Even more of a pageant is the Regatta Storica delle Antiche Repubbliche Marinare (Historical Regatta),the mock battles in which four boats, each with eight oarsmen, represent the medieval maritime republics of Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice. The prize, held by the winner for a year, is a scale-model gold-and-silver replica of an antique sailing ship. Each of the former republics is represented by 80 participants; Amalfi's musical contingent is adorned in jewel-encrusted costumes on loan from the town museum -- doges, dogaressas, merchants, and commoners from the prosperous past come colorfully to life, with the day's festivities culminating in a show of fireworks. Held yearly on the first Sunday in June every four years, with the four cities alternating as the urban stage sets, the pageant is scheduled to be in Amalfi in 2009.
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