
This is a joust between Montisi’s four contrade (neighbourhoods) that is held every year around August 5th, the feast day of the patron of Montisi, the Madonna delle Nevi (Our Lady of the Snows). The joust recalls the battles that really happened towards the end of the XIII century when the town’s inhabitants fought Simone Cacciaconti and his armed soldiers.
The event opens with a historical parade of people in costumes that starts from inside La Grancia and proceeds to the field where the competition takes place. Here knights on horseback representing the contrade gallop at full tilt with lances to try and achieve the maximum points against a target that represents the effigy of Simone.