Few regattas anywhere in the world offer a backdrop remotely comparable. Competitors race a compact 400-metre windward-leeward course along the Arno River through the historic heart of Florence, threading their boats beneath the medieval stone arches of the Ponte Vecchio with the Uffizi Gallery rising behind them. By almost any measure, it stands as one of the most extraordinary venues in classic sailing.
The seventh edition of the Coppa Ponte Vecchio concluded on 2 June 2026, organised jointly by the Viareggio Historic Sails Association (Vele Storiche Viareggio) and the Società Canottieri Firenze, a prestigious rowing club founded in 1886 on the southern bank of the Arno. Fleets depart from the club's riverside lawn and race in a compact "bastone" format, contending throughout with the light, unpredictable breezes that funnel through Florence's canyon of Renaissance stone and terracotta.
Entry is reserved exclusively for the Dinghy 12' class, a restriction that gives the event much of its distinctive character. Designed by George Cockshott in 1913, these 12-foot (3.66m) single-handed cat-rigged dinghies are among the most enduring small-boat designs in sailing history. The class remains active in Italy, where more than 200 registered helmsmen compete across over 100 regattas on the national calendar each year. The hulls assembled for the Coppa Ponte Vecchio range from carefully restored mahogany and teak classics to fibreglass vintage boats, many still fitted with traditional wooden spars and trim. Set against Florence's Renaissance skyline, they look precisely as they should.
Now held biennially, the regatta is a signature occasion for Vele Storiche Viareggio, a Tuscan association founded in 2005 and dedicated to preserving vintage and traditional yachts. The Coppa Ponte Vecchio has become one of its centrepiece events, drawing owners, sailors and spectators to the banks of the Arno for a day that blends competition, history and culture. The 2026 edition closed with a special conference on the America's Cup, presented by Francesca Lodigiani, Italy's most widely credentialled America's Cup journalist, with attention turning to the 38th edition scheduled for Naples in July 2027.
Giuseppe Olivi of Padua took victory in the seventh edition at the helm of Casmaran Duri i Banchi, with Titti Carmagnani's Forza & Coraggio finishing second and Nicolò Orsini Baroni's Gagà, built in 1986, rounding out the podium in third.
