It is the most eagerly awaited moment of the year by the Pisans, the festival most felt by the entire city, the evening when Pisa puts on its best dress, a spectacular dress of lights that illuminate its lungarni. This is the Luminara di San Ranieri, which every 16 June evening lights up the city with no less than 100,000 wax candles, which are placed on wooden frames, called biancheria, that outline the architectural design of the palaces and churches along the Lungarni (riversides). And the river contributes to the evocative spectacle by reflecting the imaginative lighting on its water surface, enhancing the luminous effect of the whole.
From 3.00 p.m. onwards, specially selected employees will begin work, who will work alongside the personnel of the City Council and the appointed company, to start, one by one, the lighting of the 100,000 candles on the Lungarni, between the Ponte della Cittadella and the Ponte della Fortezza, until dusk, when the public and private artificial lighting will be turned off and the Lungarni will begin to immerse themselves in the magical evening of San Ranieri.
At 11.00 p.m., as tradition has it, the fireworks display is scheduled to begin on the Lungarni, with a series of spectacular fireworks, lasting about 30 minutes, fired from the floating platforms placed on the Arno.