The Regatta's historical procession in 2008

The Historical Regatta (Italian Regata Storica) is a sporting event which takes place along the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, on the first Sunday of each September. It begins with a procession which is a historical re-enactment, and this is followed by a regatta which includes a variety of competitive races.

History

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Rowing different kinds of boats has always been essential in the Venetian Lagoon, both for business and for recreation. Speed and endurance challenges soon arose, and rules to regulate them.[1]

It is uncertain when the regatta tradition began. Scholars have suggested that one origin was in the year 942 when an event occurred with similarities to the rape of the Sabine women. During a festival, pirates kidnapped young Venetian women, but they were pursued by men who rowed fast enough to free the kidnapped girls. This episode is claimed to have given rise to the Festa delle Marie and its regatta.[1]

The term "regatta" first appeared in 1274, in a note in an anonymous codex which reads "Splendor magnificissime Urbis Venetorum, 1274, die 16 septembris, indicta regatta cum navigiis habentibus remos viginti" (The most magnificent splendour of the City of Venice, on the 16th of September 1274, a regatta was announced with boats having twenty oars). In 1315, the Venetian Senate issued rules for the annual Marian regatta.[1]

The earliest surviving image of a boat race in the city dates from 1500, when a view of Venice by Jacopo de' Barbari depicts a race between fours in the stretch between the Venice Lido and Saint Mark's Square.[1]

The regattas took place in the open lagoon, only exceptionally along the Grand Canal. In the 15th and 16th centuries they were organized by the Compagnie della Calza, until 1631, when the Council of Ten gave the State the task, but granting licenses to people who would have to bear the costs. From 1687 the grants were to patrician families and craft guilds.[1]

Another festival of great importance was the Festa della Sensa, taking place on Ascension Day, which included a parade of boats led by the Bucentaur and the rite of the Marriage of the Sea, a symbol of the dominion of Venice.[2]

From 1670, leaflets were published to report on the regattas and their outcomes. The champions were above all the professional boatmen and gondoliers.[1]

After the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797, the city was ruled by the French, but some regattas went on, although genererally fewer. In 1797, the French organized two regattas, one on 14 July and another on 18 September for a visit by Josephine Beauharnais, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was then still a general. In 1807, a further regatta took place in honour of a visit by Napoleon himself, now Emperor of the French.[1]

After the Congress of Vienna of 1815, the city came into the Austrian Empire, and a regatta was organized in honour of the Emperor Francis II. The tradition of regattas slowly regained strength, and in 1841 regulations were made for the holding of an annual regatta along the Grand Canal, at public expense, with a new limit on the number of boats taking part in races, either seven or nine. It was also ordered that the gondolas were all be of the same pattern and would be supplied by the city. In 1843, racing colours were introduced to identify crews.[1]

The annual regattas came to an end again in 1848, when there was an insurrection against the Austrians, and did not resume until 1866, when Venice became part of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1875 the number of boats in a race was finally fixed at nine, and in 1892 a colour scheme for the boats was laid down which is still in use. From 1866, the colour of the flags awarded as prizes also changed: previously they were red for the winning boat, green for second, light blue for third, and yellow for fourth. Red remained the winning colour, but in honour of the Italian flag white second became white and third green; blue for fourth represented the new royal family, the House of Savoy.[1]

The name of Regata Storica was introduced in 1899, as proposed by the mayor at that time, Filippo Grimani, who included the regatta in the events of the third Venice Biennale. In that same year, the opening with a historical procession also began, including boats built from studying old paintings and prints.[1]

During the twenty years of Fascist rule, the organization of the regattas gradually became exclusive to the Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro. In 1925, but only that year, the Historical Regatta was called the "Fascist Regatta", and gondolas replaced gondolins. From 1928, participants in the races were required to be members of national unions or other fascist or military organizations.[1]

The invasion of Poland by Germany on 1 September 1939 led to the cancellation of the Regatta scheduled for the following day. The official Regatta was suspended for the whole of the Second World War, but in 1942 a regatta was organized by the film company Sol, as part of the poduction of a film called Canal Grande.[1]

