CONTRADA OF THE FOREST -
FROM THE PAST
The military
companies of Vallepiatta and San Giovanni belonged to the sector of
Siena known as the “ Terzo di Città”. On 15 August 1516 the Contrada
of the Forest used for the first time a symbol of rhinoceros as its
banner .
By the dawn of the 18th century, the Forest had occupied a part of
the territory of the Eagle, which had not participated in the
Contrada life of the city for nearly a century. When the members of
the Eagle asked to take part in the Palio of 16 August 1718 , the
Forest’s members challenged the legitimacy of their request. A
decree issued on 13 September 1729 by Princess Violante of Bavaria,
resolved the dispute by establishing the boundaries of the seventeen
Contrade.
The Forest was a center of resolute patriotic complicity in the
period of the Italian Risorgimento, and in 1859 it collect a
significant sum of money from its members to donate to the war of
independence. Following the unification of Italy, among the Forest’s
members was founded the Società del Rinoceronte, which in 1876
introduced some modern forms of welfare assistance to workers who
were members of the Contrada- including a fund covering illness,
injury, and unemployment.
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