THE FESTA del REDENTORE
The Festa del Redentore is an event held in Venice on the third Saturday and Sunday in July where the fireworks play an important role.
The Redentore began as a feast to give thanks for the end of the terrible plague of 1576, which killed 50,000 people, including the great painter Tiziano Vecellio (Titian).
The Doge Alvise I Mocenigo promised to build a magnificent church if the plague ended.
Andrea Palladio was commissioned, assisted by Da Ponte, to build a majestic church on the Island of Giudecca.
The church, known as Il Redentore, was consecrated in 1592, and is one of the most important examples of Palladian religious architecture.
After the foundation stone was laid, a small wooden church was temporarily built, along with temporary bridge of barges from the Zattere, so that the Doge Sebastian Venier could walk in procession as far as the tabernacle.
Afterwards, the Doge made a pilgrimage to the Church of Redentore every year.
On Saturday, the eve of the festival, fireworks are let off.
Preparations begin early in the morning when people begin to decorate their boats, or the small wooden terraces on rooftops from where they can admire the fireworks.
At sunset, Saint Mark's basin begins to fill with up with boats of all kinds, festooned with balloons and garlands, and thousands of Venetians await the fireworks while dining on the boats.
Around 10 o'clock at night, from pontoons placed nearby the island of San Giorgio, the fireworks begin and Saint Mark's basin becomes one of the most atmospheric stages in the world.
The fireworks last for around 45 to 60 minutes, illuminating the night and arousing intense emotions in both Venetians and visitors.
Once the fireworks are over, the young people of the city head off to the Lido, where they sit on the sand and wait for dawn.
A bridge of barges is built connecting Giudecca to the rest of Venice.
Sunday is devoted to religious celebrations.
The 2006 festival celebrated the victory of the Italian national soccer team in the World Cup and fireworks in the colours of the Italian flag were let off.
THE CURCH of REDENTORE
The Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore (English: Church of the Most Holy Redeemer), commonly known as Il Redentore, is a 16th century Roman Catholic church located in the Dorsoduro sestiere of the Italian city of Venice.
It was designed by the architect Andrea Palladio and built as a votive church to thank God for the deliverance of the city from a major outbreak of the plague.
Located on the waterfront of the Canale della Giudecca, it dominates the skyline of the island of Giudecca.
It is a member of the Chorus Association of Venetian churches and contains a number of paintings by artists including Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese and Francesco Bassano.
History
Il Redentore was built as a votive church in thanksgiving for deliverance from a major outbreak of the plague that decimated Venice between 1575 and 1576, in which some 46,000 people (25–30% of the population) died.
The Senate of the Republic of Venice commissioned the architect Andrea Palladio to design the votive church.
Though the Senate wished the Church to be square plan, Palladio designed a single nave church with three chapels on either side.
Its prominent position on the Canale della Giudecca gave Palladio the opportunity to design a facade inspired by the Parthenon of Athens and enhanced by being placed on a wide plinth.
15 steps were required to reach the church's entrance, a direct reference to the Temple of Jerusalem and complicit with Palladio's own requirement that "the ascent (of the faithful) will be gradual, so that the climbing will bring more devotion".
The cornerstone was laid by the Patriarch of Venice Giovanni Trevisano on May 3, 1577 and the building was consecrated in 1592.
At the urgent solicitations of Pope Gregory XIII, after consecration the church was placed in charge of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.
A small number of Friars reside in the monastery attached to the church.
Every year the doge and senators walked across a specially constructed pontoon bridge from the Zattere to Giudecca to attend Mass in the church.
The Festa del Redentore remains a major festival in the Venetian calendar, celebrated on the third Sunday in July.
A huge firework display on the previous evening is followed by a mass procession across the pontoon bridge.
