Overview
- The Palio was first postponed from Sunday August 16 and was delayed again on Monday before organisers ran the race on Tuesday August 18 after weather improved.
- Contrada del Nicchio won the Carriera with Giovanni Atzeni, known as Tittia, riding Anda e Bola to victory.
- Atzeni fell violently after the race and was taken away by ambulance with no immediate official update on his condition.
- Officials cited unsafe tufo track conditions caused by heavy rain as the reason for the back-to-back green-flag cancellations and kept an enhanced security and crowd-filtering plan in place for the rescheduled event.
- Reporters and local authorities highlighted a pattern of recent rain-related disruptions to the Palio between 2024 and 2026, raising questions about how changing weather volatility will affect the festival's logistics and safety going forward.