The Palio Tuscan Knight

Sports, second prize stories

1991

The Palio is an opportunity for Tuscan young men to show their prowess. The horse race lasts only about 75 seconds, but the prestige earned by the winner is immense. Each of Siena's ten neighborhoods chooses its own 'knight', who does his utmost to prove himself worthy of the honor.

Commissioned by: Sygma

Photo Credit: Gianni Giansanti

Gianni Giansanti began his professional career in 1978. Approached by the Sygma agency in 1981, he documented the coup d'état in Turkey and performed assignments in Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Libya, Lebanon, Senegal, Poland, Greece, and Yugoslavia. In 1988, a photographic essay on the private life of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican won first prize from the World Press.