The Palio di San Ranieri takes place every year in Pisa on 17 June. In the waters of the Arno, the four boats representing the four historical quarters of the city compete: San Francesco (yellow boat), San Martino (red boat), Santa Maria (blue boat) and Sant'Antonio (green boat).
This year's Palio will be held on Saturday 17 June at 7.00 p.m., with the boats racing for 1,500 metres against the current from the Cittadella bridge, at the Canottieri Arno headquarters, to the finish line at the Scalo dei Renaioli. The race will be preceded at 6 p.m. by a historical river procession with 4 boats and the presence of 20 figurants accompanying the Saint's shovel.
In the afternoon, before the river procession parade, the Trofeo Lega Navale Pisa will be held for the first time, which will take place in the stretch of the city's Arno river between Ponte di Mezzo and Ponte della Fortezza from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. The Zonal Sprint Race reserved for male and female crews in the cadet, cadet, junior and senior categories on Elba - Jole boats, is organised by the Federazione Italiana Canottaggio Sedile Fisso (Italian Fixed Seat Rowing Federation) together with ASD Billi di Pisa and with the collaboration of Lega Navale Pisa and Federazione Italiana Salvamento Acquatico.
The Palio di San Ranieri will be broadcast live by 50 Canale (digital terrestrial channel 18) from 7 pm.
The programme. At 6.00 pm, the river procession is scheduled to depart from the Cittadella Bridge, arriving around 6.15 pm at the Scalo Renaioli: here the participants are scheduled to disembark, with some of them being transferred to the boarding boat. At 6.30 pm the water lanes will be drawn and at 7.00 pm the start of the competition. At 7.30 pm, finally, at the Scalo dei Renaioli, the Palio award ceremony.
Crew. Each 'frigate' consists of eight rowers, the coxswain and the fitter. The latter, at the finish line, has the task of climbing one of the four ropes to the top of a 10-metre high flagpole and grabbing the blue palio, the symbol of victory. Two (symbolic) ducks, on the other hand, represent the coveted prize for the last finishers. This particular way of awarding victory is inspired by the feat of Lepanto when the Christian troops, once they had boarded the Turkish flagship, seized the fighting flame placed on the flagpole of the Saracen vessel.
For the complete calendar of the Giugno Pisano:
https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/evento/giugno-pisano-2023
