Venetian Festivals

CarnevaleTen days up to Shrove Tuesday

: Ten days before the ending of Lent the Carnevale begins and lasts till Midnight on Shrove Tuesday when the bells of Shrove Tuesday ring out to give warning the fun is over for another year.
: The Carnevale period was a time of concerts, fancy dress balls, Forze d'Ercole (Feats of Hercules), and general festivities and merrymaking. All of Venice was in fancy dress for the duration of the Festivities even the beggars who would paint their faces and visit the parties and celebrations looking for money. Many of the poorer Venetians settled for homemade costumes, the men in the traditional white mask, black cloak and tricorne hat. For the nobility and their guests the ten days are a whirl of parties and balls put on by the houses of Case Grandi and the various ambassadors.
: On Shrove Tuesday the celebrations climaxed before the Doge and the Signoria in their full regalia. The Guilds of the Smiths and the Butchers would decapitate a bull before the Signoria and roast it for those present in the Piazza. The Volo is then undertaken - a line is strung between the top of the Campanile and the Scala dei Giganti in the Doge's Palace and a young acrobat slides down the rope to present the Doge with a posy of flowers. The climax of the Shrove Tuesday celebrations was a ball hosted by the Doge.

Su e zo per i pontiSecond Sunday in March

: A gruelling marathon-style race in Venice. Participants run through the city's streets su e zo per i ponti (up and down the bridges).

Good Friday

Easter Monday

Festi di San Marco25th April

: The feast of Saint Mark, patron saint of Venice, is marked by a gondola race across St Mark's Basin between Sant' Elena and Punta della Dogana, and by the consumption of the traditional dish of Risi e Bisi (a soft and liquid risotto made with fresh peas and flavoured with bacon).
: Men give their wives and/or lovers a red rose.

Festa della Sparesca1st May

: A festival and regatta for the new season's asparagus held on Cavallino, in the lagoon, where the crop is grown.

Marriage to the SeaFirst Sunday After Ascension Day

: The Doge and his party are transported on his official bucintoro to Porto di Lido escorted by garlanded vessels. On the journey the Doge recites : "In sign of our true & perpetual dominion" and drops the ring off the shores of the Lido. The Doge then continues on to the Lido and a service of Thanksgiving in San NIcol˜ al Lido. Those following the Doge either join him for the service or would dive for the ring. The person who found the ring keeps it for his own and lives free from all taxes the state requires for a year.
: There are also some unknown side effects attached to dinding the ring. The lucky individual receives a visit from a glamorous masked woman and is taken out to an uncharted island in the lagoon in her gondola. There in the palazzo located on the island the man spends the night with the woman as her companion of the evening. If the mysterious lady is pleased the man receives good fortune for a year from the time he is returned to the dock the following morning. No firm memories are retained by the ring-bearer any memories are obviously memories of a pleasant dream . If the woman is dipleased then a fit, healthy member of the man's family is consumed by the waters of the lagoon.
: The blessings of the faerie twins perhaps?

VogalonaSunday following La Sensa

: During this celebration the Vogalunga, or long row, takes place. The rowers race from the Bacino di San Marco to Burano and then back again, covering a disatnce of 32 kilometres.

Festa di Santi Pietro e PaoloEnd of June

: Feast day of Saints Peter and Paul is celebrated in many towns with fairs and musical festivals.

Festa Del RedentoreThird Sunday of July

: This ceremony commemmorates the end of the 1576 plague. The commemoration is held in Palladio's Church of the Redentore which was built to give thanks for the survival of the city. A bridge of boats is strung across the Giudecca Canal to allow the faithful to cross to the church. On the Saturday preceding the service hundreds of people row out onto the water for a picnic and to watch a grand fireworks display. It was then traditional to row to the Lido for sunrise.

Regata Storica1st Sunday in September

: This is the annual trial of strength and skill for city gondoliers and other expert rowers. A procession of richly decorated craft proceed along the Canal Grande followed by a race with bystanders expected to cheer on the teams.

Festa di MostoFirst weekend in October

: Feast of the Must on Sant'Erasmo, the market-garden island in the lagoon. Here, grapes are still pressed under-foot by bare-legged dancers.

La Salute21st November

: Another rememberance of those who died in the plague which killed one third of Venice's population in 1630-1631. The Procession passes over a pontoon bridge to give thanks in the Church of the Salute (which is still under construction) for the good health of friends and relations and to pray for those that are sick.

: Churches all over Venice and the Veneto mount elaborate Nativity scenes in the days leading up to Christmas. Attending mass is a moving experience at this time, even for non-christians.