The appointment with the Marriage of the Sea returns on Monday 6 July!
Since 2008, thanks to the Compagnia dello Stile Pisano, the Compagnia di Calci and the Friends of Pisa, the Sposalizio del Mare has been re-proposed in a commemorative
Historical associations and groups will embark on July 6th at the Roncioni dock to reach Boccadarno, where a young girl will renew the symbolic gesture of throwing the ring into the sea, creating a ceremony that keeps alive the memory of one of the most evocative and significant traditions in Pisa's history.
PROGRAMME
- Friday, July 3, 11.00 a.m. - presentation of the event in the atrium of the Municipality of Pisa; Coronation of Madonna Pisa, by drawing lots among the girls present
- Saturday, July 4, 10.30 a.m. -guided tour of the Basilica of San Piero in Grado by Alessandro Tamberi of the Committee for the Valorization of the Basilica. You don't have to book.
- Sunday, July 5, 8.45 a.m. - Walk of the Marriage of the Sea in the ring of the Lungarni, organized by the VagaMonti group of the Compagnia di Calci. Meet at the Citadel Fort. Info: WhatsApp to Rinaldo +39 3494649333.
- Monday, July 6
- 11.00 a.m. - sung mass in St. Peter the Apostle's Basilica with the Vox Humana choir; blessing of the ring
- 5.00 p.m. - meet and depart the historical procession from the Town Hall, arriving at Scalo Roncioni.
- 6.00 p.m. - departure of the river procession, with historical narratives on board; arrival near the sea and ring ceremony.
This will be followed by a return to the city, during which an aperitif will be offered.
Boat Reservations: WhatsApp to Gabriele +39 3408371799.
Upon returning, the traditional propitiatory dinner in the historic center will follow.
THE HISTORY
This is a tradition that has its roots in the era of the Maritime Republic and is still reenacted every year with an evocative ceremony combining history, faith, and city identity.
In the Middle Ages, the heyday of the Glorious Republic of Pisa, the Marriage of the Sea was a solemn ceremony intended to celebrate the city's maritime power and symbolically sanction its deep connection with the sea, a source of life, wealth and prosperity.
It was a desponsatio maris of very ancient origins, probably linked to pre-Christian propitiatory rites, also attested in other maritime cities such as Venice and Messina, but which in Pisa took on completely peculiar characteristics.
Historical sources describe an annual celebration in which religious, processional and naval elements were intertwined, connected to the cult of San Pietro and San Clemente and to the nearby town of San Piero a Grado. The highlight of the festival was the throwing of a ring into the sea waters by the Archbishop of Pisa, a symbolic gesture that represented the dominion of the Alfean Republic over the sea and the indissoluble union between Pisa and its maritime vocation.
The ceremony took place every year on July 6, the feast day of St. Peter.
On that occasion, the relic of the Blood of Saint Clement was carried in procession from the Cathedral to the Basilica of Saint Peter the Apostle in San Piero a Grado, where it remained exposed for veneration by the faithful. From here, the Archbishop would go to the sea, then much closer to the basilica than it is today, and throw his ring there amid the exultation of the people. Hundreds of boats would participate in the celebration, sailing up and down the Arno in a large river procession led by a sumptuous gala vessel. A young woman impersonating the city took her place on it and was called "Madonna Pisa".
After the fall of the Republic and the Florentine occupation of 1406, this important celebration of Alfean maritime power was suppressed and gradually fell into oblivion.
Info and reservations +39 340 8371799 - sposaliziodelmarepisa@gmail.com
In the first weekend an information stand of the Deputation of the Marriage of the Sea will be present at Sagra del pinolo https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/eventi/Sagra-del-Pinolo-2026
