My father’s parents are from Asti, which is the home of the original Palio so it irks him immensely that I have made Siena my home. But the Palio here is nothing like the Palio in Asti. 
It is more. It is every feeling rolled into a huge endorphin explosion in your heart.
Most people, when asked where are they from or what they are, will give their nationality or ethnicity, but here in Siena you give the name of your contrada.