Nicchio triumphs in Palio August 18, 2026

The Contrada del Nicchio, with Andrea Atzeni, better known as Tittia, on Anda en Bola, won the Palio di Siena, dedicated to the Madonna Assunta, on August 18, 2026. The drapery was painted by Teodora Axente.

The race, which took place this evening after being postponed twice due to bad weather, started at 7:00 PM with the horses emerging from the Cortile del Podestà of the Palazzo Pubblico.

We saw three rivals in the Piazza: Oca-Torre and Lupa-Istrice, alongside the one-sided rivalry between Onda and Torre.

Of the participating horses, three had already won the Palio: Diodoro (3 Palios, 2 wins), Anda en Bola (4 Palios, 1 win), Benitos (3 Palios, 1 win); Five had run at least one Palio: Viso d’Angelo (9), Ares Elce (3), Arestetulesu (2), Canarinu (2), Donrodrigo (1); and two were debutants (Diamante Sauro and Euskaldi).

These were the statistics of the jockeys participating in the Palio:

• Giovanni Atzeni, known as Tittia: rode 42 Palios, 12 wins
• Giuseppe Zedde, known as Gingillo: rode 35 Palios, 4 wins
• Jonatan Bartoletti, known as Scompiglio: rode 33 Palios, 5 wins
• Carlo Sanna, known as Brigante: rode 19 Palios, 3 wins
• Dino Pes, known as Velluto: rode 12 Palios, 1 win
• Sebastiano Murtas, known as Grandine: rode 15 Palios, no wins
• Elias Mannucci, known as Turbine: rode 11 Palios, no wins
• Federico Guglielmi, known as Tamurè: rode 6 Palios, no wins
• Andrea Sanna, known as Virgola: rode 4 Palios, no wins
• Michel Putzu, known as Spago: ran 1 Palio, no victories

At the first alignment, with very calm horses, starter Renato Bircolotti releases the Contrade from the ropes. The second and third alignments cause a lot of confusion between the ropes, resulting in Bircolotti’s command to release the ropes again.

At the fourth alignment, the starter is forced to drop the rope as a precaution, resulting in a false start.

At the fifth alignment, there is still a lot of confusion, another false start following a preventive drop of the rope.

At the sixth alignment, there is the same confusion, with Oca’s horse rearing, throwing Michel Putzu off his back, and subsequently falling onto the tufo.

The seventh alignment ends again in a preventive drop of the rope.

At the eighth alignment, at 20:05, Aquila goes into action immediately. Nicchio, Istrice, Selva, and Torre make a great start. Nicchio took the lead in San Martino, ahead of Selva and Torre, who maintained their lead. Nicchio held this lead until the end of the three rounds and won the Palio dell’Assunta with Andrea Atzeni, better known as Tittia, on Anda e Bola.

Nicchio’s last victory dated back to August 16, 1998, with Dario Colagé, better known as Bufera, and Re Artù. Jockey Giovanni Atzeni, better known as Tittia, born in Nagold (Germany) on April 13, 1985, achieved his thirteenth victory (out of a total of 43 Palios ridden). It is also his 4th cappotto (2 victories in the same year) in his career. Anda e Bola, a ten-year-old bay gelding, achieved his second victory in five Palios.

We also note that this is the second time this year that the cuffia (longest unwon district) has changed hands. There is a precedent in 1794, about which more later. Chiocciola is the new nonna of Siena.

The ten horses that participated in the Palio have all returned safely to the stables of their respective Contrada.