Well, in Tuscany there is not only the Palio of Siena.

To the Luminara di San Ranieri and the "lampanini" on the façades of the churches, palaces, towers and villas in Pisa that stand along the lungarni we have already dedicated the previous chapter of this tourist guide.

Now we want to tell you about the contest that involves the four historic quarters of the town on San Ranieri`s day, that is, June 17th.

After the historical parade, four boats (a blue one representing Santa Maria, a yellow one representing San Francesco, a red one representing San Martino and a green one representing Sant`Antonio) vie with each other on the River Arno. The crew of each boat composes of eight oarsmen, one cox and one "climber".

A 10-metre tall mast stands on a floating platform at the finish line. The climber`s job is to board the platform, climb the mast helping himself with some ropes and grab the banner of his quarter.

The first written documents on this single combat date back to 1292. That year the contest took place on August 15th, the feast of the Assumption. However, the Palio of Pisa has been held on San Ranieri`s day for almost three centuries, from 1718.

Unlike other Italian folkloric events, the Palio and the Luminara do not always take place during the weekend. They are so-called fixed feasts and can also come during the week. We therefore suggest you rent a holiday villa in Pisa for some days instead of planning a one-day trip and being forced to choose one of the two events.