Born after the terrible plague of the sixteenth century, the celebration unites the
pilgrimage to Giudecca, the decorated boats, the Venetian flavours and the
fires that illuminate the San Marco Basin.
Every summer Venice dedicates one of its most anticipated nights to a vow pronounced nearly 450 years ago
ago. Italian Traditions retraces the Feast of the Redeemer, a deeply celebrated anniversary
linked to the city’s history, in which the memory of the plague, religious devotion and the
popular customs continue to coexist.
Its origins date back to the epidemic that struck the lagoon city between 1575 and 1577. The contagion
caused more than fifty thousand victims, over a third of the estimated city population
at the time, putting in serious difficulty a commercial capital accustomed to governing routes,
traffic and territories. Faced with the advance of the disease, on 4 September 1576 the Senate of the
Serenissima established to build a church dedicated to Christ the Redeemer, committing itself to
reach it every year with a solemn thanksgiving visit should the community be
been freed from the scourge.
The project was entrusted to Andrea Palladio and the foundation stone was laid in May 1577
on the island of Giudecca, in the area occupied by the Capuchin friars. In July of the same year,
when the epidemic could now be considered over, the Venetian authorities and the population
they reached the sacred place by means of a temporary connection made up of boats
side by side. From that procession both the festival and the tradition of the votive bridge were born. The
church, completed after Palladio’s death and consecrated in 1592, would become one of the
more examples of its religious architecture.
Overlooking the Giudecca Canal, the Basilica of the Most Holy Redeemer can be recognized by
the white facade, composed through the intersection of forms inspired by classical temples, and for
the large dome that dominates the profile of the shore. The interior responds to the needs of sobriety
of the Capuchins, with a wide and bright nave, side chapels and a succession of
environments designed to accompany the gaze towards the altar. The church is the testimony
concrete of the commitment made by the Republic and the point towards which the
annual pilgrimage.
Today the connection is a floating wooden and steel structure that connects the Rafts to the
opposite bank. In 2026 the bridge, 334 metres long, will be inaugurated on Friday 17 July at
19 and open to the public from 8pm. For a few days it changes the usual geography of the city,
allowing you to reach the island on foot, which the wide canal normally separates from the centre
historical. Walking on the water towards the basilica remains one of the most significant gestures of the
Redeemer: a journey taken by faithful, residents and visitors that repeats, with materials
modern, the one carried out in 1577.
Saturday evening belongs above all to the popular dimension. Since the afternoon the
boats reach the San Marco Basin and the Giudecca Canal, often decorated with
branches, balloons, lights and festoons. Improvised tables are prepared on board, while on the banks,
In the island’s altars and courtyards, families organize dinners that continue until nightfall.
Among the dishes associated with the anniversary are sardines in saor, preserved with onions and
vinegar, bigoli in sauce, bovoleti with garlic and oil and stuffed duck; watermelon, fresh and easy to
sharing, traditionally accompanies the waiting for fires.
The climax comes at 11:30 pm on Saturday, July 18. For the 2026 edition they are
announced more than six thousand pyrotechnic effects, visible from the banks and from the boats arranged
in authorized areas. The explosions reflect off the water and make stand out, one after the other,
the Ducal Palace, Punta della Dogana, the island of San Giorgio Maggiore and the facade of the
Redeemer.
Sunday brings religious ceremonies and rowing tradition back to the forefront. On July 19th
2026 the Giudecca Canal hosts the Redeemer Regattas: at 4pm the
very young on the two-oared pupparini, followed at 4.45pm by the competition on the same
boat and, at 5.30pm, from the two-oared gondola race. Holy Mass at 7pm
votive in the basilica, presided over by Patriarch Francesco Moraglia, formally renews
the commitment made by the Serenissima in the 16th century. Over the weekend, the initiatives
also involve Pellestrina, Malcontenta, Gazzera, Asseggiano and Marghera, confirming
the participation of the various Venetian territories.
To watch the fires from the designated areas in San Marco, Zattere and Giudecca is
Reservations required, as well as for the entry of boats into the rest areas
organize. Access is regulated by sectors and time slots, with limitations
temporary to pedestrian and water traffic. These are necessary measures for an evening
capable of attracting a large audience.
The Feast of the Redeemer thus embodies a rare continuity between the Venice of the Republic and
the contemporary one. The bridge is dismantled, the boats leave the Basin and the lights are
they turn off, but every year the vote is renewed through the same places and the same gestures. It is in
this fidelity, even more than in the grandeur of the fires, which is recognized as the link of the
city with a celebration born during one of its most painful trials and transformed into a
night of devotion, encounter and Venetian life.
