Quintana carousel

The Quintana is a historical re-enactment of a joust, held in Foligno on 10 February 1613, which had as its purpose the dissolution of a question of a chivalrous-amorous nature. "What is more content for a cavalier d'honore: to maintain the grace of the prince or the continued favor of a beautiful et gentilissima dama". In this regard, coinciding with the carnival, the noble youth of Foligno challenged each other in the large square, giving life to the first joust.
The current formula has been in force since 1946, the year of the first modern carousel, from that year Foligno, every year in June it returns to the glories of the Baroque giving a particular atmosphere to the city, perceptible in the streets and in the Campo de li Giochi, true theater of the Quintana.
Catapulted into the Baroque, the evening before the joust, a long historical procession winds through the streets of the city, they are worn by marvelous costumes from the Baroque period; very rich in the forge and faithful to what was the seventeenth-century fashion, the two weeks preceding the carousel give Foligno a special atmosphere that you feel in the air that something is changing, the streets and the city come alive, the ten districts open the taverns where it is possible to taste traditional Umbrian dishes with sometimes references to seventeenth-century gastronomy.
Until the day of the joust is reached, among a rich heraldry, in the field of the Games the ten knights of the districts challenge each other in this equestrian joust with the aim of winning the palio, horse and rider must travel a lost in the shape of eight 754 meters long, in the center of the diagonals of the path is the statue of the Roman god of war, Mars, who holds in one hand a ring that the knight must insert with a long pike, for each round, they are 3, the size of the ring is reduced from 8 cm to 6 cm and finally to 5 cm. The winner is the rider who finishes the course in the shortest time possible without committing a penalty.
The Quintana represents one of the greatest national historical re-enactments, and is undoubtedly one of the most important equestrian rides, one of the many precious gems set among the green Umbrian hills.