Pisa © 123rf.com

 

Each June Pisa honours its patron saint - San Ranieri - with a great regatta and a night-time 'luminaria' along both banks of the River Arno. Historic buildings are romantically lit with candles or burning torches - some 50,000 in all - creating a most evocative mood, reflecting softly in the placid waters. The regatta takes place on the evening of 16 June and the illuminations are enhanced by a parade of antique boats with costumed crews. A historical river race takes place on the following day, contested by teams from the four quarters of the city. The luminaria are repeated in the evening, to commemorate the 1688 moving of the ashes of the Saint, the first occasion on which the city was bathed in lights.

Times
Various.