This event, held under the patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, takes place every year on a day between the end of May and the beginning of July, and is hosted in rotation between these cities.

The regatta is preceded by a historical procession, during which parade through the streets of the city organizing some figures that play the role of ancient characters that characterized each republic.

The initiative was welcomed in a positive way especially by the lawyer Francesco Amodio, then mayor of Amalfi, who requested (and obtained) a meeting of representatives of the four cities involved to examine the proposal together.

On December 10 of the same year it was instead signed in Amalfi, in the Salone Morelli (the current Historical Museum of Palazzo San Benedetto, seat of the Town Hall), the constitutive act that sanctioned the creation of the Organizing Body of the Regatta.

The first edition took place in Pisa on July 1 of that year; among those present stood out in particular the President of the Republic Giovanni Gronchi and the Minister of Merchant Navy Gennaro Cassiani.

Each boat must be recognizable by the colors with which it is painted and by polene, or wooden sculptures (now also in fiberglass) placed on the bow that depict the animal symbol of each city, designed over the years Fifty from Professor Alvio Vaglini.

The winner of the Regata receives a trophy in gold and silver, made by the Florentine Goldsmith School, which represents a rowing galleon (like the one used for the race) supported by four hippocampus (mythology) below which the coats of arms of the four Maritime Republics appear.

The Pisan procession recalls some salient episodes in the history of the Alfea republic; among these, the feat of the heroine Kinzica de' Sismondi stands out, who in 1004 saved the city from a Saracen attack.

Also present are the various leaders who followed one another in the government of Pisa (the consuls, the podestà, the captain of the people), as well as the soldiers (on whose insignia appears the black eagle, symbol of the Empire), the sailors, the trumpeters and timpanists.

In Amalfi, on the occasion of the 66th Historical Regatta, Pisa paraded for the last time in the usual procession which focused the story on Kinzica De' Sismondi.

Starting with the next edition, held in Pisa in September 2022, the new costumes and fashion show made their debut, designed to enhance the entire historical arc of the Pisan Republic and all the figures that have come and gone over time.

Furthermore, the "banner of Saint Mark" is shown, donated to Venice in 1171 by Pope Alexander III to thank the city, which acted as a mediator between the Papacy, the Empire and the Municipalities.