November - Fall
Festivals
Autumn
is the season when Venetians have traditionally
walked on water and when I say that, I'm not
referring to the
"acqua
alta”, or high water, which occurs
when tides and storms on the Adriatic cause flooding
in low-lying areas of the city such as St. Mark's
Square.
Rather, I'm talking about two festivals in November
and two great opportunities for a photography
workshop.
Nov. 1-2: All Saints' Day and Day of the Dead
In Catholic Europe, All Saints' Day and Day of the
Dead, is an important occasion,
rather like Memorial
Day in the U.S., but with religious overtones.
The saints of the prayers aren't the usual
religious celebrities (the ones who get churches
named after them), but are ordinary people
grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, children,
and others who have made their way to the heavenly
throne cited in the mass.
In the past time in Venice, families traditionally
crossed a pontoon bridge to the island cemetery of
San Michele to place flowers on the graves of their
saintly or secular relatives. Today, they make the
trip by
vaporetto, but the idea is the same: to
honour the dead and keep in touch with the loved
ones they expect to see in the hereafter.
Therefore, if you're in Venice on November 1-2, you
don't need to leave flowers at the cemetery but
don't forget to give
fave*
to your fave!
*
Sort of characteristic sweet, available only in
those days.
Nov.
21: Feast of "Madonna della Salute"
The feast of
"Madonna della Salute" is the last remaining truly
Venetian festival. Like the festival of the
'Redentore', it also began as a thanksgiving to
celebrate the end of a terrible plague attacking the
Venetian population.
However, it is different from
the feast of the ' Redentore' in that it has
preserved its religious identity.
For the occasion is
constructed a bridge, made of boats, to enable the
church to be reached from the city centre.
Even today, few
Venetians miss the opportunity to go to the Salute.
Venetians use to
follow, since childhood, this tradition and the
procession to the Salute Church continues from
morning to night.
Stands with itinerant
candles sellers of all the dimensions, candles that
end in arm to the altar boy put on purpose to the
entry: in practice a braid candles
seller/believer/altar-boy. Candy stands pancakes and
to products of Sicily together with sellers of toy
balloons inflated to helium and. and other souvenirs
serves as contour to this pagan choreography.
Sometimes to
photograph people and ceremonies is not easy, in
this occasion there are no problems outside and
inside the Church and more important under different
conditions of light.
Details -
Fees - Commitment - Topics -
PDF file
The story
In the first half of the 17th century, a terrible
plague broke out in Northern Italy. This plague was
the one described by Alessandro Manzoni in his
masterpiece I Promessi Sposi.
The spread of the infection in Venice was
phenomenal.
In a very short time, in spite of the restrictions
set by the authorities, the population was
decimated. The Doge and most of his family perished,
as the disease did not distinguish aristocrats from
commoners, not forgiving monks and priests.
The failure of every medicine and prophylactic then
known drove the government and people to look to
religion to save them. A procession was organised in
which almost all 10,000 survivors participated. They
walked incessantly around Piazza San Marco for three
days and nights, with torches and votive statues.
Finally, a pronouncement was made that, if the city
escaped total devastation, they would build a temple
of a size and beauty never seen before.
The heavens then seemed to come to the aid of the
Republic. In the following week, the progress of the
epidemic slowed, and within two weeks, it diminished
altogether. Respecting the pronouncement, the
location of the temple was quickly decided. It was
to be at the Customs Port, where some buildings had
just been demolished.
Demolishing wooden houses and the dispersing of
crowded communities like monasteries and seminaries
was an emergency measure often carried out during
plagues.
Baldassare Longhena, a young architect whose style
was known as the new Baroque (Venice has always
been conservative) was chosen, by competition, to
head the project. The foundation needed to be
reinforced with more than 300,000 posts in order to
support the weight of the enormous marble structure.
The edifice was finished in about twenty years, and
became an exemplary model of Baroque, studied and
imitated all over Europe. On November 9 1687, the
church was consecrated.
