Palio delle Bisse

A colourful spectacle on the Lake

Traditional summer race between "bisse", Venetian-style boats which compete for the Bandiera del Lago (Flag of the Lake) prize.

Traditional summer race between "bisse", Venetian-style boats which compete for the Bandiera del Lago (Flag of the Lake) prize. Bisse are Venetian-style boats, 10.5 metres long and 65 centimetres wide. They weigh 110 kilos and have a flat bottom, like the boats used in the Veneto lagoon. There are four rowers in each boat who row alternately with one oar standing up like gondoliers. A colourful spectacle indeed.

Programme 2008

14 June Iseo
28 June Garda
5 July Gargnano
12 July Sirmione
19 July Desenzano del Garda
26 July Bardolino
2 August Peschiera del Garda
9 August Lazise - Feast for 40th

The first mention of a regatta on Lake Garda goes back to 1548 when there was a race at Salò in honour of Stefano Tiepolo, the "clarissimus provvisore", governor of Venice who ruled over Magnifica Patria (an area of the lake). Other sources remember how the winners had the honour of parading down the Grand Canal in Venice. However the tradition then stopped for a long time. There were a few attempts to revive it in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. Even Gabriele D'Annunzio was interested in bisse, offering dedications and trophies: one, by sculptor Colbertaldo, is of great artistic value and is kept in Lazise town hall. The real revival came in 1967 when the Lake Garda Bisse League was created.

Info: www.legabissedelgarda.org