The Historical Regatta of Venice

The wonderful Italian city of Venice is located on over 117 small island. The city has numerous canals. The most famous canal of all is the Grand Canal (in Italian Canal Grande, in Venetian dialect Canałasso). It is 3,8 kilometres long and 30-80 metres wide. Along the canal there are more than 180 buildings. Most of them were built between the 13th and 18th century.

The Historical Regatta of Venice

The Grand Canal is the site of an exciting event held on the first Sunday in September. It is known as the Historical Regatta (in Italian La Regata Storica). The event starts with the historical procession which is held in the memory of Caterina Cornaro, the wife of King of Cyprus, and her arrival to Venice 1489. She was warmly welcomed as she gave up her throne in favour of Venice. The procession of the beautiful 16th century style boats is led by the Bucintoro. This big boat represents the Serenissima (literally meaning the most serene) that was the historical name of the Republic of Venice.

After the procession there are several competitions. Each one includes different type of traditional boat. So, there are the champions regatta in “gondolini”, the regatta in “caorline”, the regatta involving only female competitors in “mascarete” and regatta for kids in “pupparini”.