Venice Redentore Festival - 2005
A religious festival which is held the the third weekend of July. Traditionally,
the Venetians celebrate this day by having dinner on the Saturday night
while watching an incredible display of fireworks that light up the
skies over Venice for an hour or more.
The festival itself dates back to the year 1576, and is named after
the church Redentore that was designed by Palladio and resides on the
island of Guidecca. Venice was suffering from a terrible plague, and
the Republic's senate voted to build a temple on the Guidecca island
in honor of Christ the Redeemer, and the Venetians promised to go there
every year on the third Sunday of July, if the plague stopped.
The Redentore festival is one of the best-loved by Venetians, as hundreds
of boats decorated with branches and multi-colored balloons gather in
the bay of San Marco to admire the fireworks and their reflections on
the waters of the lagoon, play music, dance and celebrate the beginning
of the summer holiday season for many Venetians.
The event begins on the Saturday, with the opening of the Pontoon bridge
that links the Zattere with the Guidecca Island. At 11.30 pm, begins
the firework display in the bay of San Marco. Then, the boats carrying
the revellers make their way through the canals of Venice, before re-gathering
at dawn at the Lido to await sunrise.
On Sunday afternoon, their is regatta of young rowers in he Guidecca
canal, followed by a regatta for seniors, and nding ith a gondola regatta
at 5.30 pm. At 7 pm, Holy Mass is celebrated in the Redentore church
of Guidecca.
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