In 1946 the annual Historical Regatta was relaunched, and for that year was called the Liberation Regatta.[1]

It was only after the Second World War that the historical procession began to be associated with the re-enactment of the arrival in Venice of Catherine Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, who in 1489 was forced to abdicate her throne in exchange for an annuity and the lordship of Asolo, allowing the island to become part of the possessions of Venice.[1]

The Regata has taken place in every year since 1946, mainly along the Grand Canal.[1]

With effect from the Regatta of September 2021, the prize money awarded to men amd women became the same, ending a long controversy.[3]

The procession

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The procession is made up of dozens of typical Venetian rowing boats, including the bissone which are used only on this type of occasion, with rowers and figures in period costume, including the Doge and Caterina Cornaro. The boats parade in a procession that starts from the San Marco Basin and runs along the entire Grand Canal up to the Constitution Bridge , and then retraces its journey back to the arrival point of the rowing races, the Machina , a floating stage built of in front of Ca' Foscari , amidst the applause of Venetians and tourists, who watch the show from the banks and from the private homes that overlook the route of the procession.

The races

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The boat races follow the historical procession. The successive races are

  1. The regata de le maciarelefor children under thirteen and for children under fifteen
  2. the races for smaller children with two- oared pupparini
  3. the women's races on two-oared mascarete
  4. the bisse races on Lake Garda
  5. the six-oared caorline regatta
  6. the regatta of champions on two-oared gondolins .

Nine crews participate in each regatta plus one reserve crew, ready to take over at the start in the event of a last minute cancellation , with the exception of the Caorline regatta for which there is no reserve crew. The regatta regulations provide, for all categories, for the boats to start from a point in the San Marco Basin , lined up and blocked until the start by a cord tied to the stern of the boats called a spagheto . After the start, the crews face the delicate and fundamental entrance into the Grand Canal, which they follow until reaching the turning point or the category marker (each of which carries out a more or less long stretch in the Grand Canal, which varies for each type category). In the case of the gondolin regatta, the pole is placed at the height of the Constitution Bridge , so the route covers practically the entire Grand Canal. From this point the same stretch of Canal Grande is retraced until the finish line, set for all categories at Ca' Foscari, at the machina stage . On this stage, once the possible (and frequent) complaints of mutual misconduct between the rowers have been entrusted to the jury, they are celebrated and rewarded by the authorities.

The first four crews classified receive, in addition to cash prizes, the traditional and symbolic flags. The first ones are assigned the red flags, followed by the white, green and blue ones. Until 2002 the tradition was that the fourth place in the regatta of champions was also given a live pig, paraded aboard a boat in the previous historical procession. Welcoming the protests of animal rights activists , the prize has since been replaced by a glass pig made by the Promovetro Consortium of Murano .

The colors of the racing boats The boats used for the regatta are distinguished not only by a number but also by hulls entirely painted in different colours, which in ancient times distinguished the various areas of Venice and the lagoon. The number also identifies the position that the boat must hold in the alignment at the start and is assigned to each crew by drawing lots. The reserve vessel is distinguished by a two-tone red and green hull and the letter "R" (for "reserve") in place of the number. The combination between number and color of the vessel is fixed, according to the following table [3] :

The winners are considered champions of the city and are held in the highest regard.


Arthur Francis Nicholas Wills Hill, 9th Marquess of Downshire (born 4 February 1959), is a British peer in the peerage of Ireland and landowner in Yorkshire.

Early life

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Clifton Castle

Downshire was born in 1959, the son of Robin Hill, 8th Marquess of Downshire.[4] About 1970, his father bought the Clifton Castle estate, near Masham in North Yorkshire, which became the family's main home.[5]

The young Hill studied farm management at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, gaining a diploma in Advanced Farm Management, and went on to qualify as a chartered accountant.[6]

He was styled as Earl of Hillsborough after his father succeeded as Marquess of Downshire in 1989.[4]

Career

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Hill was with Touche Ross from 1981 to 1987[4] and spent some twenty years working in finance and venture capital in London. In 2001, he returned to Masham to take over from his father the management of the Clifton and Jervaulx estates.[6] In 2003 he succeeded his father as Marquess of Downshire and inherited the estates.[4]

