Pisa Events

Giugno Pisano: the month the city belongs to itself

Pisa's calendar concentrates into June, and Giugno Pisano is the one time of year the city fills with Pisans rather than visitors. The events are genuinely traditional rather than staged, and all of them happen on or beside the Arno.

• Regata delle Antiche Repubbliche Marinare — 2 June on the Arno, rotating between the four old maritime republics of Pisa, Genoa, Amalfi and Venice, with a historical procession and a rowing race in medieval-style galleons.
• Luminara di San Ranieri — 16 June, and the one to plan a trip around. The lungarni are lit with more than 100,000 lumini set on the facades of palaces, churches, towers and bridges along the river, in honour of the city's patron. It is free, it is crowded, and it is the only night Pisa looks like the city it used to be.
• Palio remiero di San Ranieri — 17 June on the Arno. Four boats represent the ancient quarters of the city, and the winner is decided by a crew member climbing a ten-metre pole to seize a blue banner.
• Gioco del Ponte — 27 June, on the lungarni and the Ponte di Mezzo: a Renaissance costume procession, then teams pushing a heavy cart along rails in a contest for control of the bridge.

The monuments' own calendar

The Opera della Primaziale runs a second calendar worth knowing, because it changes when the square is usable. From 17 June to 31 August the monuments and museums stay open until 22:30, and the tower until 22:00 — which in a square with no shade is the difference between a punishing visit and a good one. A tower ticket from 19:30 also includes the Camposanto with no fixed time.

There are free openings too: 1 and 2 November, and the evenings of 24 July and 9 August from 20:30 to 23:00 — by advance reservation for the baptistery, Camposanto and both museums, and without reservation for the cathedral, subject to capacity.

Planning around all of it

June is the month to come and the month to have booked early for; the Luminara in particular fills the city's rooms. Outside June, Pisa's events are the monuments' own hours, and those reward an evening visit far more than an early one.