Saracen Joust

The jousting day starts in the morning, when the town's Herald reads the challenge proclamation, and continues with a procession of 350 costumed characters and 27 horses parading in the streets.

The costumed characters and the city's ancient banners enter the square accompanied by the sound of trumpets and drums, guided by the Maestro di Campo.

The knights' arrange themselves on the lizza (jousting track); the Herald reads the Challenge of Buratto (a poetic composition written in octaves in the 17th century), the crossbowmen and the soldiers greet the crowd shouting "Arezzo!

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 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 rules of the tournament are contained in technical regulations that repeat – virtually unchanged – the Chapters for the Buratto Joust dating back to 1677.