/ FESTA DEL REDENTORE 2009

A traditional festival that lights up St. Mark's bay

Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th July 2009

The Festa del Redentore is a festival that is particularly popular with Venetians as it combines a religious theme with a spectacular celebration that attracts thousands of visitors. On Saturday night, the inimitable setting of St. Mark's Basin hosts a phantasmagorical firework display that lights up the spires, domes and bell towers of the city with a kaleidoscope of colours and reflections. At dusk, just as they have done for centuries, numerous small boats decked out with balloons, decorations and brightly coloured lanterns, begin to flock into St. Mark's Bay and the Giudecca Canal. The boats then moor alongside each other and all the participants enjoy a sumptuous dinner of traditional Venetian specialities while they wait for the firework display that begins at 11.30pm and lasts until well past midnight.

The history of Redentore
The Festa del Redentore is a tradition that dates back to 1577. It was first held to celebrate the city's deliverance from a terrible plague and the construction of Palladio's "Redentore" (Redeemer) Church, commissioned for the same reason. The Church, built on the Island of the Giudecca, can still be reached by pilgrims during the festival by means of an impressive 330-metre-long pontoon bridge. The "Redentore" celebrations include a solemn religious service and procession presided over by the patriarch of the city, and the weekend ends with a series of gondola races, organised as part of the "Voga alla Veneta" rowing season.


PROGRAMME

Friday 17th July
8.00 pm
A concert of "Venetian ?Festa del Redentore' sacred music for voices and early instruments" at the Church of the Redentore on the island
of Giudecca. Free admission

Saturday 18th July

7.00 pm
Celebratory opening of the Thanksgiving Bridge, a 330 metre-long pontoon bridge connecting the Zattere to the Church of the Redentore on the island of Giudecca

11.30 pm
A firework display in St. Mark's Bay

00.30 am
Musical entertainment in Piazza San Marco

The Redentore Festival in Mestre, Parco San Giuliano
Waiting for the fireworks: a stand offering Venetian cuisine in the "Zona Punta", plus other refreshment booths throughout the park
6.00 pm Live music with groups from the Sala Monteverdi
9.00 pm ZZPOP 80s dance music


Sunday 19th July
The 2009 Rowing Season: Redentore Regattas, organized by the Municipality of Venic e Tourist Council
4.00 pm A children's twin-oared "pupparini" boat regatta
4.45 pm Twin-oared "pupparini" boat regatta
5.30 pm Twin-oared gondola regatta

7.00 pm
Thanksgiving Mass at the Church of the Re dentore on the Giudecca, presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Patriarch Angelo Scola, with the cit y authorities in attendance.

In the downloadable pdf file you will find the map of areas to watch the firework display (mooring areas for vessels in the basin of San Marco and areas for spectators on foot), changes to public transport services and all requirements of Capitaneria di Porto of Venice.


EXTRA TRAINS FOR THE FESTA DEL REDENTORE
To facilitate the flow of visitors from Venice at the end of the event, Trenitalia enhance rail services on the night between Saturday 18 and Sunday July 19 with the following extra trains:
- From Venezia Santa Lucia to Mestre: departures at 0:51, 1.01, 1.10, 1.20, 1.40, 1.50, 2.05, 2.50;
- From Venezia Santa Lucia to Padova: departure at 2.10, with stops at all stations between Mestre and Padova;
- From Venezia Santa Lucia to Treviso: departure at 2.30, with stops in Mestre, Mogliano Veneto, Preganziol;
- From Venezia Santa Lucia to Vicenza: departure at 2:42, with stops at all stations between Mestre and Vicenza.