The Joust of the Quintana

While the antique jousts (of the Ring and the Quintana) took place in piazza Arringo, where they terminated also in the race on foot and the equestrian Banner Competition, the modern editions take place in the Field of the Games, set up near the Squarcia Stadium; the Field is situated in the historical center in the splendid frame that is located between the Romanesque church of San Vittore on one side, and the Malatesta Fortress which overlooks in a guardian position the Roman bridge of the 1st Century BC known as "di Cecco", on the other.

The joust consists in hitting the target of the Saracen with a lance in three consecutive assaults that are repeated three times each turn ("tornata") on behalf of every jousting cavalier who runs at a gallop along the figure eight path that is 720 meters long, closed in by hedges.
 
The target is consists in the shield that is located on the left arm of the Saracen, that is set in the northern summit of the intersection of the two diagonal runways of the path.

The target is divided in five zones or concentric sections with a graduated amount of points that diminish from the center towards the external section (100, 80, 60, 40, 20 points).
 
The global score is given by the sum of the points totalled in the three targets, and by those deriving from the conversion of points in the seconds used for each tornata (200 points for a time of 60 seconds, 5 points more or less for every 5 tenths more or less in respect to the base time).

The cavalier that overpasses the hedges with at least two hoofs loses all of the points of the tornata, while the movement of every hedge brings about 20 penalty points. 60 penalty points are at any rate foreseen for a possible change of horse, while the loss of a lance during the tornata brings about the loss of all of the points realized by it.