Masgalano

The Masgalano is a silver bowl weighing about 1,000 grams or, in exceptional cases, it may instead consist of a piece of art. In both cases, the Masgalano must depict symbols referring to the City, the Palio, as well as the coats of arms of the Municipality, the “Magistrato delle Contrade”, and the “Comitato Amici del Palio”, it may also refer to particular city events.

The Masgalano is a prize from the municipal administration and can be offered by public bodies, Sienese associations, or other institutions, whose role or function is particularly linked to the city's history. The name, Masgalano, derives from the Spanish mas "more" and galante "elegant"; indeed, the bowl is awarded to the Contrada whose performace during both historical parades preceding the Palio has excelled in terms of elegance, dignity, and coordination. The criteria included in the evaluation are: the aesthetic aspect of the costumes, the behaviour of the participants, and the skill of the flag bearers and the drummer. For this reason, each performance during the historial parades is scored, and after adding up the scores from the July and August Palio, the Comparsa (flag bearers and drummner) with the highest total score will be declared the winner.

The prize is awarded by a jury composed of two representatives from each of the 17 Contrade, gathered in a Friends of the Palio Committee, usually, each Contrada nominates former flag bearers and drummers as their representatives.

The Contrada del Drago boasts six victories: 1951, 1967, 1973, 1987, 1991, 2008.