All about Zakynthos

Giostra is one of the oldest events of the Zakynthian carnival. Along with the dances, which were held mainly in the luxurious halls of the two casinos (Roman and Lombardian) and the well-known and popular "Omilies" (street theatre), which were performed by the people in open spaces, were (and still are) the main expressions of the carnival entertainment of the famous Ionian island. These were horse races in which the participants took part, claiming the prize, which was a silver sword for the first and a pair of silver spurs for the second, but also for the honour of a woman for whose sake they were competing.The Giostra of Zakynthos had two forms of competition. The first was that of the ring. In it the competing knight had to extract a small ring, which was hanging from a wooden structure. The second was Mascaron Moro's Giostra. In this one, the knight was to use his spear to cut off a feather, which was placed on the head of a human figure of a blackish colour (for this reason it was also called the Saracen's Giostra). Only noblemen, whose family name was listed in the Libro d'Oro (Golden Book of Nobles), took part in the Giostra. It was, however, attended by a large number of people. It is no coincidence, in fact, that from early on, Giostra passed into the scholarly and popular theatre of the island (Erotokritos, Evgena), as well as into its literature (Dion. Romas, Andres Avouris). The equestrian games of Giostra were at first held at the Arigos site of Bochali, next to the first town, which was built, for security reasons, inside the castle. Later, when the capital of the island descended to the Aegialos, they races also followed its course and were held on the main street of Rouga Square (today Alexandrou Roma) and between the churches of Analipsi and Evangelistria. Their day was the Thursday of the "Tyrofagos" (cheese eater).  The event today takes place during the three-day Agiou Pnevmatos long weekend. It begins with a parade, which starts from the historic St. Paul's plateau and, after crossing the city centre, ends at the central square of Dionysios Solomos, where the competition is held. In recent years, the Giostra of Zakynthos has been revived by the "Giostra di Zante" a non-profit company, which is based on the island and whose aim is the effective reintroduce the event to the Zakynthian Carnival, as well as the scientific research of its history and evolution.