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Report 829: A Million Degrees

By Christian from Canada, Summer 2003

Page 15 of 18: Il Fiesta del Redentore

On Saturday, Venice was setting the stage for the annual Fiesta del Redentore. As I mentioned earlier, this was, the reason why we stayed a couple more days (as if we NEEDED a reason to stay longer!). We wanted to witness a Venetian festival and even if it’s not as glamorous as the Carnival in February, it was still a cool experience.

The festival takes place on the third weekend of July every year and is held to commemorate the end of the Plague that tormented the city in the late 1500’s. The Senate had decided to erect a church dedicated to the redeemer (Redentore) in return for help in ending the Plague. A similar story is linked to the construction of Santa Maria della Salute. Different events are organized during the weekend and a temporary bridge is built between Zattere and the Giudecca across the Giudecca Canal. The bridge is like this long floating structure designed to look like an alignment of barges. Walking on it is slightly awkward but still allows you to reach Il Redentore where you can still see locals and visitors pray.

In the afternoon, Saint Mark’s basin starts to fill up with boats of all kinds, many decorated for the occasion, in preparation for the evening’s fireworks. On land, everyone tries to get as good a spot as possible to view the show, rapidly packing Riva dei Schiavoni. We were able to climb on the edge of the Information booth located near the Vaporetto stop so we could be above the crowd. From what we could make out, the fireworks are located on or near the island of San Giorgio, which of course gives the whole spectacle a really beautiful backdrop, especially since the whole thing takes place on water. And what fireworks! It started at 10 p.m. and lasted for nearly an hour. Afterwards, Piazza San Marco was very crowded for a while and the Campanile was shining brightly, illuminated for the occasion. It was a magical evening. Apparently, the party goes on for a while at the Lido and in other parts of the city, but we decided to head home early.

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