Ascoli's signature event. Twice a year — the first Sunday in August and another in July — the city stages a full-blown medieval pageant culminating in a jousting tournament between six mounted knights, one from each historic sestiere. Around 1,400 locals march in commissioned 15th-century costumes; the parade alone takes three hours.
The actual jousting happens in the afternoon at the Campo Squarcia outside the city walls. Buy tickets in advance for the bleachers; the parade itself is free and follows a route through the central streets. The Renaissance-feast atmosphere lasts the whole week leading up to each tournament.