Festa del Redentore, Venice July 16-17th, 2011

 the Palladian Church of the Redentore on the island of Giudecca, Venice with a full moon rising

part of the spectacular fireworks display which started at 11.30 p.m.

canal was filled with boats 

Bridge was great fun to walk across and allowed for smaller boats to go under it

not a bad yacht to have docked in venice

a change from the usual black

the bridge linking venice to giudecca, high enough in the middle for  smaller boats to get through. The cruise ships and  Greek ferries cannot use the Giudecca Canal for the weekend.

lots of yachts docked on the Giudecca fondamento and ready for the festivities

the police checking out the bridge before opening it at 7 p.m. Sat.

an inviting picnic all set up

the perfect evening for the festa

was fun to walk from Giudecca to the Zattere in Venice


The festa of the Redentore takes place the third Saturday in July. It is a local Venetian tradition which  celebrates the end of the plague in the late1600's for which the church of the Redentore (Redeemer) was built. A bridge is built linking Venice to the Giudecca.   It allowed pilgrims (and hundreds of tourists) to reach the church to give thanks. The original bridge was built of gondolas all lined up next to each other. The modern bridge is built of wood on plantoons and is quite a feat, remaining up only from Saturday to midnight on Sunday. It was open for the public to cross from 7 pm Saturday till Sunday midnight, with the exception of the hour or so when the fireworks were going off in the canal.     People set up picnic tables and dine while waiting for the fireworks. It was a really fun weekend  with dear friends, along with perfect weather for a wonderful event.