The most famous of the Italian jousting festivals, La Giostra del Saracino originated during the Crusades (11th-13th centuries), when it was used as propaganda to support the fight to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. Eight knights representing the four quarters of Arezzo, where the festival takes place, march to the piazza, where an effigy of a Moor or Saracen has been set up. The effigy is armed with a heavy flail, and the knights must try to hit it in the center with their lances without being touched by the flail. The winner is rewarded with a golden lance on behalf of his district. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary