Piazza di Siena: elegance that excites
It is not just a horse competition. Piazza di Siena is a fragment of time suspended in the heart of Rome, where every gesture, glance and detail speaks the language of elegance. Arriving at Villa Borghese is like entering a natural set built to welcome beauty. But here beauty is never ostentatious: it is composed, elegant. Carefully knotted headscarves, hats worn not as accessories but as a silent declaration of style, and glances that cross between one leap and the next, as if one recognises oneself within a certain context, one that is timeless.
I walked slowly down the avenue leading to the oval. Around me were families, elderly people, young couples, curious tourists and, above all, many young people - the volunteers of the Italian Equestrian Sports Federation - running between the pits, helping discreetly, arranging chairs, giving directions. No ostentation, just a lot of dedication. This is perhaps the first great emotion I perceived: the commitment of those who love what they do.
The audience was an integral part of the show. They listened to the jumps as one listens to a concert: in silence.
Then, the applause, always respectful and emotional for a clear run or the sober murmur for a penalty. No one judged, everyone understood. Even the mistake here has its own dignity. And between one route and the next, one breathed Rome: that of those who still choose taste over performance, the detail that does not make a fuss.
Sitting in the stands, I had the feeling that this event is much more than a competition. It is a collective ritual in which elegance, sport, youth and culture come together harmoniously.
A balance not to be taken for granted, the result of the careful work of the organising committee and the far-sighted vision of the FISE president, Marco Di Paola, which in recent years has transformed Piazza di Siena into a model of sporting elegance, sustainability and education.
The institutional contribution of Sport and Health, under the leadership of President Marco Mezzaroma and the CEO Diego Nepi Molineris, who believed in a project capable of combining tradition and innovation, enhancing the unique heritage of Villa Borghese and promoting horse riding as a cultural as well as sporting experience, and the extraordinary energy of the young volunteers of the Federation, the true lifeblood of the event, capable of combining professionalism and passion with surprising naturalness.
The young people, I said, were the secret heart of this perfect machine. Seeing them move with confidence, interact with the riders, respect the horses and the public with equal attention, was perhaps the most touching moment of the day. It is also through them that tradition is renewed, without losing its soul.
I spent part of the day in the hospitality of Range Rover, where I was welcomed impeccably as a customer of the brand. There was something profoundly consistent between the atmosphere of that area and the brand's identity: quiet, refined, devoid of any ostentation. An aesthetic that speaks softly, made of measured comfort and respect for context, just like the British philosophy from which Range Rover draws its roots.
It was an elegantly and soberly designed environment, where the design blended with the surrounding nature in perfect harmony with the style of the event. From that privileged perspective, overlooking the grassy oval, time seemed to expand: every jump, every expectation, every applause came with a different clarity.
Elegance was everywhere, in the gestures and silences, as if even the gaze could wear a suit suited to the occasion.
At the end of the afternoon, as the sun went down behind the pines of Villa Borghese, I turned for one last look at the oval. The stands were still full. People were in no hurry to leave. As if we all wanted to retain a little more of that magic of silences, precise gestures and flying horses.
OldStyleItaly could not miss this appointment. Not to chronicle the event, but to capture its soul. Piazza di Siena is not just sports news. It is the mirror of an Italy that, when it wants to, knows how to be exemplary.
I leave Piazza di Siena walking slowly, the way one leaves a set that keeps rolling even when the lights go out. Piazza di Siena is this: a fragment of a new Dolce Vita that needs no acting, because everything is already authentic.
