By Laura Bonelli

From 1895 to 1908 almost all the drappelloni were painted by Pietro Loli Piccolomini and Carlo Merlini, also students of Giorgio Bandini, who insert in the work, for the first time, figurative scenes, moments of the race or the procession with backgrounds of city monuments. Over time, however, their models were repetitive and presented few variations from one prize to another. However, they can rightly be considered the undisputed protagonists of the commission until in 1908 Umberto Giunti did not break into the scene, except for two other banners painted by Merlini will open the way to new solutions. It '1910 the first competition related to the commissioning of the drappellone and this fact greatly increases the quality from the stylistic point of view. The banner of the Palio of 16 August 1910 was awarded, after regular competition, to Aldo Piantini, a purist painter who will also repeat in the other drappellone assigned to him, painting of 2 July 1919, the Art Nouveau and symbolist impact lines then in vogue. The competition was open only to students of the Academy of Fine Arts of Siena and the jury was composed of the same teachers. Also in 1921 the competition for the drappellone was won for the first time by a woman, Maria de Maria, a pupil of Viligiardi, who also provided a work in the Art Nouveau style. Of the twenty-four banners painted by Vittorio Giunti from 1910 to 1934, there is not one that differs for its peculiarity. All respond to precise canons, confirming a stylistic and pictorial. The same can be said of Guido Masignani, Aldo and Bruno Marzi and Dino Rofi who in those years are the young artists who most tried in the coveted patronage.
Starting in 1926, the Fascist Fascists, the new symbols of the regime, dominated the banners until the interruption of the race for World War II. In contrast to the Savoyard and Grand Ducal insignia that appeared occasionally, the presence of the bundles is almost constant, like the Napoleonic figures; the subjects appear heavy, dark, full of weapons of war, maps and threatening quotes. The painters who best represent the period are undoubtedly Bruno and Aldo Marzi. The last race before the war, the August 16, 1939 Palio dedicated to Saint Catherine, patron saint of Italy, shows us the saint who, like a Madonna of Mercy, protects the country from the imminent war. It was painted by Bruno Marzi, author also of the first post-war palio, held on July 2, 1945, confirming the will and trust, never lost at that time suspended, of the Sienese civic administration. Perhaps it is to make the symbol of the race as free as possible from political interference that in 1949 the Rules of the Palio included strict iconographic rules that govern Cencio even today, while the style is left free, artistic vocation or interpretation of the painter, called by the City Council to fill the post. Its shape is as follows: a vertical rectangular drape normally with a base of cm. 80 and height of m. 2.50 of silk painted supported by a halberd rod white and black and topped by a silver plate with two black and white plumes that descend sideways. The painter must include: the date of the race, the coat of arms of the Balzana, the Republic and the People, the coats of arms of the Terzi and those of the Mayor in office, as well as the ten Contrade that run. The civic administration in the second half of the century enlivened the city with the invention of new extraordinary posts and dedications related to national and international events for which painters appeal to the indications to unleash the imagination. Despite this, even in this period there is a certain homogeneity both stylistically and pictorially: the Virgin at the top, the coats of arms at the bottom and the central part with a targeted subject, which is a historical character, a monument, a historical re-enactment.