News from Italy
The boats have invaded Venice, the city of dreams
Vita gazette – Thousands of boats worldwide invaded Venice for the “rowing festival”.
The Venetian event is linked to the world of rowing boats, which takes place annually in Venice along a route of 30 kilometres inside the lagoon. An event that fills the San Marco Basin with passion and colours from where, after the traditional cannon shot, we begin to row and paddle along a fascinating route.
The event, founded in 1975, once again this year attracted thousands of boats and crews from all over the world to the lagoon.
Venice without motor propellers but only with rowing boats today on the occasion of the 48th edition of Vogalonga, an event created to combat the waves, spread attention for the lagoon and revive Venetian traditions. Over 7,500 participants took to the water on a route of around 30 kilometres from the San Marco basin – the departure given by the classic cannon shot – and then along all the islands until returning to the Grand Canal and the arrival in front of the Salute church. A total of 2000 boats of all shapes and sizes paraded along the lagoon, rigorously rowed, with the participation of rowers from 29 nations, the one with the most significant number of members being Germany.
With over 1500 rowers, Germany was the most registered foreign nation, followed by France and Hungary. Australia and the United States were the non-European nations with the most participants. Among the Venetian rowing boats, representing approximately 10% of the total, there are also 15 foreign crews: 7 French, two from the USA and Germany, one from Great Britain, Croatia, Switzerland and Algeria.
The event kicked off this morning at 9 a.m. with the traditional cannon shot from the San Marco Basin. The route, which was approximately 30 kilometres long, included the passage through the Certosa, the Vignole, Sant’Erasmo, Burano, and Mazzorbo, Murano, to enter Venice in the Rio di Cannaregio and, after having travelled along the Grand Canal, cutting the finish line at Salute.
The city councillor delegated for the Protection of Traditions attended the awards ceremony with Antonio Rosa Salva and Massimo Zanotto of the organising committee and presented each participant with a medal and a certificate.
The city councillor delegated for the Protection of Traditions attended the awards ceremony with Antonio Rosa Salva and Massimo Zanotto of the organising committee, and presented each participant with a medal and a certificate.
This year, too, Vogalonga pays homage to Lino Toffolo with a prize wanted by the organising committee and the family of the great Murano artist to remember his irony, love for the city and traditions. The winning crew of this edition received a work by the multifaceted artist Bruno Luppi: a wooden composition that recalls the reflection of a forcola on water.
The proceeds from registrations for the event, which is supported by the Municipality of Venice and patronaged by CONI and the Rowing, Canoeing, and Kayaking Federations, will be donated to the world of rowing, except for a 20% share that will finance university research on the containment of wave motion.
The history of Vogalonga
The vogalonga tradition began in 1974 with a regatta between friends on mascarete on St. Martin’s Day, November 8th. It was a way to spend a day together among rowing enthusiasts, and from that time, it became a tradition that is still alive today more than ever. This non-competitive regatta, born from the love of a group of Venetians for rowing, continues to colour the canals of Venice and the surrounding lagoon even today.
The route traced for the first official edition of this regatta in 1975 was 30 km and extended between the most significant and picturesque places of the Venetian lagoon. The boats were gathered in the San Marco basin, in front of the Venetian symbol of the Doge’s Palace on the day of the Sensa Festival, the Ascension, with a total of 500 boats with 1500 participants. There were boats of all types, from the mascara to the gondola, from the Carolina to the scion, and there were not only Venetians but also crews from other neighbouring cities such as Chioggia, Caorle, Padua, Riva del Garda. Every year, vogalonga became more and more successful, attracting more and more people, reaching a peak of almost 6,000 competitors in 2007.
Today, vogalonga no longer takes place on the day of the Sensa Festival but on the Sunday following the Ascension.