The four medieval maritime republics — Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and Venice — race eight-oared galleons over two thousand metres, each boat carrying a figurehead of its city's emblem. The race is preceded by a procession of around three hundred people in fifteenth-century costume representing each republic's court.
It was instituted in 1955 and the hosting rotates, so the regatta is held in a different one of the four cities each year on a four-year cycle.
No attendance figure is published.
The rotation is the whole planning problem. The event is otherwise easy — a free, half-day spectacle on the water — but the location changes annually, and Amalfi in particular is a difficult place to reach and stay on a summer weekend. The host city is announced well in advance.
PlanningThe host city rotates on a four-year cycle — check which republic has it before travelling.