2015 Joust of the Quintana festival
From August 31 to September 13: this is the historical re-enactment of the Joust of February 10, 1613 held on the occasion of the Carnival to resolve the doubt about
“what is most happy to cavalier of honor: to keep the prince’s grace or the continued favor of a beautiful and kind lady ”
The re-enactment: love and power therefore that since 1946, the year of the first modern Carousel, until today, have been identified in the love of folignati towards the prestigious traditions of their city and in the power to attract visitors thanks to the compelling race of the Campo de li Giochi and the magic of the big party that allows the city to regain possession and show all the charm of its baroque spaces.
The Joust: the race at the Campo is exciting and unleashes the enthusiasm of thousands of spectators. It is the moment of challenge between the knights of the 10 districts, in which Foligno is divided, who compete for the Palio.
The Giostra della Quintana, without fear of denial, is the most compelling and difficult race that takes place in Italy and for this reason it has been called the Olympics of the Old Regime Games. The horse-rider combination must follow the insidious 754-meter track, delimited by flags.
At the intersection of the two diagonals is the statue representing the God Mars with his right arm outstretched.
The rings to be inserted are hung on the hook under the clenched fist. Three are the rounds with the rings that progressively shrink.
Those of the first round are 8 centimeters, 6 for those of the second and even 5 for the third. The rider who finishes the course without penalty and in the shortest possible time wins. The big party in Foligno: Quintana is not just a race.
The evening before the Carousel the procession winds through the streets of the city center with 800 characters in sumptuous Baroque clothes, strictly faithful to the dictates of fashion and the iconography of the time.
Source : videofoligno
In the two weeks preceding the Joust
The city comes alive with the opening of the 10 local taverns where you can taste the typical dishes of the seventeenth-century gastronomy that enhance the quality of the typical products of the area.
The atmosphere is engaging and the spectator is accompanied on an unforgettable journey back in time. The competitive spirit of the race, the spectacularness of the costumes and the scenography and the enthusiasm of the quintanarians give an event that remains in the heart of those who live it.
La Quintana has become the perfect testimonial of Umbria because it contains all the excellences of this territory: the cultural, historical, food and wine, architectural and reminiscent of the Region.
