this week’s newsletter
this week’s issue of Buongiorno Venezia talks of:
- Mose System experiences a financial low tide.
- The new Redeemer’s Feast
- A jury of film directors at the festival
- Sansovino’s precious panels return to St.Mark’s
- Venice to Rome by… gondola
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July 17th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
(Here’s what I wrote on my blog, Rosalba, if you want to cross-blog:)
15 lug 2007
Redentore
Redentore is one of the most ancient and beloved holidays here in Venice. It is a day to celebrate deliverance from the plague. “Redentore” means “Redeemer.”
Redentore is also a church designed by Palladio on the island of Giudecca, an island which is about one minute away by boat from Venice proper. For this holiday, there is a floating bridge across the lagoon that connects Giudecca to Venice — that is how close it is… you can walk there when this bridge exists. (You can swim there anytime if you are a good swimmer and you watch out for the enormous cruise ships that might get in your way. I cannot encourage swimming over there because it is probably against the law:)
The Venetians built the church and have this holiday to give thanks because the plague did not destroy the city about 500 years ago. It seems everyone and everything is always trying to destroy Venice, even now.
So, Saturday night was Redentore, and the holiday is all about fireworks. Serious fireworks.
These days the holiday has transformed into a night where Venetians come from all over the Veneto region… the Veneto is like… well, if New York City is Venice, then the Veneto is the tri-state area… and… the New Yorkers who actually were born in Manhattan, and live in Manhattan…. well, those people have a special status simply by being born there… and Venetians who were born in Venice and still live in Venice… well they have an even more special status because there are so few. BUT, in a way, even the people of New Jersey feel New York when it comes to certain things like football and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. So… the people all over the Veneto feel Venice when it comes to Redentore, and they arrive in the lagoon with their boats. It goes like that.
And so Redentore is sort of like the Forth of July.
I had the great fortune to celebrate Redentore on the island of San Giorgio. THIS island is right next to Giudecca…. but you can’t get there by foot; you must go by boat.
The reason for this particular dinner was a dinner given by ABO, which is an organization that cures cancer. So… that would be like celebrating the Forth of July in New York City with New Yorkers who care about finding a cure for cancer, while gazing at fireworks over Central Park while eating traditional food like hot dogs and hamburgers, except, in this case, traditional food is fish.
Since it was an elegant kind of bash, it was not Traditional Food that the people eat on the boats; it was a more elegant variation based on the same theme.
Whew.
In any event, it was great fun, and we have The Best Fireworks on the Entire Planet for Redentore.
The only complaint this year is that the fireworks usually last for 45 minutes and they were only a half hour. THAT IS A REAL PROBLEM AND I HOPE THE COMUNE (the Comune is like the City) DOES NOT CHEAT US AGAIN NEXT YEAR in terms of length.
In terms of quality, the fireworks were excellent. I LOVE fireworks so much! It is magic in the sky. Italians are the best designers of fireworks; in fact, anytime you see serious fireworks in Amerca, they are probably designed by Italians.
And, during Redentore, they always introduce new designs. We had some beauties this year. In fact… I will say that the fireworks were more spiritual this year.
This is great news, because as long as we have new spiritual fireworks designs, I think, eventually, we are all gonna be okay.
Cat Bauer
Venice, Italy
www.catbauer.com