Every year, on the first Sunday in September, Venice relives the old glories of the Serenissima Republic with a rousing celebration that has become a symbol of the city.
The Regatta, whose origins go back to 1315 during the reign of Doge Giovanni Soranzo, is not only a very popular celebration among the crowds of Venetians and tourists who squeeze in their thousands along the Grand Canal, but also an opportunity to give the Venetian-style rowing champs the limelight they deserve.
The day of celebration, falling this year on Sunday, September 3, opens with a historical costumed pageant with a lineup of 16th-century boats led by the typically Venetian Bucintoro, the official Serenissima Republic boat. The procession is a revival of the welcoming ceremony that greeted in 1489 Catherine Cornaro, wife of the King of Cyprus, who abdicated the throne and chose Venice, thus marking the beginning of Venice’s dominion over the Mediterranean island. The public’s fervor then explodes during the boat races that follow, competitions that are divided according to boat type, with the first being of children aboard pupparini – boys aged 14 to 18 aboard two-oar boats testing their rowing potential.
The second race is for women aboard mascarete – a type of light two-oar punt whose name comes from its past use by masked (mascherate) prostitutes. The next race is run aboard heavy sixoar caorline, with crews made up of competitors that have been excluded from participating in the gondolini race: the power of six paddlers allows these boats to reach considerable speed.
Then comes the key moment of the Historical Regatta with true rowing champs in the closing competition aboard gondolini – light two-oar boats which require special propelling technique and thorough knowledge of the currents, elements that explain why the winners are often over 50.
From the Riva degli Schiavoni to the Punta della Salute and along the Grand Canal, the boats race to the rhythm of oars hitting the water and to the roar of the crowd cheering the competitors on, all the way to the finish line near Ca’ Foscari in front of “the machine,” the floating dais with city officials where the award ceremony is held, presenting the winners with red, white, green and blue banners.
To win a race means joining the great Venetian rowing legends whose feats have made the Historical Regatta so exciting in the last fifty years. An event that anyone who wish to know more about a city that has been historically linked to water should not by any means miss.
