The Joust of the Quintana is an event that occurs annually on the 12th and 13th of June and 12th and 13th of September, in the city of Foligno. Recovery in 1946, it is based on a race horse that dates back to the seventeenth century and that was to determine the order of priority for a knight of honor in fidelity to the prince or his lady. Among the various hypotheses for the festivities, was accepted without reservation, the one advanced by Emilio De Pasquale, who proposed an equestrian competition in period costume to be organized in conjunction with Carnival, highlighting the possibility of finding in this event, an occasion of communion and harmony among all people.
La Giostra della Quintana is documented since the half of the XV century and the traditional costumes have always been made by tailors in the town inspired by the fashion of the time, but supervised by an artistic commission to which is entrusted the selection. Sumptuous stuffs, velvets, geometric laces, stiff collars and wide draped cloaks at the shoulder and falling on right arm are the true protagonists of the festival and add to parade glitz and elegance.

Parade in period costume

Foligno, during the Palio della Quintana, revives the atmosphere of a chivalrous tournament of the XVII century. Ten riders representing districts Ammanniti, Badia, Cassero, Castrastagna, Bianca Croce, Giotto, La Mora, Morlupo, Pugilli, Spada, clash in the municipal stadium, in a race of high tension and spectacularity.
In three subsequent sessions, riders in saddle at imposing steed must hit with a spear the rings whose diameter becomes ever smaller, hanging from the arm of a wooden statue depicting a warrior of the seventeenth century.

Joust of the Quintana

On the evening of the competition, a parade of 600 characters unthread through the streets of the city accompanied by choreography and baroque music while in the patrician palaces and streets adjacent to the main square, you can taste the ancient recipes of Umbrian dishes of the seventeenth century.

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