The Giostra della Quintana - Keeping Traditions Alive
The Tandem Spirits live in Foligno’s historic center and are happy to live in a town where many Italian traditions are alive and well. We are fortunate to have a number of greengrocers, butcher shops and bakeries spread around the various neighborhoods. Another great tradition is our Giostra della Quintana. This horse race is a competition between the ten neighborhoods (Rioni) . An initial challenge takes place in June, and the rematch is in September. For two weeks ahead of the event, each neighborhood tavern serves dinners every evening to raise money for the horse and rider. There are also other activities in town such as a competition between the drummers of each Rione, and shows in the town center.
At the end of this post there is a video of the race so you can see what the race is all about.
Dinner at Rione Pugilli
Our friend Rick had been here 9 years ago, and when we told him about this event, he was determined to return to see it in person. That finally happened this year! It was wonderful to spend time with him and his partner, Leah. It was great fun seeing the magic through their eyes as the Quitana is truly an amazing event.
They arrived the Thursday before the event. We immediately went to the taverna Pugilli in our neighborhood, along with a number of our friends, where they were introduced to a variety of traditional Umbrian dishes. At the end of the evening, the drummers came out and played.
On Friday, we went to Assisi, Cantalupo and Bevagna. In Assisi we admired the artwork in the Basilica of San Francesco. We then went to one of our favorite wineries, Dionigi, in Cantalupo. We had a wonderful time tasting wine and enjoying a delicious antipasto. We may have even purchased some wine. We finished the afternoon with an aperitivo at Le Barbetelle wine bar / Enoteca in Bevagna, which is owned by our friend Jennifer.
The Historic Parade - Piazza San Domenico
On Saturday evening we met Rick and Leah for aperitivo at our favorite wine bar in Foligno, Viniamo. Afterwords, we walked to Piazza San Domenico and met our friend Daniele. He had reserved seats for us at the Rione Cassero, where you can enjoy a nice dinner while watching the Corteo, an historical parade featuring all 10 Rioni (neighborhoods) in authentic baroque dress. The food was great and the costumes were, as always, incredible. We have to apologize because the pictures from the parade were hard to take due to the lighting. We hope you still get a sense of the atmosphere!
The Joust - 10 Knights, 10 Beautiful Horses, a True Spectacle
The race was held on Sunday afternoon. It is held in a stadium that is not used for any other events. The horses are beautiful, and they are so fast. The riders have to be very skilled to lance the rings from a statue in the center of the field. There are three rounds, and the rings get smaller each round. If you miss a ring, drop a ring, or hit one of flags around the track, you are finished. This year, it seemed that many of the riders were quite young. Our rider was out after the first round after hitting a flag. The winner was Cassero. He also won in June.
We finished the evening with a delicious dinner outside at Le Barbatelle in Bevagna. Jennifer always has a great menu and interesting wines.
Here’s an excellent video of the Joust which took place this last June. It’s incredible to watch the Knights race through this figure-8. Most amazing is that they usually finish between 54 and 58 seconds!
Love. your posts. We need to talk soon.