Women and the Oar since 1913 – Photo Exhibition

The contribution of the Palio Marinaro Committee of Livorno to the 25th Edition of Effetto Venezia aims to focus on the relationship between women and rowing starting from a specific date: Wednesday, August 20, 1913. On that day, female crews of young ladies who frequented the bathing establishments of Livorno competed in a race among 4-oared boats with coxswain, achieving such success that the event was filmed and then projected on August 25 at the Cinema Centrale as part of the “Echoes of Sea Festivals”. Today, women’s passion for rowing has a tangible expression in some Nautical Clubs of Livorno that can field 4 and 10-oared crews in the various rowing races that take place in the summer, including the Palio. An excellence that makes Livorno one of the main squares in the Mediterranean for this sport.

The photo exhibition is curated by Mario Vallini, a former dockworker and now in charge of Communication on behalf of the Palio Marinaro Committee of Livorno. Passionate about the history of Livorno, he is also a respected music photographer who has been on the national scene for years. For some years, out of pure passion, he has been photographing and cataloging all the Rowing Races of the City of Livorno, and he has also cataloged and reorganized the historical archive of rowing races from 1926 to the post-war period left as a legacy to the Municipality by the late Carlo Braccini.