Hordes of tourists may descend upon Siena's annual historic Palio horse race, but our hometown, Arezzo, has a medieval festival of its own: "La Giostra del Saracino" or The Joust of the Saracen.

Twice a year, the city's four "quartieri" or main neighborhoods, are divided into teams with each team selecting two knights to joust against a gigantic, wooden manikin known as "Buratto, King of the Indies."

Buratto is wound up on a swivel, with one outstretched arm holding a score shield and the other a menacing flail.

It's an exciting event of skill and pageantry and this year my husband and I were given free VIP tickets from the city as a gift - since I rewrote their English version of their website!

It's a mostly as-yet undiscovered gem that I'm delighted to share with AFAR!