Every summer the town of Amalfi competes in the Regata Storica delle Repubbliche Marinare, an annual boat race with teams from Venice, Pisa and Genoa. Along with Amalfi, these cities represent the four historic sea republics of Italy in the Middle Ages. Last year the race took place in Genoa and the Amalfi team came in a very close second. Two years ago the race was in Pisa and Amalfi was a photo finish for second place there, too. Three years ago I was lucky enough to see the regatta and historic parades in Amalfi. It was great fun! (Even though the Amalfi team had problems during the race and came in last.) This June the race will take place in Venice, which I would love to see. But, even better, in 2012 the regatta will again be held in Amalfi. If you’re planning on visiting Amalfi in the summer of 2012, I would highly recommend coming during the Regata Storica delle Repubbliche Marinare!
January evening practice
I’ll be watching this summer’s race with special attention, because the Amalfi team has been practicing hard this winter. Two years of second place seems to have gotten them really moving to win! (It would be a dream for the team to win, especially against their rivals Venice in Venice!) In the evenings, as I walk in Amalfi, the team is often out in the practice version of the historic boat used in the race. And from high up in Ravello I’ve spotted them many times rowing hard on their way from Amalfi to Minori and back again. Here are a couple more photos I took recently of the team out practicing, but this time they were using two boats and were racing one another.
February race practice for the Regata
February evening practice
