Redentore Festival

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We came back early from Lake Como to be in Venice for Redentore... which is quite possibly THE most amazing party ever. Here's the story: back in the 16th century when the plague ended, Venice erected a church dedicated to Christ of the Redeemer to give thanks for the disappearance for the disease. The church is on Gedeccia (I still can't spell) which is not on the actual Venice island so they built a bridge from Venice leading up to the steps of the church so people could get there. To this day, the pontoon bridge is still built just for that night across the canal. The night the church was completed, they had a huge party to celebrate and it was sort of like a mardis gras idea of a night of sinful celebration. The celebration has continued on the third Saturday of July. First people decorate boats like the Flotilla in Wrighstville Beach, but much more elaborate. They have themes and really loud music playing, and almost all the boats (along with tradition) have a table in the middle where people are eating and drinking. My favorites were the two Grease boats. They all go down to the point where they tie their boats up together and you can almost walk across the canal from boat to boat. So we made some dinner, sat out on the terrace, watched the flotilla for awhile, then got our bottles of vino and blanket and headed out to the Zatarre (again, I know what it's called, but can't spell it, but it's the strip of land on the side where the church is.) We weren't quite sure where to sit to see the spectacle they call "a night of fireworks" so we just sort of guessed and staked out a spot. Apparently if you go too far north, the island curves around so you won't be able to see the fireworks. So those people realize they can't see anything and go running south as soon as the fireworks start. In any case, we sat around, had some wine, took turns crossing the pontoon bridge, and hung out for a few hours waiting for the fireworks, which started at 11:30 p.m. We could not have picked a better spot to see the fireworks. They were right in front of us and it was the most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen, and I doubt anything will ever be able to compete. At home there are shows where they will fire up a few at a time, and there is a big grande finale... here, they had finale after finale after finale with small breaks in between being shot up from like 3 different spots. Then there was a huge grand finale. I have videos. The night then is supposed to continue until morning basically but we only stayed out until about 2:30. We were going to go to Santa Margarita, where we've found the nightlife to be the best, but it was so packed that we couldn't even get there so we went to our tried and true corner bar near the house. In sum, the excitement and enthusiasm was contagious on Saturday, and if only we could have a festa like that at home it could be like that there. However, I came to the conclusion that there are just too many rules and liabilities that would be associated with the party that it would just be a party in the prisons at the end of the night. For us, though, it was amazing and I would suggest that everyone see it once in their life.

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