Forza Fezzano!

The race has been run and Fezzano won!

We’re delighted to report that the home teams have taken out the 2023 Palio del Golfo in both the women’s and men’s events.

The men’s victory was hard-won. Fezzano had led for most of the two-kilometre race, but with 300m to go, rival village Canaletto, drew ahead. The Fezzano crew pulled out ‘class and pride’ according to one post-race report, to re-take the lead and the glory, for the second successive year.

And we were so happy to be here this year to enjoy the celebrations!

The day's festivities kicked off early with a lunch for members of the Fezzano rowing club.

Flares and firecrackers were the order of the day.

Ready to cheer on the home teams.

Alas, strong winds cancelled the ferry service to La Spezia so we had to watch the very excellent live coverage from our aperitivo table at the Fezzano waterfront.

After the initial excitement of the victory, people began to gather to await the return of the gozzi.

The arrival of the boats is an important part of the celebration.

The Juniors' and Womens' boats are first to arrive.

And then the supporters start returning to town, too - motorbikes revving, horns blasting, people cheering. Great fun!

Fireworks greet the victorious men.

 

And then the all important 'Palio', the coveted winners' banner, is paraded through the crowd.

Fezzano's mayor was on hand to greet the victors. Roberto is here with the winning women. Champions!

There's a lot of local pride on show here and a great buzz around town.

Re-living the race, stroke by stroke.

Then the real partying starts and continues long into the night. And we were so fortunate to be here to enjoy it. Forza Fezzano!

And a couple of short video clips to give you a sense of the action.

The celebrations begin.

The party continues into the night.