It seems that this Contrada owes its name to a Minervan temple which was built on its territory. The owl was in fact the sacred bird of the Goddess.
The Seat is in the "Castellare degli Ugurgieri" where the very old and authentic structures dating back to the XIIth and XIIIth centuries may still be admired.
The Patron Saint is Saint Anthony of Padua, venerated in the homonymous Church built in 1930 by the people of the Contrada who previously met in San Pietro Buio and then in the ancient Church of San Cristoforo.
The "Consiglio dei Reggitori" (the Council of the Rulers of the Republic of Siena) met in San Cristoforo and, in the square in front of this Church, the most important council of the people met. The pillar with the she-wolf, erected in 1260 after the victory at Montaperti, is a reminder of this fact.
The poet Cecco Angiolieri (1258-1312) was born and lived not far away in the road named after him. The powerful Tolomei family, famous, among other things for the legendary figure of the Pia, also lived on Civetta territory.
In 1960, the people of the Civetta placed a plaque on the wall of the courtyard of the "Castellare degli Ugurgieri" inscribed with the following words "the people of the Priora Contrada of the Civetta have chosen this "Castellare" as its Oratory and Seat in remembrance of Giovanni Ugurgieri who brought glory to this territory after leading his men and Siena to victory at Montaperti and whose heroic image still lives 700 years later".
Giovanni Caselli, the inventor of the pantelegraph and the automatic helm for ships was born in Banchi di Sotto, Civetta territory.
The Contrada has the title "Priora" (Prior) for being the first to hold the meeting of the Contrada Magistrates, an assembly of the "Priori" or Contrada Presidents in which they discussed matters of common interest.
Finally, it should be pointed out that Pier Pettinaio (mentioned by Dante in his Divine Comedy - Purg. canto XIII), the most famous of beatified Sienese in the XIIIth Century, lived in a small Street which bears his name on Civetta territory.