceccarelli

18

02/07/1891
Bozzetto
Farfallina

19

02/07/1899
Pippio
Gallia

20

16/08/1901
Chiccone
Sultana

21

16/08/1904
Spansiano
Farfalla

22

16/08/1919
Moro
Stellina

23

16/08/1953
Il Biondo
Mitzi

24

16/08/1955
Romanino
Archetta

25

02/07/1960
Tristezza
Tanaquilla

26

02/07/1962
Mezz’etto
Elena de Mores

27

16/08/1965
Bazza
Arianna

28

16/08/1967
Bazza
Selvaggia

29

16/08/1970
Baino
Ira

30

16/08/1974
Aceto
Panezio

31

03/07/1978
Bastiano
Urbino de Ozieri

32

07/09/1980
Bastiano
Panezio

33

02/07/1987
Bonito da Silva
Vipera

34

09/09/2000
Il Pesse
Urban II

35

02/07/2003
Sgaibarre
Zodiach

36

16/08/2006
Salasso
Caro Amico

37

02/07/2010
Voglia
Fedora Saura

38

17/08/2015
Tittia
Polonski

39

16/08/2019
Tittia
Remorex

40

02/07/2023
Tittia
Violenta Da Clodia

Images
Drappelloni and Numeri Unici

Drappellone and Numeri Unici can be found on pages on our Dutch website (pages will open in new tab) :

Debuting fantini
  • Since July 2, 1775, 488 fantini debuted on the Piazza
  • In 1928, no less than 9 fantini debuted (in 3 courses).
  • 21 fantini won their debut.
  • Selva had 26 fantini debut since 1775
  • 3 of them won on their debut : Romanino, Bastiano and Sgaibarre
  • The longest period without a debutant is 25 years : 2/6/1861-16/8/1886
1Mattiaccio2/7/1789
2Fornaciaio2/7/1793
3Belloccio14/5/1809
4Gigi2/7/1809
5Livornese17/8/1814
6Maremmano II16/8/1829
7Tamberi Luigi3/7/1851
8Pilontra2/7/1852
9Garzone2/6/1861
10Cigna16/8/1886
11Pippio16/8/1898
12Rancani2/7/1906
13Nocciolino II2/7/1926
14Cittino I16/8/1929
15Il Terribile2/7/1949
16Mezz’Etto2/7/1951
17Romanino16/8/1955
18Morino VI2/7/1966
19Grinta2/7/1976
20Bastiano3/7/1978
21Bonito Da Silva16/8/1986
22Dè2/7/1998
23Sgaibarre2/7/2003
24Smarrancio16/8/2008
25Tempesta2/7/2017
26Virgola17/8/2024
Never happened

Below you will find events that have never happened before and that cause some kind of superstition in the contradaioli. MAI or never is of course a relative term. The further we go back in time, the less data is stored and the more uncertain we become.

Selva has never :

  1. won a cappotto
  2. won when they were selected as 2nd or 9th (estrazione)
  3. won from position 9 at the start
  4. won standing next to Civetta or Pantera at the start
  5. won a july palio after being extracted
  6. won an august palio after being extracted together with Aquila or Civetta or Drago or Istrice or Leocorno or Lupa or Oca or Onda or Tartuca
  7. been extracted in july together with Nicchio or Oca
  8. been extracted in august together with Nicchio
  9. won a palio alla romana
  10. won a palio with cavalli scossi
  11. won a palio when Chiocciola, Istrice or Nicchio was the rincorsa

Last update : 20 august 2024