In May 2011, Downshire launched an annual Northern grassland event at Clifton Castle Farms. He was then making 3,000 tonnes of silage a year.[7] In 2014 he was farming some 700 acres of the Clifton Castle estate in hand. Some 250 acres were arable, growing mainly wheat, barley and oats. He had by then given up on a large dairying operation, which had proved to need too much new investment, but had diversified by creating biomass boilers and a hydro-electric power scheme. As well as quarrying and forestry interests, and ten tenanted farms on the two estates, Downshire also owned the Blue Lion pub at East Witton, named as "best dining inn" in the Good Pub Guide for 2014.[6]

In March 2014 Downshire became chairman of the Country Landowners' Association in Yorkshire and also joined the policy committee of the national organization. He commented to The Yorkshire Post "Estate owning is a long-term business, and any decision I make is trying to look fifty years forward, rather than a few months."[6]

He has been a member of the board of the Moorland Association since it was formed in 2014 and was its Chairman for three years.[8] In 2018 he became a member of the Council of the Duchy of Lancaster[9] and was still a member in 2023.[10]

In 2023, a new boutique guest house called Arthur's was opened in Hillsborough, in honour of Downshire.[11]

Personal life

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Downshire married Diana Jane Bunting, daughter of Gerald Leeson Bunting, a solicitor, of Otterington House, Northallerton, and they have four children:[4]

  • Lady Isabella Diana Juliet Hill (born 1991)
  • Lady Beatrice Hannah Georgina Hill (born 1994), married name Lady Georgina Anderson, a chef in Harrogate[12]
  • Edmund Robin Arthur Hill, Earl of Hillsborough (born 1996)
  • Lady Claudia Lucy Helena Hill (born 1998)

The family lives mostly at Clifton Castle.[6]

In 2013, Downshire inherited another peerage, that of Baron Sandys, from a distant cousin.[9]

In June 2022 the Downshires opened the grounds of the castle as part of the National Garden Scheme in Wensleydale.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Giorgio and Maurizio Crovato, Regate e regatanti: Storia e storie della voga a Venezia (Marsilio Editore, 2004), ISBN 978-88-317-8528-0 (in Italian)
  2. ^ Samuele Romanin, Storia documentata di Venezia, vol. 1 (Venice: Pietro Naratovich, 1860), pp. 36–40
  3. ^ "Regata Storica di Venezia: per la prima volta uguali donne e uomini", lavocedivenezia.it, 1 September 2021, accessed 16 October 2023
  4. ^ a b c d e "Marquess of Downshire" in Debrett's Peerage (Debrett's, 2019), pp. 2398–2402
  5. ^ "The Marquess of Downshire", The Daily Telegraph, 25 February 2004, accessed 13 February 2023 (subscription required)
  6. ^ a b c d e Chris Berry, "Influence from high places to bang the rural drum", The Yorkshire Post, 2 August 2014, accessed 13 February 2023
  7. ^ "Promising oat crop defies dry spring", The Northern Echo, 23 August 2011, accessed 7 August 2023
  8. ^ "Who's Who", moorlandassociation.org, accessed 7 August 2023
  9. ^ a b "Downshire, 9th Marquess of, (Arthur Francis Nicholas Wills Hill) (born 4 Feb. 1959) company director and landowner" in Who's Who online edition, accessed 13 February 2023 (subscription required)
  10. ^ "The Duchy Council", duchyoflancaster.co.uk, accessed 7 August 2023
  11. ^ Niamh Campbell,,"New boutique guest house with Marquess of Downshire theme opens in Hillsborough", Belfast Telegraph, 2 February 2023
  12. ^ Annabel Sampson, "Why Harrogate is the chic capital of the north", Tatler, 31 March 2021, accessed 13 February 2023
  13. ^ Grace Newton, "Clifton Castle: Privately owned stately home in the Yorkshire Dales to open its gardens to the public this weekend", The Yorkshire Post, 10 June 2022, accessed 13 February 2023
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Marquess of Downshire
2003–present
Incumbent
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Sandys
2013–present
Incumbent
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen Succeeded by



