(Photo by Frankekko)

(Photo by Frankekko)

The party starts in the late afternoon when all the students and the people from Pisa start to fill the streets and the squares to see the market stalls and to gather for dinner with their friends. The restaurants, bars and squares of the center are crowded; street musicians play on the bridges; churches and monuments are open even after dark and cards are distributed in the street so that people can vote for the best decoration. Palazzo Blu usually wins, and again this year they have prepared stunning biancheria in the shape of many fans.

(Photo by amanda_was_here)

(Photo by Giuseppe Luigi di Pace)

(Photo by David J. Marshall)

The lampposts of the Lungarno have been decorated with flag shaped biancheria, to be lit by red, green and white candles to celebrate 150th anniversary of Italy.

When the sun goes down, the center of Pisa takes on a really magical atmosphere. You can hear people laughing, the noisy generators of the kiosks selling porchetta and brigidini, traditional sweets with anisette, and people playing in the streets.

(Photos by Francesco Collina)

At 11pm, the fireworks start.

(Photo by Pablo Tenorio)

(Photo by Zuorio)

Up until a few years ago, they were launched from the cittadella medicea and from its tower. Over the last couple of years though, given that you could only see them from one section of the Lungarno and it was always incredibly crowded, they have started shooting the fireworks from the two ends of the Lungarno so that the show is really impressive and it can be enjoyed from everywhere along the Lungarno. This year they will be shot from four boats placed on four good spots on the river Arno. It will be really spectacular.

(Photo by androiGo)

After the fireworks, many people leave the city. Most people, though, remain in the city until dawn, moving from the Lungarno towards the surrounding squares to join in the street parties and in the parties organized by bars and pubs. In many squares there are bands playing live music.

(Photo by zufus)

(Photo by John Soqquadro)

My favourite spot to see the fireworks and spend the night is Argini e Margini, a bar on the river bank. Up until last year not many people knew how cool it was to see the fireworks from the river, but I expect this year to be very crowded.

Unlike many other festivals in famous cities in Tuscany, La Luminara is not very famous, even though it would certainly deserve to be. Tonight a UNESCO ambassador will be a guest of the city council, who have applied so that the festival can be recognized as UNESCO Wold Heritage Event.

The celebrations of La Luminara are just one of the many events organized in June in Pisa. Giugno Pisano is a full month of celebrations, concerts, exhibits and more. Tomorrow, June 17 and the actual Patron Saint’s Day, the  city will celebrate again with a historical regatta on the river Arno. This year it will be at night for the first time, with more candle light displays along the lungarno.

If you are planning to visit Pisa next year, remember to plan your trip around this events, because they really deserve it.

“The key date is June 16, with the Luminara di San Ranieri: over 100,000 candles are carefully placed in smooth, transparent glasses and hung on white wooden frames arranged to emphasize the outlines of the buildings, bridges, churches and towers that overlook the Lungarni. This year, a solemn edition will close the jubilee year of the patron saint of Pisa, in the 850th anniversary of his death.

Then, on the night of Saturday June 25, the traditional Gioco del Ponte, the historical event divided into two separate, but equally significant, moments: the Historical Procession on the Lungarni, with over 700 characters, and the “battle” staged on the Ponte di Mezzo. Here, the teams from the city’s two rival districts (Tramontana and Mezzogiorno) put their strength to the test by pushing a heavy cart in opposite directions in a heated moment  of fierce competition.

But the Giugno Pisano has a full thirty days of events to offer, with three protagonists: the city, its river and the sea.”

Events in the center of Pisa

The lights of the night in the churches of Pisa

Every Wednesday, from 9 to 11 pm, four of the most beautiful churches of the city will be open at night: Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, San Sisto, San Pietro in Vinculis and Santa Cristina.

Celebrating the patron saint: Saint Ranieri

On the night of June 16, the Luminara along the river Arno, and the day after, June 17, the Palio di San Ranieri, (the Historical Regatta of San Ranieri): four boats, each representing one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods — Santa Maria, San Francesco, San Martino and Sant’Antonio — go head-to-head on the waters of the river Arno in a boat race, a legacy of the tradition of the Maritime Republic of Pisa.

(Photos of Frankekko)

Women of Italy

Palazzo Blu hosts the exhibition “Women of Italy. Half the Unity” untill June 26 (free admission). The exhibition, set up for the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, tells the story of the country as seen through the eyes and vicissitudes of its most representative women. Open until 10 pm (Saturday and Sunday until 11 pm).

