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Drummers from the folkloristic group from Venice called I Sbandieratori della Contrada Della Cerva. Medieval Italy was the birthplace of these Sbandieratori or flag throwers. Today they have become folkloristic attractions which hold shows of flag throwing for the joy of locals and tourists alike. The ones in the photograph are purely a folkloristic group but there are cities in Italy, which still hold this feudal tradition alive and still follow the old rules. Each contrada or district was called after an animal with different heraldic colours of that specific district. One of the cities which still continues this age old tradition is Siena. The Palio in Siena, Italy’s annual festival dates back to the Middle Ages. The city is divided in contrades, or wards/districts, which have experienced an ongoing rivalry for over 400 years. The rivalry is especially apparent in the Palio’s horse race. There are ten participants in the race, each chosen from a different contrade. To preserve the Middle Age flavour of the event, race participants use whips that are called nerbos to injure their competitors. Members of each contrade proudly wear the medieval dress of their ancestors during the celebration’s events. Siena's Palio, is an Italian Inheritance from the Middle Ages and it is held twice, the best known is that of the Madonina where the Palio or banner with a painting of the Assumption is given to the winner. There is no other place in the world where one may lay hand so palpably on the Middle Ages as in Siena. The architecture, the customs, the very people, have a touch of bygone days. It gives the impression of a segment of the fifteenth century passed down to modern times, with its good and evil, and, above all, with its intense local attachments, practically unchanged.

For upward of four hundred years the little Tuscan city has been organized as it is now, in contrade, or wards, each a distinct and separate entity, though part of the common life. Each still clings to its own individual tradition, its own loves and hates, and is ready to rally to the same flag and colours that it has cherished for centuries.