Category:1959 births Category:Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University Category:Living people Category:Hill family|Nicholas Category:British accountants Category:21st-century British landowners Category:Marquesses of Downshire


1989 WCC election

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Pewsey and Enford

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Pewsey and Enford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative M. Carson 1,385
Liberal Democrats J. E. H. Church 837
Labour S. J. Buxton 390
Majority 548
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

Pewsham

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Pewsham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Gorton Green 998
Liberal Democrats Reuben Cook Hayward 497
Green Edward Barham 199
Labour John McKellor Reid 89
Majority 501
Conservative hold Swing

Potterne

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Potterne
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative E. R. Breach 1,176
Labour G. S. Evans 572
Majority 604
Conservative hold Swing

Purton

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Purton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Esme Maureen Smith 1,268
Labour Brian Cooke 319
Majority 949
Conservative hold Swing

Salisbury Bemerton

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Salisbury Bemerton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Richard Terance Rogers 795
Liberal Democrats E. M. Grant 684
Conservative P. M. Roche 493
Green R. Perry 80
Majority 111
Labour hold Swing

Salisbury Harnham

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Salisbury Harnham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats G. S. Condliffe 1,275
Conservative G. C. Jones 1,173
Labour H. M. S. Bullman 211
Majority 102
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Salisbury St Mark

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Salisbury St Mark
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Frederick Chalke 1,544
Liberal Democrats D. J. Howells 1,036
Labour S. M. Constant 204
Majority 508
Conservative hold Swing

Salisbury St Martin

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Salisbury St Martin
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative P. V. H. Paisey 701
Labour M. K. D. Mottram 358
Independent J. Burden 310
Liberal Democrats D. H. Gammon 300
SDP P. N. Bunce 102
Green S. J. Fyfe 82
Majority 343
Conservative hold Swing

Salisbury St Paul

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Salisbury St Paul
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent T. C. Cowie 905
Conservative G. C. Tudhope 573
Labour M. F. Sheehan 508
Liberal Democrats J. P. Abbott 296
Majority 332
Independent hold Swing

Shrewton

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Shrewton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative S. F. Ryan 1,184
Liberal Democrats I. C. West 1,154
Labour G. White 134
Majority 30
Conservative hold Swing

Southwick

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Southwick
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Anthony Guy Phillips 867
Liberal Democrats Gordon Ian King 783
Labour N. Apps 319
Majority 84
Conservative hold Swing

Stratton St Margaret, Coleview and Nythe

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Stratton St Margaret, Coleview and Nythe
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative M. B. Bawden 1,197
Labour Brian Victor Cockbill 935
Liberal Democrats B. A. Berry 382
Majority 262
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

Stratton St Margaret, St Margaret

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Stratton St Margaret, St Margaret
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Foley 880
Conservative F. W. Richards 764
Majority 116
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

Stratton St Margaret, St Philip

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Stratton St Margaret, St Philip
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Percival Lawrence Jefferies 1,738
Conservative R. B. W. Membry 465
Majority 1,273
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Central

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Swindon Central
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour S. A. Reiner 1,387
Conservative R. J. Mullins 304
Liberal Democrats R. W. Green 128
Green L. E. Haywood 112
Majority 1,083
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Eastcott

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Swindon Eastcott
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Stanley James Pajak 1,197
Labour N. P. Reilly 979
Conservative N. Hocking 582
Green H. M. Polak 163
Independent C. R. Gillard 73
Majority 218
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Swindon Eldene

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Swindon Eldene
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter C. Brown 857
Conservative W. R. Whitfield 280
Liberal Democrats A. Field 57
Majority 577
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Freshbrook

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Swindon Freshbrook
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Simon R. Cordon 1,160
Labour David. A. Oakensen 825
Conservative F. Troughton 593
Majority 335
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing

Swindon Gorsehill

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Swindon Gorsehill
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Arthur James Masters 1,672
Liberal Democrats D. J. Daly 388
Conservative A. F. Crowhurst 301
Green S. Thompson 133
Majority 1,284
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Lawns