Piazza dei Miracoli

From June 17, night opening of the Leaning Tower and the Monumental Cemetery in the Piazza dei Miracoli.

(Photo by Tomcraft2xlc)

In the afternoon of Saturday, June 4, 11 and 18, there will be a guided tour of the Piazza entitled “Art and History of a great Maritime Republic”.  Further information: Tel. 050 822207, www.pisaguide.com

Guided Tours

An opportunity to visit Pisa on foot:

• Walking in Pisa (Monday, Thursday and Saturday, 10.45 am).
• The tour of Pisa by night on Friday evening. (Tel. +39 320 9154975)
• The Galilean Tour, every Saturday morning, an exciting walk around Galileo Galilei’s hometown will illustrate the human story and great discoveries of the founder of modern science. (Tel. +39 050 822207)
• Water paths: a journey amid sources and springs. Three itineraries, three days to walk along the water paths from the mountains to the city. (Tel. +39 320 9154975),

The flavours of Giugno Pisano

A chance to discover recipes and typical products of the true Pisan cuisine, thanks to a special menu “Giugno Pisano”, available from Monday to Thursday in 14 restaurants in Pisa and surroundings.

The Arno River

The river Arno is the second protagonist of the Giugno Pisano with Argini e Margini, a restaurant and wine bar along the river bank, with its menu of drinks and good music.  (My favourite place in Pisa! See our evenings at Argini e Margini)

Cruises on the Arno offer visitors an unusual view of Pisa (June 2, 5, 10, 19 and 29 at 9.30 pm). For information +39 050 530101 – visitesr@tin.it

The Tyrrhenian Sea

Starting from June 2 (every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 pm), the bathing establishments of Marina di Pisa, Tirrenia and Calambrone will offer the most agreeable, amusing and intriguing entertainment with a series of evenings entitled Il mare nel bicchiere (The sea in a glass).

(Photo by domestictimes)

The Giugno Pisano 2011 will be a special month in the province of Pisa too.

• From June 3 (every Wednesday) the thermal baths Casciana Terme will be open at night
• Saturday, June 4, urban trekking  “Gust’arte” in Pontedera.
• Saturday, June 11, opening of the Museum of  the Arts and Crafts of Tuscany in Castelnuovo Val di Cecina.
• Saturday, June 18, a concert in the beautiful monumental Certosa of Calci.
• Saturday, June 18, the Notte Bianca in Pontedera.
• Saturday, June 25, the Notte Rossa in Volterra

You might also like to read…

• Low cost wine tours near Pisa
• Some summer events in Pisa
• Pisa awaits il Gioco del Ponte
• Pisa is getting ready
• I love Pisa in June

The Gioco del Ponte 2010 will be next Saturday (June 26).  Literally “the game of the bridge”, it is a real “battle” on the bridge which divides the center in two halves: Ponte di Mezzo. There are two equally important parts to this event: the parade in period costume and the “battle” itself.

The historical pageant is really, really impressive. It is supposed to reproduce a military parade so an “army” of over 300 people in historical costumes parades through the center. It’s well worth a daytrip to Pisa if you are in the area. This year the parade will start later than usual at 7:30 pm.

The game starts at 9pm. 12 teams representing each of quartieri (neighbourhoods) of the city are joined in two larger teams: Tramontana, made up of the quartieri on the north side of the river Arno (Santa Maria, San Francesco, San Michele, Mattaccini, Claci and Satiri) and Mezzogiorno (Sant’Antonio, San Martino, San Marco, Leoni, Dragoni, Delfini) from the southern side of the city. Before the actual “battle”, the different teams parade on their own side of the river. A third parade is that of the 81 judges. After this display, the “battle” begins and the teams made up of really large men challenge each other by trying to push a very heavy cart onto each other’s side of the bridge using only the backs of their necks. It’s quite impressive.

This year, there will also be two large TV screens (one in Piazza della Berlina and one in front of Palazzo Blu) to allow more people to see what is going on on the bridge without the usual crowds on the Lungarno. A hot air baloon above Ponte di Mezzo will light up the river in the area where the game takes place with the colours of the team who is winning.

