June festivals (part 4)
Today we’ll be concluding our look at some of the June festivals that one can hope to visit while on a holiday during the following month, and we’ll be stopping by in Italy first.
Regatta of St. Ranieri – Pisa, Italy
Well-known for its own unique tourist attraction, the city of Pisa also plays host to a small boat race, a tradition that dates from the 1290s.
Four differently colored narrow rowboats – representing the city’s four districts race to the finishing line which is a boat anchored at Palazzo Medici.
The interesting thing about this race is that each boat includes a climber, once the boats reach the ‘finishing line’ each of the climbers must scale one of four cables to reach the top of the boat’s 10m mast and grab a paliotto – triangular silk banner.
This festival takes place on the 17th of June so if you’re in or around Pisa that time – maybe you employ some car hire services to visit the region – give this event a look.
Batalla del Vino – Biliblio, Haro, La Rioja, Spain
For those of you who are not introduced into the secret arts of the Spanish language, ‘Batalla del Vino’ translates to something like ‘Battle of the Wine’, yes you read that right.
On St. Pedro’s Day in Haro, thousands of locals hit the streets wielding water pistols loaded with wine – yes that’s right – while the more ambitious use pump-action supersoakers and the traditionalist – and some might say masochists – go for the gourds, buckets, bottles and, for some reason, old boots.
The whole thing lasts for three hours and it commemorates a medieval dispute over property with neighboring Miranda de Ebro which dates back three hundred years. The local council not only isn’t opposed to their town turning crimson for a while but they provide four liters of really bad wine to those taking part in the drenching, even though many bring extra ‘ammo’ for the supermarket.
This concludes our look at June festivals, keep in mind that this has not been by any stretch of the imaginary a comprehensive list, but it gives you a couple of ideas on what you can see and where you can see it.
