Every year, Venetians reenact the welcome given to Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus and Armenia, who renounced her throne in favor of Venice in 1489. The Serenissima received her with a lavish parade of regal ships and boats. Even though the regatta up the Grand Canal is now inspired in that historical event, the oldest references to a similar water procession date back to the 13th century, when the most powerful maritime republic of the time celebrated the “Festa del Mare,” or “Sea Feast.”