The cart was installed on Ponte di Mezzo yesterday. Everybody was working hard to have everything ready for tomorrow, because this year, Pisa has decided to go back to the old traditions and have a “veglia” as well. The city will be awaiting her big day with a party on the river banks at Scalo dei Renaioli, Lungarno Galilei, on the day before the event (that’s what “veglia” means in Italian),

Friday June 25. Slow Food and Argini e Margini offer a selection of local products of the Pisa province and the entrance fee is 17 euros.

Exciting novelties, although I am not so sure whether having the game so late in the evening is a good idea or if some of the people who would have come from outside the city by public transportation will come anyway this year. We will see! In the meanwhile… Forza Mezzogiorno!!!!

Interesting resources on Gioco del Ponte:

• Gioco del Ponte, Pisa – from the official Pisa tourism website.
• A video of Gioco del Ponte.

The street vendors are putting up their stalls for the market in the streets of the center; sandwich trucks are preparing their display of focacce, sweets, sugar candies shaped as fruit, and of course the most prominent sign of a festive day about to break out: the unfailing presence of full-size porchette!

Almost every bar opened later than usual this morning and by 3pm had already installed a draught beer system outside their door to serve drinks to the hundreds of people who, in a few hours, will fill the Lungarni and the streets of the center.

The city is alive and ready to celebrate the two most important days of the year: La Luminara and San Ranieri, the city’s Patron Saint’s Day.

It’s funny how you can feel the city getting ready. You can even smell it. I was walking to work this morning and I wandered through some minor streets in between the old buildings of the city. I was suddenly hit by a strong smell of soffritto and suddenly remembered the atmosphere of the many mornings before the various Luminare that I saw when I was a student. We would go to class or study until lunchtime and then we would all be on holiday. I used to live with 3 other students and our apartment, a large, old apartment near Pisa’s high street, was the gathering place for all our friends. We would have a dinner party before going out to the Lungarni and mix with the crowds before the fireworks.

The night itself was fun, but it is what Pisa becomes late at night that I will never forget. After the fireworks we would go from pub to pub; we would dance in the streets and squares where concerts had been organized (I saw one of my first Bandabardò concerts at La Sapienza, the faculty of Law, on June 16th 1995!); we would wait for the crowds to leave the city to have the Lungarni all to ourselves. The city is wonderful around 2am, when the breeze is cool, the streets are emptying out and the flames in the glass lumini are still quivering  before the candles go out. It is the memory of those first Luminare which makes the wait for any new one an exciting time.

This year, the rain threatened the “festa”, but after two dreadful days of bad weather, the sun is finally out and the people who light the candles have already been at work for a few hours. They place the “lumini” in the candle holders on the white frames on the facades of the building and called “biancheria“.  105,000 candles will be lit tonight and people will be invited to vote to choose the most beautiful building of the Lungarno. I think Palazzo Blu will win this year: they have stunning Egyptian-style decorations to celebrate the current exhibition on Rosellini’s expedition to Egypt.

Tonight the museums will be opened at night: guided tours will be given of Palazzo Reale. The fireworks will be launched from two spots tonight: from the Tower of the Cittadella as always, and from Le Piagge. Among the interesting events organized, I find the exhibition organized by the retirement home on the Lungarno and dedicated to Keith Haring very interesting. I saw the nurses prepare everything while walking back home: it’s great to think that the elderly people who live there have taken an interest in the event and have come up with such a lovely idea.

The boat with the pole that marks the finishing line of the Regatta of San Ranieri is already in place, ready for tomorrow.

I know that lovely Kathy McCabe Editor of the Dream of Italy Travel Newsletter will be in Pisa for the Luminara tonight: I hope she will enjoy her stay and that she will write a great report of her night out in the city when she gets back!

June is definitely the best month to be in town. Pisa celebrates its “Giugno Pisano” with a number of events, including the major ones: La Luminara on June 16th, Palio di San Ranieri on June 17th and Gioco del Ponte on the last weekend of the month. All around these three major dates, the city organizes a number of minor events which are just as interesting.

