The story
Sartiglia of Oristano in Oristano
Oristano's Sartiglia is a Sardinian equestrian tournament in which masked riders gallop at speed attempting to spear a suspended metal star with a sword, held on the Sunday and Tuesday before Lent under the separate organization of the town's farmers' and carpenters' guilds. The event closes with Su Componidori's sa remada, a dramatic backward-riding blessing of the crowd.
Oristano's guilds of farmers and carpenters, known as gremi, have organized the Sartiglia's two race days separately for centuries, with the Gremio dei Contadini running the Sunday race and the Gremio dei Falegnami running the Tuesday race, both held during the final days before Lent begins.