Monday, September 3, 2012

A Little More on the Regata Storica


It must be wonderful to watch the Regata Storica from a palazzo on the Grand Canal, and among the more engaging sights of the whole event is that of the people crowded on balconies, perched in windows, or partying high up on altane. If anyone at, say, Ca' Barbaro would like to extend an invitation for next year I'd certainly be willing to consider it, though, in fact, I suspect our vantage point this year was actually much better. We were certainly closer to the action.

Regata necessities: food, drink & bubble soap
This year Sandro and I watched from aboard one of four boats that fellow members of our remiera had moored not far from the gondole station of San Tomà the night before the event. Three of the boats were stationary for the entire time, the fourth, a mascareta, was used to pick up people at the gondole point and ferry them to our mooring places, which were otherwise inaccessible. Some time before the festivities began all unofficial motor boat traffic in the Grand Canal is forbidden, but you can still ply the canal in a boat with oars as long as you don't interfere with the procession or the races.

Given our location, literally just a few feet from the racers, I have no excuse for not having gotten more or better photos. I can't even place the blame on prosecco, of which I had only a little. Luckily, there's never a shortage of excellent photographs of the festivities to be found online, and even video from RAI.

So, if you find yourself in Venice at the time of the Regata Storica, by all means angle for a place in some Grand Canal palazzo, but don't forget that on this occasion, as on so many others here, Venice is perhaps best experienced in a boat.




14 comments:

  1. The photos look pretty good to me! How wonderful for you and your son to have the chance to experience this together...and I bet he'll remember being a boat, more so than watching the action from out of a boring old window!

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    1. I think you're right about the boat being a more memorable viewing spot than out a window--but I just want to get into Ca' Barbaro to see the room that Henry James stayed in! Which means I wouldn't being paying attention to the regata at all.

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    2. Yes, I'm with you. It'd be awesome to see the inside of Ca' Barbaro.

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  2. Wonderful Sig. We've been twice and bought seats near the fish market and Rialto. Can't see the finish but nevertheless a good view.

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    1. I saw people sitting there, Andrew, and it looked like a good spot, in spite of being out of sight of the finish. You get to see the rowers go past twice in the longer races--which is better than where I watched last year, in Campo San Vio (or even from Ca' Barbaro)--and it's not so easy to find space at or near the finish. I heard Venetian residents can purchase a seat in the viewing grandstand at the finish line in front of Ca' Foscari (visible in the background of my Sept 2 post) but I didn't look into it.

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    2. I got to the place as the guys were busy setting up and kept badgering them until they sold me the tickets. I needed twelve and I didn't want to miss out. We had front row seats which cost about 12€ I think. I would do this again.

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    3. 12 euro for front row seats is not bad at all for any event. And as the festivities always run behind schedule and always run far longer than planned it sounds like you got a really good deal!

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    4. Although your blogs are very old I just wondered if you could assist with how one obtains seating tickets for the 2014 Regata on 7 September. Any assistance would be appreciated.
      Thank You - Glenn (iti31311@mweb.co.za)

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    5. You can get tickets at http://www.geticket.it/default/regata-storica-2014-tribuna-san-vio-venezia-tribuna-san-vio-venezia-2014-09-07-15-45.html or by calling Hello Venezia Call Center +39 041 2424

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  3. I wish I could be there to see this fabulous display of Venetian tradition. Beati voi.

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  4. Ciao Sig. Nonloso,
    I'm wondering whether remiera offer seats to the public for purchase (I'm just looking for one)? I'm tempted to buy the €50 seat at Campo San Tomà however I'd much prefer to be on the water!
    Any advice would be wonderful.
    Grazie mille!

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    1. I've yet to hear of any plans for this year's Regata, Fiona, there may not be any boats from the remiera moored in the Grand Canal at all. Last year, it was just a group of friends whom I'd met at the remiera who decided to do it, rather than some official remiera-sponsored function and, now that I think about it, I'm not sure that all the boats weren't people's own boats, rather than those of the remiera.

      Alas, having just looked at the date of this year's event I find that we'll still be in the US (we leave in 2 days)!

      So I'm afraid I can't help you with finding a place in a boat, but I thought the Tribune seating on the platform floating along one side of the Grand Canal was not too far off from being in a boat--not quite as intimate, but not bad at all. Perhaps it's a little pricey, but the Regata Storica does tend to lag behind schedule and one could easily find oneself waiting between races for some time, so a little more comfort than one might have while being jostled on a dock or a fondamenta might be worth the cost. Short of sitting in a friend's boat, I think I'd be likely to try the Tribune seating myself if we were going to be around.

      Wherever you end up watching it from, I hope you enjoy it. And I'd love to hear about the experience as I won't be here for it!

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