Historical pics
The Giraglia is truly a classic event. As legend has it, the race was created on an evening in December 1952 when Beppe Croce, President of Yacht Club Italiano, René Levainville, President of Yacht Club de France, and Franco Gavagnin were enjoying a long dinner in a Parisian bistro. They envisioned the race from Saint-Tropez to Genoa as a challenge between yachts that could also be seen as a challenge between Italy and France that would favour relations after the Second World War.
For the first edition of the Giraglia Cup in 1953 there were twenty-two boats at the start. The number of participants grew steadily and in 1997 the event changed its name with the arrival of an important sponsor to become the Rolex Giraglia Cup. In 1998 the Yacht Club de France began organizing three days of races in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez before passing this part of the event to the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez in 2002. From 2018 the regatta has changed its name further, becoming the Rolex Giraglia.
In the 2024, for the first time, Loro Piana will be the title partner, solidifying the Maison’s commitment to the world’s most prestigious sports events, sharing values such as tradition, fair play, and love for nature.
Today, the Giraglia has exceeded its founder’s expectations to become a must-do event that attracts hundreds of crews, both amateur and professional, and all kinds of yachts from all around the world. Serious competition on the water is followed by serious fun in the evening, thanks to the event’s title sponsor. It’s a sporting event that is truly a blend of passion, competition, fair play, glamour and “joie de vivre”.