Take a red felt-tip pen and mark these dates on your calendar: March 25th, June 16th, June 17th...

Do not worry, we are not going bananas. These are simply the dates of the most important Pisan folkloric events.

March 25th is Pisan New Year`s Day, an event that attracts many tourists in the town. Exactly at noon a ray of sun enters the Duomo and hits a marble egg above the pulpit by Giovanni Pisano. The first day of the Pisan year coincided with the day of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and was just some days after the beginning of spring (the equinox is between March 20th and 21st). Pisa abandoned its own calendar in 1749 by order of Grand Duke Francis Stephen of Lorraine.

On June 16th and 17th the whole town celebrates San Ranieri with a display of "lampanini" on the façades of the churches, the palaces, the towers and the villas of Pisa along the lungarni, and with the traditional Palio (for more information read the following two chapters of this tourist guide).

Last but not least, the Gioco del Ponte is held every year on the Saturday before the last Sunday of June, whereas the Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics takes place in Pisa every four years. The regatta involves four crews that represent the four ancient Maritime Republics of Amalfi, Genoa, Venice and, obviously, Pisa.

While you are planning your holidays in Tuscany consider that staying a couple weeks in a villa in Pisa along the River Arno you could enjoy these events from a privileged position!