Photo by Fabiogis50

The official program is only available in Italian, and it can be downloaded in pdf format here. Of all the things organized, I recommend you…

• …go for an aperitivo to the two little bars opened for the occasion right on the riverbanks along the Arno: Argini and Margini and Arno Vivo. The former organizes live jazz concerts every Friday and Saturday night. Last year they served fish and chips too! The latter is more “disco-oriented”!
• …take advantage of “Degustando Pisa” (literally, tasting Pisa) and try local products in the restaurants which participate in the event.
• …visit the churches of Pisa at night. Every Thursday in June (3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th) some churches are open to the public at night. We stumbled upon the Church of San Pietro in Vinculis the other night and it took my breath away! I had never visited the church of “San Pierino” as it’s called by the locals, because it was closed for a long time. It is incredible. And at night, lit for the occasion, it was really, really beautiful. I had no idea. Next Thursday I want to go to the other churches opened at night: the Church of San Martino, the Church of Santa Cristina (where St. Catherine of Siena received the stigmata), and the Church of San Sepolcro (a church built by the Templars in a very unusual and mysterious hexagonal shape).

• …visit the gardens of Pisa on Saturday 5th or 12th with the Associazione Arcadia. The meeting point is Piazzetta del Rosso at 5 p.m. The tour lasts 3 hours.
• …go on a free tour of the churches of the city organized by the tourist guide association of Pisa on Thursday June 10th and 24th. Starting at 9 pm.
• …knit under the Leaning Tower! Celebrate World Knitting Day with the local association! Knitting meeting on Saturday June 13th, from 5:30pm to 8:30 pm in Piazza dei Miracoli!
• …vote for the most beautifully decorated building on the Lungarno on the day of the Luminara and of course, enjoy the fire-works! On June 16th, from 9pm.
• …see the parade and the regatta of the Palio di San Ranieri on June 17th at 7 pm.
• …take a boat tour of the city on the river Arno and see the exhibition dedicated to the expedition to Egypt of the local archaeologist Rosellini. Meeting point: Piazza San Paolo a Ripa d’Arno at 10 a.m. on June 19th, boat tour and visit of the exhibition at Palazzo Blu.
• …travel back in time participating at the “Gran Ballo Risorgimentale” at Giardino Scotto on June 19th at 6:30 pm. You could meet your prince charming!!!
• …enjoy the concert of the University Choir at the Church of Santo Stefano on June 19th at 9:15 pm.
• …enjoy the “operetta” in the medieval heart of the city: Follie di Operette in Piazza S. Omobono, at 10 pm. on Sunday June 20th.
• …wait for the Gioco del Ponte with the locals on Friday 25th at Argini and Margini, from 6 pm to midnight. The dinner will be made with local organic products.
• …see the parade in historical costumes and the Gioco del Ponte on Ponte di Mezzo, Saturday 26th from 5 pm.
• …see a concert at the beautiful Basilica di San Piero a Grado or in the courtyard of the Church of San Francesco at 9pm on June 26th.
• …see a cross-bow competition in Piazza dei Cavalieri, on Sunday 27th at 6pm.
• …take advantage of the inauguration of the recently renovated Logge dei Banchi to actually enter them (they are part of city hall and it is generally not possible to visit the rooms above the Logge). Palazzo Gambacorti at 6pm, on June 30th. And then participate in the party organized under the Logge!

And don’t forget to walk around the center after dark: Pisa is really, really pretty at night!

June is a very special month in Pisa. It’s certainly the best time of the year to be in the city, because all the major events are concentrated in this month.

Il Giugno Pisano, literally the Pisan June, is the name given to the program of the events organized in the city.

