Arezzo's Giostra del Saracino is run twice a year in Piazza Grande: on the penultimate Saturday of June in the evening and on the first Sunday of September in the afternoon. In 2027 the expected dates are 19 June and 5 September, to be confirmed by the Comune di Arezzo. Il Poggiolino d'Oro is 7.6 km · 12-15 min from the square.
How it works
Knights from Arezzo's four quarters charge with a lance at the Buratto, the "King of the Indies", competing for the Golden Lance. Dress rehearsals, costume parades and open-air quarter dinners fill the days before.
Practical tips
- Grandstand tickets go on sale weeks before and sell out.
- In September the joust shares the weekend with the Antique Fair: book early.
- The centre is closed to traffic on joust night: use the park-and-ride or a taxi.
A joust weekend
- Two days before: the dress rehearsal in Piazza Grande — cheaper, less crowded and great to learn the rules.
- The evening before: open-air dinners in the four quarters, bookable by visitors, with drums and flags.
- Joust day: a historical parade with hundreds of people in costume, then the knights' charges at the Buratto.
Tickets
Grandstand seats around Piazza Grande are numbered and paid; standing places are cheaper but fill hours ahead. Tickets go on sale online and at official outlets, usually from May for June and from July for September.
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