Dome of the Cathedral of Siena with a banner of Valdimontone, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, interior view, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

Dome of the Cathedral of Siena with a banner of Valdimontone, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, interior view, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

Kim Petersen / Alamy Stock Photo

Image ID: P8BWPJ

A contrada (plural: contrade) is a district, or a ward, within an Italian city. The most well-known contrade are the 17 contrade of Siena whose representatives race on horseback in the Palio di Siena. Each is named after an animal or symbol, and each has a long history and complicated heraldic and semi-mythological associations.

Location: Cathedral of Siena, Siena, Tuscany, Italy