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Venice: the Redeemer!

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REDENTORE HOLIDAY

The Redentore is surely one of the most spectacular Venetian festivals and perhaps the most loved by Venetians.

Like the feast of the 'Madonna della Salute', the Redentore began as feast to give thanks for the end of a terrible plague that was wiping out the Venetian population. But while the Madonna della Salute has remained an exclusively religious festival, the Redentore with its 'famous night of fireworks' on the eve of the feast means it is a feastday with more playful connotations.

The plague of 1576 had killed 50,000 people, among them the great painter Tiziano Vecellio. The Doge Alvise Mocenigo II promised to build a magnificent church if the plague ended.

Today, for the feast of Redentore on the third Sunday of July, a bridge of barges is again built from Zattere to Giudecca so that the people can make their pilgrimage to the church. Sunday is devoted to the religious celebrations of thanksgiving.

Beyond the religious significance of the feast, the most anticipated and exciting moment for both Venetians and tourists is the eve of Redentore (the third Saturday of July - Saturday July 16 2005), when there is the famous night of fireworks. From early in the morning people begin to decorate their boats, or their 'altana', the small wooden terraces on rooftops, from where they can admire the fireworks.

Then they prepare dinner for their evening feast. From the early afternoon, Saint Mark's basin fills with every kind of boat (about 1,500-2,000 boats), festooned with balloons and garlands, and thousands of Venetians await the fireworks while dining on the boats. Around 10 O'clock at night, from pontoons placed nearby the island of San Giorgio, the fireworks begin and Saint Mark's basin becomes one of the most atmospheric stages in the world. The fireworks last for around 45 to 60 minutes, illuminating the night and arousing intense emotions in both Venetians and visitors.