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Swindon Lawns
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDP Wendy. E. Johnson 1,041
Conservative J. B. Savage 963
Majority 78
SDP gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

Swindon Liden

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Swindon Liden
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. E. D'Avila 764
Conservative L. E. Laytham 614
Liberal Democrats J. G. Turner 171
Majority 150
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Moredon

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Swindon Moredon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Valerie Jean Small 1,400
Conservative P. M. Harden 464
Majority 936
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Park North

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Swindon Park North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Arthur Harry Goring 863
Conservative R. J. Chadwick 179
Majority 684
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Park South

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Swindon Park South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jean Norris 808
Conservative S. J. Dickinson 145
Liberal Democrats E. M. O'Sullivan 89
Majority 663
Labour hold Swing

Swindon South

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Swindon South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Kenneth Savage 1,118
Labour Robert K. Brooks 362
Green J. V. Hughes 295
Liberal Democrats J. Keepin 116
Majority 756
Conservative hold Swing

Swindon Toothill

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Swindon Toothill
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alan J. Winmill 1,563
Conservative A. Mortel 1,220
Majority 343
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Walcot

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Swindon Walcot
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Roger D. Green 1,248 61.5%
Conservative D. Dungey 589 29.1%
Liberal Democrats Z. B. Sarnowski 191 9.4%
Majority 659
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Western

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Swindon Western
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kevin David Small 1,572
Conservative N. Coome 623
Liberal Democrats V. Lo 212
Majority 949
Labour hold Swing

Swindon Whitworth

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Swindon Whitworth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Ernest Glaholm 905
Liberal Democrats J. A. Thipthorpe 720
Conservative D. H. Day 145
Green H. R. Stredder 72
Majority 185
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

Tisbury

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Tisbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert John Baddeley 1,411
Independent David O. Parker 438
Labour M. D. Ayres 313
Green D. Davies 270
Majority 973
Conservative hold Swing

Trowbridge East

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Trowbridge East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats F. W. Stacey 1,250
Conservative N. D. Stafford 951
Labour R. M. Boniface 404
Majority 299
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Trowbridge South

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Trowbridge South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Grace Hill 1,223
Conservative G. H. Scobie 917
Labour D. G. Turley 581
Majority 306
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing

Trowbridge West

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Trowbridge West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats F. W. Tredrea 779
Conservative P. Ainley 501
Labour T. Pritchett 326
Majority 278
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Upper Wylye Valley

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Upper Wylye Valley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John William Finlay Robins 1,248
Liberal John Edward Syme 721
Labour R. J. Guy 265
Majority 527
Conservative hold Swing

Wanborough

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Wanborough
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Jane Lindsay Mactaggart 1,118
Conservative J. W. J. Legge 1,085
Labour C. P. Whiteway 568
Majority 33
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Warminster East

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Warminster East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dorothea Joan Main 1,093
Liberal Paul I. MacDonald 977
Majority 116
Conservative gain from Independent Swing

Warminster West

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Warminster West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal S. Dancey 1,014
Conservative W. D. Grey 944
Labour K. D. Dawson 289
Majority 70
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing

Westbury

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Westbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William F. Vivash 1,687
Conservative John Frederick Clegg 1,150
Majority 537
Labour hold Swing

Whorwellsdown

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Whorwellsdown
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gareth Roberts 1,432
Liberal Democrats S. M. Masters 908
Majority 524
Conservative hold Swing

Wilton

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Wilton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Marjorie Whitworth 1,071
Independent Timothy Ingle Abbott 321
Labour C. D. Engel 236
Majority 750
Independent hold Swing

Wootton Bassett North

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Wootton Bassett North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Eric Henry Hodges 812
Conservative Thomas Alan Scott 585
Labour Paula Anne Whitehead 79
Majority 227
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Wootton Bassett South

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Wootton Bassett South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roy Elderkin 1,183
Liberal Democrats Daphne Joyce Matthews 1,074
Labour Iris Bayton 171
Majority 109
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

Wroughton

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Wroughton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Aliette Cayley Phipps 1,318
Conservative I. M. Morton 899
Majority 419
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing