The Regattas

Since the beginning of 1300 citizens begin to organize rowing races on gondolas or traditional boats of that epoch, few years later the races took name of Regatta. The races become object of local culture belongs to the Venetian culture to which Venetian are sentimentally tied. Obviously the most famous is the Historical Regatta, but there are many widespread over the lagoon. Between April and September there are at least 120 regattas that coincide to local festivals. These aren’t only sport events but also opportunities to celebrate and joy. The main aim is to keep this events and the culture  alive. The most important regattas that you see every year are:

·  The Regatta of Sensa is one of the most popular and ancient, every year thousands of tourists come from all over the world to admire the famous ceremony of “Sposalizio del Mare” ( wedding to the sea) by S. Niccolò Church of Lido. Before the Regatta there is a parade from S.Marco to Lido. You’ll see men compete with four oars gondolas and women with two oars mascarete. The course of the regatta will be the same one of the parade.

·  The Regatta of Mestre where you can see the caorline with six oars used by men, while the women will compete with the four oars gondolas. The course starts from Canal Marin and ends to Punta S.Giuliano.

· The Regatta of S.Erasmo is the first regatta of June, starts from the Canal of S.Erasmo near the Tower Massimiliana, goes through canal of Passaora and ends near the main Square. In this Regatta the youngsters and men will compete with two oars pupparini and the women with the two oars mascarete.

· The Regatta of SS. Giovanni and Paolo: during this competition the youngsters will row gondola with one oar, instead the men will row pupparini with two oars. It starts from canal of Murano, passes through Arsenale and ends to the Bridge of Mendicanti.

· The Regatta of Murano is the first one of July, it starts from Canal of Murano, reaches the Canal of Bissa and then comes back to the island where ends to Fondamenta Colleoni. In this competition there are two kinds of regattas: the women on the pupparini and men on gondolas, both with one oar.

· The Regatta of Malamocco has become very popular in the last years, thanks to the great festival made to celebrate the Madonna of Marina: the local associations organise open air market a  gastronomic stands and many shows. In the night it’s tradition to make a charity bingo followed by fireworks. The sport competition will have two types of regattas: women on the two oars mascarete and men on the six oras caroline. The course will start near the square or Malamocco, passes through the main canal and then comes back to the start.

· The Regatta of Redeemer takes place the day after the popular feast. The course starts from Redeemer church, crosses the Canal of Giudecca, passes through San Giorgio and then comes back to the start. the youngsters will be the first one rowing the pupparini, then the men with pupparini and in the end the race with gondolas.

· The Regatta of Burano: it is considered the revenge of the Historical Regattas because it is every third Sunday of September. It is a great feast day for the island, the local associations organise parties and events full of music and gastronomic stands. It is possible to see the race from the ACTV dock. The competition starts with the youngsters who will row the two oars pupparini, followed by women with the same boats and it ends with the men on two oars gondolas.

·  Vogalonga is the most important  non-competitive race of rowing boats in Venice. It has a course of  30km! The itinerary starts from San Marco, pass through the most important place of lagoon: Sant’Elena, Murano, Burano, Canareggio, Canal Grande until the finish line in Punta della Dogana. It is always in may and thousands of tourists and residents join every year. At the end of the race every participant will take a commemorative medal and a certificate of participation.