Everyone sees and sees the great show of the Giostra del Saracino, in the main square of Arezzo. However, few know the great preparation work that precedes it. This project was created to give light to all the tour operators who work behind the scenes before every Giostra. I am a strangely fasting Arezzo from the world of the Saracino; therefore this work started from the idea of telling the life of the jousters and their horses. I approached the neighborhood of Porta Crucifera that welcomed me at its facility and inserted me into this world, I repeat for me unknown. I started to follow the workouts, the week after the week, trying to get into that world of passionate people, not only for the Joust but also for the horses themselves. I was surprised by the constancy and the edition of the many, more or less young people, who collaborate in the preparation of the jousters. Everyone has a very specific task, from those who must prepare the targets for those who take care of cleaning horses under any weather condition: cold, sun, wind or rain. Since my job lasted a few months, it was at the end of a rainy day that I realized that the real protagonists of my story had to be them; those who are always in the shade during the days in the square because rightly, the main actors are the knights. At the end of this day I took the photo that gave the project its title: a small ray of sunshine that lit up the field shows and brought some light on one of those who is always behind the scenes … or better “BEHIND THE TARGET“. Hence the final decision to give importance to all those involved in the work of the “Camp” as they call them. But a story about Giostra cannot exist without the jousters. Since they are not the protagonists of this story, I decided to portray them only from behind, in controlling using their silhouette, or using the technique of moving or panning to avoid their incisive presence in the images. The work ended with the last day of the Giostra di Settembre, but not in the square. I was late in the afternoon with my back turned to a maximum of which projected the succession of Careers and in front of me a whole neighborhood that rejoiced and at the same time suffered for its own colors.
