The Rough Guide to Venice and the Veneto

La Sensa and Vogalonga
The feast of La Sensa happens in May on the Sunday after Ascension Day – the latter being
the day on which the doge enacted the wedding of Venice to the sea (see p.224). A feeble
modern version of that ritual is followed by a gondola regatta, but far more spectacular is the
Vogalonga or “long row” (wwww.vogalonga.it), held on the same day. Established in 1974 as
a protest against the number of motorboats on the canals, the Vogalonga is now open to any
crew in any class of rowing boat, and covers a 32-kilometre course from the Bacino di San
Marco out to Burano and back; the competitors set off from in front of the Palazzo Ducale
around 9am and arrive at the bottom of the Canal Grande between about 11am and 3pm.
Festa di San Pietro
g The Vogalonga
Held in the week of June 29, the Festa di San Pietro is a small-scale festival of concerts,
open-air shows and food stalls, held around the church of San Pietro di Castello. Entirely
untouched by tourism, it’s an authentic antithesis to Carnevale.
Festa del Redentore
The Festa del Redentore, which
marks the end of the plague epidemic
of 1576, is celebrated on the third
Sunday in July, and is centred on
Palladio’s church of the Redentore,
which was built by way of thanksgiving
for the city’s deliverance. A bridge of
boats is strung across the Giudecca
canal, and on the Saturday night
hundreds of people row out for a
picnic on the water. The night ends
with a grand fireworks display, after
which it’s traditional to row to the Lido
for the sunrise.
g Redentore fireworks