ROMPICOLLO: THE SOLE JOCKETTE IN THE PALIO DI SIENA HISTORY

‘It was a combination of coincidences, where all the pieces fit together perfectly, a magical puzzle that allowed me to realise my dream’

Born in 1934, a true Sienese and full of energy, Rosanna Bonelli is a force of nature. She was the only woman to have run the Palio di Siena in 1957, six days after her twenty-third birthday. Her grandfather owned a farm in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, immersed in the Tuscan countryside, where he kept a trotting horse with which he raced and won several times. As a child, she spent the summer with her family among the hay and the sound of hooves, dreaming of one day replacing the broom she rode on in a burst of girlish fantasy with a horse full of life, ardour and complicity. And she succeeded, to the point of becoming a true icon in the city of the Balzana and the Lupa Senese. A thoroughbred filly.

Rosanna, what did you do as a child?

Since I loved horses, but I was still small, I would hold a broom and pretend to ride it.

Why the nickname ‘Rompicollo’ (neck breaker)?

My father, a journalist and theatre critic, wrote operettas in the 1930s that were later set to music by composers such as Ruggero Leoncavallo and Giuseppe Pietri. One of these told the story of a girl from the Maremma region of Italy called Rompicollo (rough neck) who ran the Palio and won it. So I said to myself: this is me, if one day I run the Palio I'll call myself that. They tried to call me ‘Diavola’ (devil) but I always preferred Rompicollo.

Before running the Palio, what was your relationship with horses?

Always good. When I was fourteen I used to go to Florence to ride horses, cross country and steeplechase, in short, the horse and I have always been one. I was a horsewoman travelling around Italy for about ten years. In 1957 they were shooting a film about the Palio in the city and the stunt double had an accident. By a series of coincidences my name was given to the production and I was hired. The film was ‘La ragazza del Palio’ (The Girl of the Palio) with Vittorio Gassman in the lead role. They put a blonde wig on my head because I had to replace the actress who played Marilyn Monroe's rival at the time, the English actress Diana Dors, who was terrified of horses.

And how did you get to the Palio? You were the only woman to have ever run it.

After the film. Paramount asked me to run the real Palio. And they hired me. I ran for the contrada of the Eagle, with a Sardinian mare called Percina. It was 16th August 1957. Yellow jacket with the black coat of arms of the bird of prey. The district that has its territory between the Duomo and Piazza del Campo. The move went smoothly and calmly without bothering anyone, as per the captain's instructions, but after a lap and a half I fell together with the Lupa, at the San Martino curve. A nice somersault and off I went. But I had fun all the same. I had realised my dream. But I'll never forget the thrill of being on the surrelo, the parade horse, and passing through the crowd with the ‘mount’ looking at me with admiration, before the ride along the historic promenade. When I think about it I still get goosebumps.

Did you hurt yourself?

No, not at all. Do you know how many times I've fallen off my horse in my life? I've broken my tibia, fibula, ankle, shoulders. Everything, in fact, but I've always wanted to get back on. This ‘adorable’ beast gives me joy and peace of mind. I'm much worse on foot.

Do you still get on it?

Of course. To keep my favourite horse, Gioiello, a Wallace pony, close by, I keep him in the garden with my friend Jimmy, the mule. So every now and then I take a ride. I spend my days with them, with my cats and my dogs. Animals make me feel really good and they keep me active.
 

This is the incredible story of a horsewoman who has made her passion her reason for living. Long live Rosanna, you're one of a kind. A true force of nature.