Rite and fun, but above all spectacle and magic. At the weekend comes the ‘Famous Night’ in which Venice lights up and shines under a cascade of phoenix colours.
[Published on Venews #265-266, July/August, 2022]
Midsummer nights: hot, crowded, loud – though always beautiful. Traditionally, we spend that particular night looking way up to majestic fireworks show that float in the sky above Venice. Say what you will, but you cannot call yourself a friend of Venice if you don’t partake in this annual ritual. Traditions are like that: many of the thigs we do are the same year after year, but our heart does find solace as we participate in them, like crossing the temporary barge bridge from the Zattere quay to the Redentore Church. A walk from the profane to the sacred. We will take a moment to visit the church – for a weekend, it will be the most important church in town – and appreciate its elegant and lofty classical shapes designed by Andrea Palladio. A very Venetian thing to do would be preparing yourself and your dear ones for a lengthy picnic on a small boat while waiting for the fireworks. Typical preparations are sardine spaghetti and duck stew, as is the generous serving of watermelon at the end of your meal.
There’s more leeway in deviating from tradition, though, as few would be compelled to peer into your icebox, from the next boat over, to comment on your culinary choices. The fete in question, Redentore or Christ the Redeemer, sanctions a sort of pact between Venice and the rest of the world. For an hour, this city is pure admiration of the sublime – every colour is in the sky, and every terrace, patio, open square foot one can stand on will be occupied by our patient selves. A note must be made about the enforcement of rules of dubious sanity as the mind goes to the proverbial horse that bolted long before you thought about closing the stable door. The strength of the real Venice comes from those of us who are enthralled by its fascination and, with respect, try to understand it deeper and deeper every day. I have friends from abroad who, no matter where they happen to be as the Redentore draws closer, pause whatever they’re doing and fly to Venice, heaven forbid they miss the appointment that, more than any other, turns the city into a microcosm of amazing architecture, tranquil waters, and the lives and passions of thousands of families who have been nourishing Venice since time immemorial. This thread cannot exist only on the occasion of a festival: it needs to always be safe and strong wherever and whenever real life is to be found, in the common embrace of our individual, tiny little flames.
TRADITION
In the late 1500s, the black plague wiped out more than a third of the population of Venice in two years. The Venetian Senate ordered the construction of the Redentore Church as a vow to set the city free from the disease. In July 1577, the plague was over. Since that day, the Redentore feast is centred in the Giudecca Island.
Commissioned to Andrea Palladio by the Government of Venice, the Redentore Church is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture and was completed after the death of Palladio himself (1580) by Antonio da Ponte, who kept true to the original design. The façade is as fascinating as a bas-relief and shows the typical Palladian style of split tympanum, half-columns, and a horizontal elements encircling the two. The whitewashed interior is as majestic as a classical temple. The church and the sacristy are decorated with beautiful masterpieces by Tintoretto, Francesco Bass- ano, Paolo Piazza, Palma il Giovane, and Alvise Vivarini.
The votive bridge is a 330 meters long work of engineering in wood and steel, composed of 16 floating modules anchored by poles and sustained by 34 boats. It links Fondamenta delle Zattere with Giudecca, in memory of the one built in only 4 days on eighty galleys and covered by rich drapery for the solemn procession of 1577.
The first challenge is for youths on two-oared pupparini, typical boats with a slender profile. Then there will be a men’s competition, once again for two-oared pupparini, followed by the two-oared gondola challenge, a true test of physical strength and intelligence: it is necessary to control the boat with great care, finding just the right current along the route from the Redentore church along the Giudecca Canal, the Fusina Canal and back to the Redentore Church.
TASTE
The word saor is none other than the Venetian rendering of savour, or seasoning, while the sarde are the humble sardines, which are fried and then set in layers with blanched onion, raisins, and pine nuts. The saor turns into a preserve after a few days of resting in the fridge. We know of recipes as old as the year 1300, minus the fridge. Apparently, the preserve allowed the fish to last longer, a feature treasured by Venetian seamen.
A very ancient recipe, back from the times of Marco Polo, they say. It is a poor dish, though rich in taste, and a classic of Venetian cuisine. The bigoi are a kind of thick spaghetti – and spaghetti will do, if bigoi should play hard to get – seasoned with a sauce (salsa) of onion and anchovy. No grated cheese on top! It just doesn’t pair well. Any leftover (who am I kidding) will taste even better, cold, the day after.
Pasta, you know what that is. Any kind will do (yes, I said that). Fasioi are beans: you boil them first, then you make up your mind, do you like them whole, mashed, or half and half? Let them rest for a bit, lukewarm is best for this dish, and it will go down better with a dash of olive oil stirred in. Tradition says that the best beans come from Lamon, in the Alps, just under 2000 feet above sea level.
The Venetian dialect name of this recipe translates to stuffed duck and is quite an old one, back to the times when the occasion was so important that meat made it even to the humblest of homes and replaced the common Venetian meal – fish. The tradition of stuffing duck with a tasty filling of fowl liver, cured ground pork, and, according to taste, pine nuts and almonds, is typical of the Redentore feast.
Escargots are associated, and rightly so, with gourmet French cuisine, but I will have you know that in Venice and the Venetia, they are common in every tavern and a staple of the Redentore Feast.The Feast is the most loved by Venetians and partying begins in the kitchen. Stew onion and garlic with olive oil, then add the escargots and season with parsley – lots of it – pepper, and salt. Once cold, use a toothpick to drive the meat out of the shell.
