The Piazza del Campo analyzed

In the run-up to the Palio, we summarize some interesting facts about the Piazza del Campo. This thanks to www.ilpalio.org and La Voce Del Palio.

The length of the track
We start with the distance of the track. A circle around the Piazza del Campo is about 339 meters. That means that the race is run over 1017 meters. The fast races last about 1:14, while the slowest average longer than 1:20.
The bend of San Martino
The bend makes an angle of 95° on the inside. In the first part after the bend we see a height difference of 90 centimeters between the 2 outer sides. The second part has a slope of 8% and a drop of more than a meter. As is well known, the San Martino bend is historically the point where the most falls from the horse. On the one hand, this has to do with the turn itself, but mainly because, especially in the first round, many horses have to turn at high speed at the same time.
The bend in the Casato
The Casato makes a 92° turn. Before the horses take the turn, they are confronted with a climb, which has a slope of 10.5%, especially the last 15 meters. There are mainly falls in the first round when the horses are still in a group, in contrast to the San Martino, where there are also frequent falls in the second round.