Spectacular Festivals of the World - Regatta of St Ranieri in Pisa, Italy

Pisa, Italy stages the Regatta of St Ranieri at the Palazzo Medici on June 17th each year in celebration of the patron saint of Pisa — a 1640 yard (1,500 meter) race up the River Arno consisting of 4 narrow rowboats, differently colored to represent the city’s 4 districts.



The boats are manned by 8 oarsmen, 1 steersman and a climber who must scramble up a 33-foot (10 meter) long rope to grab the Palio (flag) of victory at the finish line. The winners receive prizes in kind, particularly animals — an ox, a sheep, a pig, a rooster, and a gosling for the loser, which goes back to the origins of the competition in the 13th century when the races were disputed on land and in the water, generally on the feast of the Assumption..



The buildings along the Arno River are transformed for the Luminara into a fantastical fairyland setting on the eve of feast day of Saint Ranieri, the patron saint of Pisa on June 16th. Buildings and the parapets all along the river and bridges are illuminated with the flames of more than 70,000 lumini — small glass candle holders — while thousands more float on the waters of the river.



Candles are placed on white wooden sticks and placed on window ledges, rooftops and balconies to create whimsical designs, which thousands of people come every year to marvel.



The colored boats represent the 4 historical quarters of the city districts of Pisa — the southern part of the city Saint Martin (white and red), Saint Anthony (white and green), the northern part Saint Mary (white and blue), and Saint Francis (white and yellow).



The Historic Regatta of Saint Ranieri occurs the next day, June 17th, when crews must row against the current on a 1,500 meter-long stretch of the River Arno starting upstream of the railway bridge to the finishing point in front of the Palazzo Medici. In order to maintain the ancient contest traditions, the competition has 2 peculiarities — the presence of the climber and the opportunity for the steersman to choose the best route.



The steersman may try to surpass the other boats in attempt to move to the left side of the river where the counter current is weaker, and to row in the inner and shorter part of the large curve of the stretch of the Arno River close to the town.



Final victory depends upon the montatore’s (climber’s) skill at the finishing line rather than arrival order of the boats, who has to climb up 1 of the 4 cables reaching the top of a 10-meter high mast hoisted on the boat in order to grasp the banner which is the symbol of the victory.



The victory actually depends upon the color of the triangular silk banner called a ‘paliotto’ that the climber brings down — blue is 1st place, white 2nd, and red 3rd place. A pair of goslings represents the meager prize for the last crew to finish.



The catch of banner represents the ancient exploits at Lepanto, when the fleet of the Knights of Saint Stephen boarded the Turkish flagship and stole the Muslim fight banner waiving on the mast of their boat. This banner is kept in the Church of Saint Stephen of the Knights in Pisa to this day.



The Annals of Pisa record that the first regatta was held during the Palio of Our Lady of the Assumption in 1292. After the city fall under the Florentine domination in 1406, the Regatta was only held from time to time. Following Florence’s conquest of Pisa in 1509, the event was abolished until 1635 when it was once more introduced for the feast of the Assumption and the rules were actually formalized.



The boats raced to celebrate Saint Ranieri for the first time in 1718 and not the Assumption. Since 1737 the finishing line of the Regatta — now known as Saint Ranieri’s — was set in the stretch of the river in front of Palazzo Medici, on request of the Duke of Montelimar while he was a guest in one of the palaces. The race was revived once again in 1935.