By Laura Bonelli

The second millennium opens with the decision of the Municipality to run three palii and the invitations to paint arrived: for the Palio of Provenzano to the American artist Jim Dine, who got to blend pop style, avant-garde style and Senese traditional style: the Virgin Mary and the symbols of the Contrade, mandatory elements in a drappellone, were revisited in a very personal way by Dine. In August it was up to the artist Alberto Positano, from Rome and in September to Loris Cecchini, one of the most affirmed artists in the international scene. For the first time a drappellone was realized by elaborating it on the computer and choosing the modern technologies of digital photography such as overlapping electronic Collage where physical reality and virtual reality dialogue.

The two palii of 2001 were both assigned to two artists who were not from Siena, the American monk John Baptist Giuliani and Silvano Campeggi, one of the most important graphic artists in the story of American cinema; the artists in 2002 Luigi Ontani and Fernando Botero and in 2003 the artists Francesco Del Casino e Andrea Rauch from Siena; then in 2004 again the artists Emanuele Luzzati and Igor Mitoraj. In 2005 you return to the tradition, in July there was the artist Rita Petti from Siena and in August the spanish artist Manolo Valdés; in 2006 the two artists Rossella Ciani and Pia Bianciardi Venturini bot from Siena, and in August the artist Tino Stefanoni from Lecco. So it was in the following years with Alessandro Grazi (2007), Ugo Nespolo (2007), Camilla Adami (2008), Mario Cerioli (2008), Eugenia Vanni (2009), Giuliano Ghelli (2009), Alě Hassoun (2010), Franco Fortunato (2010).

In the following decade the rules were broken again, in July the artist Tullio Pericoli from Milan, and in August the artist Francesco Carone from Siena; in 2012 the master Claudio Carli from Assisi and the artist Francesco Clemente from Napoli but with an international nature. In 2013 both the drappelloni were assigned to local artists, Claudia Nerozzi and Cesare Olmastroni and Cecilia Rigacci. In 2014 you return to follow the rules and that is why the artists were Rosalba Parrini from Siena and the bulgarian Ivan Dimitrov; in 2015 Francesco Mori from Grosseto and in August Elisabeth Rogai from Florence, she was the inventor of the eno painting (painting with the wine); in 2016 Tommaso Andreini from Siena and the French Jean Claude Coenegracht; in 2017 Laura Brocchi from Siena and Sinta Tantra from Bali. In 2018 the famous cartoonist Emilio Giannelli and the Polish Charles Szymkowicz besides the artist Gian Marco Montesano for the extraordinary palio of October. Commissions in 2019 close the two decades with the artist Massimo Stecchi from Siena and the renowned artist Milo Manara.