Siena and its Contrade: The Noble Contrada of the Caterpillar
Posted on 02. Aug, 2010 by admin in Archive, Culture
The sixth and final trial before the Palio takes place on the 2 July — called the provaccia — was won this year by the Contrada del Bruco.
The official register of the Municipality of Siena registers 34 victories to the Nobile Contrada del Bruco, the last on the 2 July 2005.
The colours of this Contrada are those of the City of Siena — yellow and green and the Coat of arms is a Caterpillar with the crown of an Archduke which crawls along a leafless twig embellished with a rose bud.
This was chosen in memory of the silk and wool-makers (lanaioli and drappieri centonari) who lived on the Coste d’Ovile (the hill of the sheep) and is confirmed by the verse n. 14 of 1364: “Inhabitants of Bruocho of the hamlet of Ovile”.
In the mid XIII century, the little hamlet of Ovile was divided between two different administrations or «populi»; Upper and Lower San Pietro a Ovile. This division also gave rise to two different Contrade: the Contrade of the Giraffe and the Caterpillar. Donato di Neri speaks of this in his ancient «Chronicles» of 370: «the company of the Bruco gathered on one day in August in the hamlet of Uvile and they were in about three hundred, and lead by Domenico — a dealer in wool …».
The Contrada del Bruco vaunts the word «Nobile» for the merit attributed in defence of the inspiring ideals of the ancient Republic of Siena. In 1369, after having banished the Bohemian Emperor Charles IV at Croce del Travaglio and also for the rebellion in 1371 headed by Francesco d’Agnolo (also known as Barbicone) which brought victory to the “Monte del Popolo” or this “Mountain of Commoners”. “Yellow and green festoons/ with blue which for us means Barbicon/ colours of glory and joy of our Brucon/” is one of the stanzas of the song of this Contrada and sung by its inhabitants in memory of Barbicone, the leader of the wool-makers who took them to victory against the dominion of the “government of twelve”.
Barbicone’s skull can still be seen in the museum of the Nobile Contrada del Bruco. The baptismal font is located in the 15th century Fonte di San Francesco and is decorated with a bronze bust of the hero Barbicone. The patron saint and feast day is the Visitation of Saint Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary which falls on the 2 July but is celebrated on the second Sunday of July.
The organisational capacity and the vitality of the Contrada can be seen from their frequent participation in hunts and jousting tournaments during the 16th century but they are also famous for organising festivals which concluded with their own Palio but instead of horses, they used donkeys. The Contrada already had its own statute in 1542 which governed its functioning and was the first to have a foreign jockey. In 1927, the Bruco had a very mediocre horse which limped and was mounted by a young Libyan known as Père Golon or “Alì” who was a travelling salesman passing through.
The motto of the Contrada is “our clenched fists held high for a proud Contrada“.
The Official Website of Contrada del Bruco: www.nobilcontradadelbruco.it
