The midsummer night, hot, humid, crowded, noisy, yet always beautiful, when all eyes are turned skyward to admire a long series of fireworks floating over Venice, is a fixed appointment that never fails to draw enthusiastic crowds.
The tradition of this “famous” night ensures the repetition of gestures that remain unchanged over the years: crossing the pontoon bridge from the Zattere to the Redentore in a sort of pilgrimage between the sacred and the profane, visiting the church itself—which for a weekend becomes the city’s absolute protagonist, revealing its austere and elegant forms designed by Andrea Palladio—and the numerous boats that host a people of weekend sailors, ready to endure hours of waiting for the fireworks while enjoying generous drinks and pre-prepared food, not only bigoli in salsa or duck in tecia, as a truly Serenissima culinary philology would dictate, with the indispensable watermelon, but with every kind of food, in a delightful and intentionally transgressive anarchic mix that defies rules.
The Feast of the Redentore, more than any other, marks a sort of pact tied to the city’s uniqueness, inspiring awe between Venice and the wider world.
Origins and History
Between 1575 and 1577, Venice was struck by what is probably the most terrible plague epidemic since that of 1348, causing the death of approximately 50,000 people, about a third of the city’s population. The plague, of Turko-Hungarian origin, arrived via Trento at a difficult moment for the city, already weakened by the loss of many territories in the Mediterranean, including Cyprus. To avoid showing vulnerability, the Serenissima initially hesitated to acknowledge the severity of the situation, which contributed to the spread of the contagion. Only later did the Provveditori alla Sanità adopt decisive measures, isolating the sick at the Lazzaretto Nuovo and, if the infection was confirmed, transferring them to the Lazzaretto Vecchio. To manage the increasing number of plague victims, the Senate also authorized the use of boats and ships as temporary isolation facilities.
Throughout the city, purifying fires made from juniper wood were lit, in accordance with the medical beliefs of the time, and the plague doctor—the famous mask with a beak filled with fragrant herbs, garlic, and a vinegar-soaked sponge—protected those who had to provide care. On September 4, 1576, the Senate decreed the construction of the Church of the Redeemer (Redentore) as an ex-voto to free the city from the plague; the first stone was laid on May 3, 1577.
On July 20, 1577, to celebrate the end of the epidemic, the first pontoon bridge was built, and the first procession took place: a tradition that continues to this day every third Sunday of July.
