The Giostra of Quintana is a knighthood tournaments and an apportament that visitators of Umbria can’t loose. Born in 1946, it goes back to the baroque splendour of XVI century, with magnificent costumes trimmed with laces, the sound of horse’s hoofs, and the popular lyric singed in the taverns and the street of Foligno.
The challenge is among the knigts representing the ancient district of the city called "Rioni". The price for the winner is the "Palio" a a painting on fabric, made by famous local painters, sustained by a pole.
The competition of the Giostra della Quintana is divided into 3 sessions and the knights have to catch with a spear three rings in every session. In every session the rings are smaller: they have a diameter of 10 centimetres in the first, than of 8 centimetres and finally of 6. The winner is the knight who catches all the rings in the shortest time without penalities (pulling down a flag, missing a ring)
The event takes places in two periods of the year: the first in June and the second in September. The June edition it’s called la sfida (the challenge) and the September edition la rivincita (the revenge).