The Joust of the Star and Palio
The second Sunday of September
The Giostra della Stella, as it is called in Italian, was born in 1980 as an initiative to encourage the participation of the city inhabitants within the community and to evoke the commitment of the residents to the support of communal freedom of Florence. It has gained increasing importance over the years.
Although the event is reminiscent of the old-fashioned “cavalcade”, in reality it is a meeting of the conscripts of the League of Ripoli. In honor of the Pentecost celebration they receive the flag of the league from the Civic Authorities of Florence, to whom they must swear obedience and fidelity.
The local youth compete in a series of competitions to determine the final winner. The teams are formed by the local contrada (districts): the Contrada Alfiere (white, red and blue), the Contrada Cavallo (yellow, red and white), the Contrada Mulino (green and blue) and the Contrada La Torre (red, blue and yellow).
Some of the games that make up the competition include the egg race, tug of war, the sack race, the ring race, the cart race and the Joust of the Star. The joust is played by four ‘knights’, one for each district, in the Ponti gardens natural amphitheater. The competition consists of capturing the stars located around the track. The stars, held up by a lion rampant, have small holes in the center through which the knight must slide their sword in order to obtain the point.
Over the course of the tournament the stars have increasingly smaller holes. The number of stars captured determines the victor.
The Giostra della Stella is preceded by a historical procession, a moment of great participation for the local population (the court is made up of around 200 people). The people dress up as flag wavers, musicians and dancers (the Alfiere contrada has even organized a Renaissance dance group that performs during the procession). The seamstresses of the city create the historical costumes, faithfully reproduced based on Renaissance models, adding to their collection every year. The Palio is therefore an occasion for a multi-colored and unique trip back to the glorious past of Bagno a Ripoli, during which the elegant procession and exciting horse riding competition will take the participant back to times long gone.
Palio delle Contrade – Giostra della Stella
Via Roma, 124 – Bagno a Ripoli – tel +39 055 6510500
This post is also available in: Italian