The most important dates

• June 2nd, 2009: Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics
  In the Middle Ages, Pisa was one of the 4 powerful Maritime Republics together with Amalfi, Genoa and Venice. They essentially controlled trade in the Mediterranean and were rich cities. The Regatta commemorated those prosperous times. Pisa hosts the regatta every four years. This year it’s on June 2nd. The Pisan boat is now exhibited outside the Town Hall by the Ponte di Mezzo bridge, and it’s red with an eagle on the front. Amalfi’s boat is blue with a winged horse, the Venetian boat is green with a lion and Genoa’s boat is white with a winged dragon. The Regatta is preceded by a parade in period costumes with 320 actors, 80 for each city, who reenact the major characters and events of the past of the Maritime Republic. The main character for the city of Pisa is Kinzica de’ Sismondi, a girl who’s believed to have saved the city from the Saracen invasion.
• June 16th: La Luminara di San Ranieri
  This is the most spectacular festival in Pisa. The night before the Patron Saint’s Day, the buildings of the Lungarni, the streets that run along the river Arno, are decorated with thousands of candles placed in the so-called “biancheria” (literally “linen”), wooden candle holders painted white and shaped like the windows and doors of the buildings onto which they are hung. More candles float on the river. All street lights are turned off. At 11 pm there are fireworks, and after that the crowds spread out to join in the street parties scattered throughout the center. The center late at night, when the Lungarni are finally empty, is really magic and romantic. Don’t forget to pick a card to vote the most beautiful building on the Lungarno. They are distributed at the Logge de’ Banchi
• June 17th: San Ranieri
  Saint Ranieri is the Patron Saint of the city. To honour the saint the 4 historical quarters of Pisa compete in the Historical Regatta of Saint Ranieri. Each quarter has a special colour: San Martino is red, Sant’Antonio is green, Santa Maria is blue and San Francesco is yellow. The four boats cover 1500m from the railway bridge to the Palazzo Medici. When they get there, a chosen member of the crew has to climb a 10 m high mast and grab the victory banner. The crew that gets the banner first wins. This is meant to commemorate the battle of Lepanto when the crew of the Knights of Santo Stefano managed to board a Turkish ship and take the flag waving on its mast, which is still on display in the Church of Santo Stefano in Piazza dei Cavalieri and has been recently restored. At 9:30 pm there is a concert in Piazza degli Ospedalinghi at the Santa Chiara hospital.
• Last Sunday in June, (June 27th, 2009): Gioco del Ponte.
  Literally “the game of the bridge”, il Gioco del Ponte is a real “battle” on the bridge which divides the center in two halves: Ponte di Mezzo. First an “army” of over 700 people in historical costumes parades through the center. 12 teams joined in two larger teams corresponding to the two halves of the cities are opposed in the “battle”: the quarters of the northern side of the city, Tramontana (Santa Maria, San Francesco, San Michele, Mattaccini, Claci and Satiri) and the southern side of the city, Mezzogiorno (Sant’Antonio, San Martino, San Marco, Leoni, Dragoni, Delfini). Before the actual “battle”, the different teams parade on their own side of the river. A third parade is that of the 81 judges. After this show, the “battle” begins and the teams made up of really large men challenge each other by trying to push a very heavy cart into each other’s side of the bridge using only the backs of their necks. In the morning at 10 am, Piazza San Paolo a Ripa d’Arno, boat tour along the river Arno with a guide presenting the various historical buildings of the Lungarni. At 9:30 pm, Jazz Concert in Piazza Donati.

Some other events of the Giugno Pisano

• June 1st, 2009 – Vintage car parade on the Lungarni (5 pm) followed by a concert and the presentation of the Pisan Crew (Scalo dei Renaioli, 6 pm). At 10 pm, “La Notte Nera” (the dark night), astronomical observations on Ponte di Mezzo.
• June 5th to the 7th, Antique market at the Abbey of San Zeno.
• June 6th, 2009 – Football match: Italy vs. Northern Ireland.
• June 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th, “Giardini sogni e magie“, the gardens of the center of Pisa. Itineraries (5:30 – 8 pm).
• June 7th, Concert Pages of Sacred and Contemporary Polyphony, Chiesa di S. Torpè (Largo del Parlascio, 20, 9 pm)
• June 12th – 14th, Festa del Gioco Intelligente (Festival of Intelligent Games, Palazzo Gambacorti)
• June 12th, Concert featuring Bach’s and Handel’s Arias (Church of San Nicola, 9:15 pm).
• June 13th, 2009 – World Wide Knitting in Public Day. From 5 pm to 8:30 pm, Piazza Donati 7 organized by Knittable. Check their website for the other appointments in June. Jazz Concert in Piazza Donati at 9:30 pm.
• June 19th, Bazeel Summer Salsa Night, Piazza Garibaldi, 8 pm – 12 am.
• June 20th, Lirica sotto le stelle, Giacomo Puccini’s “Boheme”, Giardino Scotto, 9 pm. Jazz Concert at 9:30 pm in Piazza Donati.
• June 25th, inauguration of the exhibit “Vele e Barche, Volti e Storie di Mare, Pisa: Città di mare, del sapere e del saper fare”, dedicated to the seamanship tradition of the city, Via Darsena 3, 6 pm.

Some useful sites on Pisa and the Giugno Pisano

• Behind the Tower
• Anno Galileiano
• Giugno Pisano
• Pisa Informa
• Pisa Visitor Information Center