Reale Società Canottieri Cerea

Cerea is, after Canottieri Limite, the oldest rowing club in Italy but the longest running since 1863 without interruption in sports. The rich social archive contains documents and correspondence that allow you to reconstruct the life and activities of the club, but also the organizational growth of Italian rowing.

On July 12, 1868, Cerea was established in order to obtain the land on which, in 1868, the first real headquarters was built from the Municipality of Turin. The current seat dates back to 1886. The Statute, later adopted by many companies that were gradually established throughout Italy, imposed on the members moral rigor, discipline and seriousness in training.

Cerea rowers also devoted many efforts to competitive rowing, and for several decades they were at the forefront of the technique and the hulls used. Already in 1875 they ordered the English W. Biffen & Sons a cedar spear with sliding seats, in practice a gig gig, which was the first racing boat introduced in Italy.

 The First World War also upset the life of Cerea, but already in 1920 the company regained full vigor, the members returned to being numerous and the athletes won new championship titles. It was in 1925, by the King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele III, the authorization to bear the title of Reale and to insert the royal crown on the emblem.

In those years the premises overlooking the Po hosted parties, charity events and convivial meetings. The Second World War also led to the substantial abandonment of sporting activity, and the recovery was not as easy and quick this time as in 1919. The progressive pollution of the Po, the motorization and Sunday trips by car caused the decline of social life and sport activity that precluded the results achieved in the past.

From the late 1960s, however, an initially small group of veterans resumed competing on fields across Europe: from 1972 numerous Cerea crews participated in the Head of the River, at Vogalonga, up to the 1975 Turin-London raid, with 1600 km. routes through rivers across Europe covered in 25 days of commitment.

The recovery of the company, the progressive increase in the members, also led to a return to a good level of competition: numerous Italian titles won in the 80s, the constant presence of Cerea in competitions, the participation of Cerea athletes in the world knitting championships blue testify to the seriousness of Cerea's competitive commitment. But also the attendance of veteran members was and is such that even the small Cerea, now completely renewed in structures and boats, is the Italian company with the highest number of master members registered with the Federation.

In 2008, Cerea was awarded the Collare d'Oro for sporting merit as an over a hundred-year-old sports club.
2012 is a year of success, social with the Turin-London raid on the occasion of the Olympics held in the British capital, and the victory of 2 world titles.