The first regatta was held in Pisa in 1292, during the Palio of Our Lady of the Assumption. Since then, every year Pisa stages a 1,500 metre dash up the River Arno in celebration of the feast day of San Ranieri, or Saint Rainerius, the city’s patron saint. In remembrance of the city’s nautical traditions, four, narrow rowing boats, each differently coloured to represent the city’s four districts, challenge each other. Each boat resembles a large gondola, is fashioned in the style of the frigates of the Medicean Order of the Knights of St. Stephen founded in 1561, and is crewed with 8 oarsmen, a helmsman and “montatore”. The race – against the river’s natural current – starts near the bridge used by trains to cross the river and ends in front of the Palazzo Medici near the Ponte della Fortezza. The entire day is an Italian celebration of food and drink with festivities throughout the city.