The Palio di Siena: EMG Italy in the saddle for historical horserace By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent
Monday, July 15, 2024 - 15:51
Print This Story
The Palio di Siena is much more than a simple horse race. It is a unique event and a celebration of Sienese identity and historical tradition, an occasion for the city's contrade, or districts, to display their pride and rivalry, and a way to honour the protectors of Siena, the Madonna of Provenzano and Mary of the Assumption.
The Palio is held twice a year, on 2 July (Palio of Provenzano) and 16 August (Palio of the Assumption), in the city's Piazza del Campo. It is one of the oldest and most famous events in the country, with a history dating back to the Middle Ages. Today, the race consists of three laps around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, with 10 contrade of Siena participating, each represented by a jockey and a horse with their own colours, emblem and motto. The event attracts almost 50,000 spectators to the city.
From medieval history to technological innovation
EMG Italy has been covering the live broadcast of the two races for the Consorzio per la Tutela del Palio di Siena, a consortium made up of the 17 contrade of the city that has the task of protecting everything that is part of the historical heritage of the Palio di Siena, for three years. The event is broadcast live on La7, Canale 3 and Siena TV, and streamed live on Gazzetta dello Sport, via website and app. During the days leading up to the race, Siena comes alive with presentation ceremonies, the setting up of the square, and various test runs with the horses.
Anna Pasculli, sales manager of EMG Italy, says: Given the layout of the city and the narrow streets of the historic centre around Piazza del Campo, we do not operate with a mobile unit on site but with a control room housed in flight cases, set up inside the foyer of the Teatro dei Rinnovati, with double access from Piazza del Campo. The general setup also includes two stand-up positions for the LA7 journalists who, on the edge of the track, traditionally called the career', comment on the final moments before the race begins.
The square was recently wired with fibre optics, making setup and dismantling much easier and more efficient. Given the new arrangement, EMG Italy today only needs to make the connections from the TOC, the operational centre of the broadcasts where signals are monitored and distributed, to the control room and from the fibre points to the cameras, then maximising the directorial and spectacular value of the entire event.
Pasculli continues: With ten cameras, we cover the entire track, including two in special positions: one mounted in the Sala del Mappamondo and a Jimmy Jib on the terrace of Palazzo Sansedoni, headquarters of the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The crew we deployed to enhance this great event made of tradition, technology, and emotion is composed of 20 people.
Sienese celebration and television excellence
The Municipality of Siena and the Consorzio per la Tutela del Palio collaborated to install fibre optics in Piazza del Campo to simplify any type of production. Following a non-invasive plan, the administration had already installed corrugated pipes for future use near the public lighting power points and the typical video positions for the Palio filming. This allowed, in a subsequent phase completed a few weeks before the 2 July edition, the project to be implemented.
The project involved the installation of 500m of micro cable with 48 single-mode optical fibres, 200m of micro cable with 24 single-mode optical fibres, six extraction and termination sockets with 12 optical fibres each, and the termination of the two cables in Piazza del Mercato. The new infrastructure has restored the aesthetic of the square, eliminating the unsightly cables that until last year were temporarily fixed to the terrace railings for a total length of about 6km. It also made the laying and removal procedures of these same cables obsolete, ensuring greater safety during the setup of any future event.
The Consorzio per la Tutela del Palio
Fulvio Bruni, CEO of the Consorzio per la Tutela del Palio di Siena, states: The idea of wiring Piazza del Campo had been conceived a long time ago to solve a problem that was raised every year, namely the laying of about 6km of visible cables that connected the control room to the camera positions following the races. Today, the passage through underground ducts has totally solved these problems and brilliantly respected historical, urban planning and aesthetic constraints, integrating useful technology in an important historical context and in complete safety. This has allowed EMG Italy, chosen for the third consecutive time as the TV producer of the Palio di Siena, to arrive on site this year with the equipment only four days before the event and to connect everything very quickly.
As a Consorzio, he continues, we can boast an excellent collaboration with the television production structure of EMG Italy. Thanks to their competence and knowledge of our sometimes-stringent needs, we manage to improve the overall result of the product every year. We are very satisfied not only as a Consorzio but also as citizens because the Sienese see the images of the city, as well as the Palio itself, enhanced to the best possible extent.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
DAZN-owned digital-media company launches three fan-first series leaning into cr...
10/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the appointment of Jason Dino as Southwest Regional Sales Manager USA, covering Southern California and the Southwest region. Dino joins...
10/06/2026
An 11% decrease in number of global broadcast deals reflects the organization...
10/06/2026
The Women Without Boundaries Awards recognize women whose work is advancing the future of media, broadcast, AV, workplace technology, digital experience, and re...
10/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
10/06/2026
SES is supporting broadcast distribution of the world's biggest football tou...
10/06/2026
NDI has announced that BirdDog has become the first hardware manufacturer to achieve full NDI 6.3 compatibility across its complete lineup of cameras, encoders,...
10/06/2026
Vince Caputo and Scott Carter, winners of the 2026 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Post Produced Audio have been announced as presenters for the 2026 SVG Advanced A...
10/06/2026
FOX One today unveiled a slate of new product features and enhancements designed to elevate the viewing experience for fans on the official streaming platform o...
10/06/2026
Primary production partners Dome Productions and Raycom Sports once again played...
10/06/2026
The Women in Sports Filmmaking Experienceship is an immersive professional devel...
10/06/2026
The league has expanded its HSAN architecture for the NBA Finals to manage more ...
10/06/2026
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7-9 p.m. PT. The event will strea...
10/06/2026
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics Department and Learfield have announce...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has released TR-06-4 Part 8, a new specification for RIST Satellite-Hybrid: Out-of-Band Method. The specification creates a mecha...
10/06/2026
Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, supporting live medical proc...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
10/06/2026
Get Hands-On with Interfaces & Mic Preamp Brands
If youre after a new interface or preamp, then GearExpo UK is the place to be! Well have a whole host of au...
10/06/2026
November 13-14 2026, The Midway, San Francisco
Following their recent rebranding, MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo) have officially announced thei...
10/06/2026
Debut instrument free for limited time
deFORM is the debut release from newly founded developer ebbandflow, and it's being offered as a free download fo...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
10/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF advance laser-based drone defense with THORIS LCS Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing THORIS at ILA 2026: A sovereign, end to end counter...
10/06/2026
MAHLE and Rohde & Schwarz develop application for sensor testing of modern drive...
10/06/2026
Production and Development Funding supports the creation of compelling, commercially viable, artistic and culturally relevant South African screen content. Deve...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
10 Jun 2026
VEON's Banglalink Brings Every World Cup 2026 Match to Football...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
How to watch every ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 match live on Sky Sports
Where is the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 availabl...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
P RLA brings first-ever Beautifully Clean Oral Care'...
10/06/2026
Wednesday 10 June 2026
Sky reveals pulse-pounding first teaser trailer for upco...
10/06/2026
Wuppertal June 10, 2026
Riedel Artist at the Heart of the 14th World Live Neurovascular ConferenceAt the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Li...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Showcases New Mobile Experience, Collections and Games Vision in APAC
Product
10 June 2026
GlobalSouth KoreaJapan
Link copied to c...
10/06/2026
Back to All News
Ready to Join? The Netflix Fan Club Arrives at Cannes Lions
Business
10 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download all assets
N...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
The Palio di Siena: EMG Italy in the saddle for historical horserace By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent 
