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The Saracen joust of Arezzo (Giostra del Saracino, Giostra ad burattum) is a joust first held in 1260CE.
It was born as an exercise for military training. This tournament was regularly held in Arezzo between the 16th century and the end of the 17th century, when jousts in baroque style were organized. The game went on for the whole Modern Age, having an important social function within the urban community. The joust was a great public event during the visit of important authorities (sovereigns, princes, etc.), and was also used to celebrate certain civil feasts (e.g. carnivals and noble's weddings).
The joust declined progressively during the 18th century and eventually disappeared, at least in its "noble" version. After a brief popular revival, the joust was interrupted in 1810 to reappear in 1904 in the wake of the Middle Ages reappraisal brought on by Romanticism. The joust was reinstated in 1931 as a form of historical re-enactment set in the 14th century, but quickly reacquired a competitive character.
Current joust
The joust takes place every year in Arezzo on the next to last Saturday of June, held at night (the San Donato Joust, dedicated to the patron saint of the city) and on the first Sunday of September, in the afternoon (the September Joust). The participating teams represent the four quarters of the city of Arezzo:
- Porta Crucifera, known as Culcitrone (green and red),
- Porta del Foro, known as Porta San Lorentino (yellow and crimson),
- Porta Sant'Andrea (white and green)
- Porta del Borgo, today called Porta Santo Spirito (yellow and blue).
The Saracen Joust is organized by the Municipality of Arezzo through a managing council chaired by the Mayor of Arezzo, and also includes the presidents (Rettori) of the four competing quarters.
The jousting day starts in the morning, when the town's Herald reads the proclamation of the challenge, and then continues with a colorful procession of 350 costumed characters and 27 horses parading along the streets. The climax of the parade is the blessing of the men-at-arms, which takes place on the steps of the Duomo and is administered by the Bishop of Arezzo.
The joust is held in the Piazza Grande, guided by the Maestro di Campo and preceded by the costumed characters and the city's ancient banners entering the square accompanied by the sound of trumpets and drums. Some important moments can be defined at this stage of the event: the highest authorities of the Joust entering the square (the magistrates, the Jury, the quarters' presidents), the performance of flag-wavers, the jousters galloping into the field, each knight representing an ancient noble family of Arezzo, the knights' arrangement on the lizza (jousting track), the Herald reading the Challenge of Buratto (a poetic composition written in octaves in the 17th century), the crossbowmen and the soldiers greeting the crowd shouting "Arezzo!", the magistrates' authorization to run the joust and finally musicians playing the Saracen Hymn, composed by Giuseppe Pietri (1886–1946).
Then, the competition starts. The jousters of the four gates gallop their horses with lance in rest against the "Buratto, King of the Indies", a spring-loaded automaton holding a flail and a shield. The sequence of charges is drawn in the week preceding the joust during a ceremony in Piazza del Comune. The result of the joust depends on the ability, courage, and luck of the eight jousters who alternate on the packed-earth sloping track (the lizza) that runs across Piazza Grande. The competition is won by the pair of knights obtaining the highest score. The quarter associated to the winning knight receives the coveted golden lance. In the event of a draw between two or more quarters after the standard number of charges (two sets of charges for each jouster), the prize is assigned by one or more charges. At the end of the joust, mortar shots hail the winning quarter.
The rules of the tournament are contained in technical regulations that repeat – virtually unchanged – the Chapters for the Buratto Joust dating back to 1677. Jousters may be disqualified if they ride accidentally off the jousting track, or their scores may be doubled if their lance breaks after hitting the buratto.
Videogame
On 15 June 2010, a free videogame about the Saracen Joust was released in collaboration with Arezzo municipality and the Saracen Joust Institution. Developed with Unity technology and accessible directly via a standard web browser through a dedicated website, the videogame allows the player to participate as a jouster of one of the four-quarters in a realistic reproduction of the tournament, inclusive of all the announcements spoken by the official Herald, Gianfrancesco Chiericoni. Up to four players in multiplayer can participate online and rank in the global rankings.
On 14 August 2014, the videogame homepage was updated with a splash screen referring to an imminent new release of the game. The homepage shows a screenshot of the Herald making an announcement. At this moment, the original videogame is not accessible.
See also
Gallery
References
External links
| Historical competitions of Italy | ||
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| Northern Italy | .jpg) | |
| Central Italy | ||
| Southern and Insular Italy | ||