festa del redentore

i was reminded by some of my faithful readers that i did not explain why there was a big fireworks display in venice on saturday night. it is a yearly celebration called the festa del redentore, and here is the skinny:

between 1575 and 1577, the plague ravaged through venice, killing about 50,000 people (about one-third of the population at that time). in 1576, the senate decided that the doge (prince) should announce a vow to erect a church dedicated to the redentore (redeemer), in return for help in ending the plague. it worked! on july 13, 1577, the plague was declared officially ended, and it was decided that the city would celebrate the liberation from the disease with a big party on the third sunday of july. the fireworks usher in the sabbath, and people party all night before attending mass the next day in thanksgiving for the end of the plague. there is also something about a special bridge erected for the doge to cross the grand canal to the church, and some such stuff, but we didn't stay, so i don't know what that is about.

we were fortunate enough to be in venice during this celebration. we didn't know about it until we were in salzburg, and we were chatting about our plans for italy and paris with another gentleman who was on the trip with us. he informed us about the celebration, and that is how we knew. of course everyone we talked to in venice asked if we were going to stay for the fireworks, so we would have found out eventually. as for how we knew where to sit: the sound speakers hanging from cranes above the grand canal tipped us off as to where to hold down a spot.