The Joust

I had two great parts about week two... The Joust and making a friend.  


I can't even explain the excitement with the Joust... but I'll try! The city of Arezzo holds two Jousts a year: One in June and the other in September.  The actual Joust is on the weekend, but the week is filled with parties, live music, gatherings, chants, etc.  The town is divided into four quarters:  Porta Crucifera (red and green colors); Porta del Foro (yellow and crimson colors); Porta San Andrea (white and green colors); and Porta Santo Spirito (yellow and blue colors)... the last one is where I live and the first one is where the OUA center is located.  Throughout the week the quarters are against each other and people can actually get hostile during this time, but after the Joust they are all friendly to each other again.  However, walking around the streets of Arezzo... you will always know which quarter you are in, because buildings are lined with the area's flags.  Their spirit is so great! Joust memorabilia is also sold all week long on Corso Italia.  Corso Italia is what I would call the main street of Arezzo, lined with shops and coffe bars, and the street where OUA is located.  The table selling the Joust memorabilia was set-up right by the center, so I passed it each day.  I bought a Santo Spirito bracelet and a Porta Crucifera scarf to represent my home and my work.  


I was not prepared for the actual Joust day on Sunday.  All the students and faculty and staff who wanted to attend came and it was so much fun!! We sat on the very top of the bleachers, so we had a great view. It was so awesome... the way they were acting with their excitement and craziness reminded me of an American football game.  Arezzo has several Piazzas and the Joust takes place in Piazza Grande.  There is the huge area where the Joust takes place, an area filled with a lot of people that I can describe as general admission, the bleachers for the other fans, and a ton of police officers surrounding the place. The people who live in Piazza Grande are also sitting out on their terraces or peering out their windows  to watch the competition.  During what I will describe as the "pre-show," the group of competitors come out and the fans of the specific quarters go nuts for their athletes and horsemen. Again, it was so great to see! The Arezzo band, which is what I am calling it, also came out and marched in-sync and gave a performance.  They also went around the city all week long marching and playing in their maroon and white uniforms, which are the Arezzo colors, I believe, so it's neat that it is similar to OU colors. Then, before the actual competition began, the horsemen from each quarter practiced.  The Joust is set-up where two horsemen from each team work together to hit the dummy knight's shield.  There are two rounds and the horsemen work to get five points, which is the highest score per round. One of the coolest parts was to see the fans get so excited. When Crucifera knew they won the first round they went crazy with loud cheers, hugging each other, and jumping around.  It was also funny because when fans from other quarters knew they had lost they started leaving in the second round... just like we do in American at football games! Crucifera ended up winning and fans from all over rushed the playing field and the police officers let them do it.  There was huge celebration, but I didn't see any violence.  One man started getting pretty rowdy and began climbing the bleachers to get to a fan from another quarter, but he was escorted out.  He didn't have a shirt on, either.  After the competition Crucifera spent hours celebrating, marching around town with fans and the horsemen, and chanting.  The city was theirs for the day and they were awarded the golden lance, which is the prize, but I think they prefer the pride over anything.  It was just such a great week and I had so much fun at the Joust!  


I also made a friend shortly after I moved here, which really helped with my transition. Her name is Alyssa and she was a student in the program two years ago.  She is now in grad school in Florence and has a boyfriend here in Arezzo, so she commutes on the train to class.   We have fun together and it's nice to have someone here my age who is also American.  Now that her classes have started we don't see each other as much as we did the first couple weeks, but I get to hang out with her and her boyfriend and their friends occasionally on the weekends usually and it's so great! It's good stuff.  


A link that describes the Joust in detail: http://www.lifeinitaly.com/tourism/tuscany/horse-jousting.asp