Until its defeat at the hands of the navy of Genoa in 1284, Pisa was the supreme Tuscan military city, based on its naval power.  It had a large population and Pisan merchants traveled the entire Mediterranean, bringing a cosmopolitan sensibility to the powerful seaport.   Considering Pisa's geographical position today, many people are surprised to learn of her history as a sea power.  Yet, an enemy greater than Genoa truly sealed Pisa's naval
fate:  the Arno began silting up and the cost of dredging the port left the city weakened.  In this state, the Milanese seized the town in 1396, and Pisa's history as a power effectively ceased.  The Pisani rebelled against their Florentine rulers in 1494, but it was too late to recapture their former glory.   Under Florentine rule, the Medici supported Pisa's university, and it is this institution that helped to keep the town alive and vibrant in the modern world.

Pisans, however, enjoy celebrating their past.  Each June, they  honor San Ranieri, their patron saint, with a huge regatta and luminaria along the River Arno.  A regatta is held on the night of June 16, and all the buildings along the river are decked with lit candles that create a spectacular effect as a parade of antique boats with costumed crews sail by.

The boat parade of the evening of the 16th is followed by a historical river race on the afternoon of the 17th.  The Luminaria are repeated on the night of June 17, commemorating the night of March 25, 1688, when Cosimo de'Medici held a sumptuous celebration to honor the moving of the ashes of San Ranieri to a more elaborate urn.  For the event, Cosimo ordered that the entire town be decked in lights.  This event continued for two centuries, and, after dying out in the mid 1800s, was reinstated in 1937.  About 70,000 candles decorate the riverside buildings, and the Leaning Tower is hung with oil lamps. 

For centuries, there have been boat races similar to those held on the Arno on June 17, but the custom of celebrating the Feast Day of San Ranieri with this regatta only began in 1718.  The boats used are of a specific historic type called fregata, and four of them race, representing the quartieri of Pisa:  San Martino, San Antonio, Santa Maria, and San Francesco. 

           An event even larger than the Festa di San Ranieri is Pisa's favorite festival, the Gioco del Ponte, or the Game of the Bridge.  Held on the last Sunday in June,  it pits twelve teams from the opposing north and south banks of the Arno in a series of battles.  One of these battles is the contest to pull a seven ton wagon over the Ponte di Mezzo, Pisa's old Roman bridge, thus giving these ancient games their name.  Historical records tell us that these costumed games have been held since 1568.  The participants in the contests were medieval garb, signifying these origins. 

The Gioco del Ponte actually consists of two separate parts: the battles at the Ponte, and a large and elaborate military parade along the banks of the Arno. The battles were originally fought in the Piazza dei Cavalieri, then known as the Piazza degli Anziani, and they were characterized by extreme violence.  Although these ancient rites were considered "games" they were fought with cudgels, and pitted individual combatants against one another.

On the final day of the games, a huge battle was fought between two teams, rather than between individuals.    The point of the battle was the conquest of the half of the bridge, north or south, held by the opposing team.

The violence that marked the spirit of the Gioco del Ponte proved to be too much for the ruler Pietro Leopoldo, and in 1785 the games were ended.  They reappeared once in the 19th century, in 1807, but the spirit that had formerly carried them through the ages could not be recaptured.

It wasn't until 1935 that the Gioco del Ponte was reestablished, and the fierce battles were transformed into the hotly contested costumed games we see today. It was then that the contest to pull a wagon on rails across the bridge took the place of the battles with cudgels and shields.  The two sides, representing each part of the town to the north and south of the banks of the Arno, known as the Mezzogiorno and the Tramontana, march separately in the large historical parade. A third column of marchers, made up of judges, meets them at the bridge, and the sight of all these participants, wearing colorful costumes of the late XVI century, is spectacular. 

Because of its popularity and spectacle, it is important that visitors who want to attend the Gioco del Ponte plan ahead.  Pisa is an easy train ride of an hour from Florence, and only twenty minutes or so from Lucca.  It is probably best to arrive by train, as 100,000 spectators usually attend the event!