Pisa is preparing to host the 71st edition of the Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics, the historical reenactment event promoted under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic. The appointment is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2, 2026. The city last hosted the event in September 2022, on the occasion of the 67th edition.
The traditional rowing challenge on the Arno River, over a distance of 2,000 meters, will take place throughout the day. The four crews representing the ancient Maritime Republics will compete in both the men's and women's regattas, followed by the awards ceremony. The event will be broadcast live on Rai channels. Rounding out the day is the evocative historical procession: hundreds of participants will parade along the Lungarni, recalling moments and figures from the history of the four Republics.
Program under update: https://www.repubblichemarinare.org/
Schedule of events being updated.
The Regatta
The Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics was officially founded in 1955 with the aim of celebrating the exploits and rivalry between the most famous Italian maritime republics: Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and Venice. The first edition was held in Pisa on 1° July 1956, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Giovanni Gronchi.
The event, held under the high patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, is accompanied by a historical procession, during which participants parade as ancient figures who characterized each Republic.
Each crew participating in the Regatta is made up of 8 rowers and a helmsman while the boats are 15 metres long and 1.70 metres wide. The galleons, built on 12th-century models, are made along the lines of the ancient “Galleres” or “Representative Feluccas” and painted with the traditional colors of the symbols of the four ancient maritime republics: red with an eagle for Pisa, white with a dragon for Genoa, green with a lion for Venice and blue with a winged horse for Amalfi. The winning city will win the gold and silver trophy created by the Florentine goldsmith school, which will be put back up for grabs at the next regatta.
Pisa boasts eight victories, the last of which dates back to 2010. Starting in 2022, the traditional men's competition was joined by a women's competition. The last edition took place in Genoa, where the hosts triumphed in both the men's and women's races. In the men's race, Genoa preceded Amalfi, Pisa and Venice. In the women's competition, however, Genoa won ahead of Pisa, Venice and Amalfi.
The procession
The historical procession representing Pisa in the demonstration of the Ancient Maritime Republics has been renewed in recent years, and was conceived to represent a broad time span, focused on the centuries of maximum splendor between the 11th and 13th centuries, from consular institutions to the Government of the People, ideally accompanying the city until the decline of 1406.
The procession is composed of five groups representing the political, military, social, economic and maritime spheres, for a total of 88 figures in historically documented costumes. Among the symbols and characters depicted are the Emperor, Uguccione della Faggiola, linked to the Battle of Montecatini (1315), the Pisan Cross for the capture of Jerusalem (1099) and the “Signum Rubicundum” for the conquest of the Balearics (1115). Also represented are members of the great Pisan families, Ugolino della Gherardesca, remembered by Dante Alighieri, and the mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci.
Also of particular note is the figure of Kinzica de' Sismondi, to whom tradition attributes the rescue of the city during the Saracen attack of 1004, thanks to her intervention in raising the alarm among the population.
