Every year Venice attracts millions of tourists fascinated by world-famous events. One of the most important of these is the “Festa della Sensa” (Feast of the Ascension). Tourists relive the thousand-year history of the Serenissima Republic, its relationship with the sea, the uses and customs of Venetian rowing.
During the doge Sebastiano Ziani, Pope Alexander III and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa met in Venice and signed a peace treaty, ending a centuries-old diatribe between the Papacy and the Empire.
In memory of this event, the ceremony of the “Sposalizio del Mare” (Marriage of the Sea) was held. Since then, every year on the day of the Ascension, the Doge on the “Bucintoro” sailed to San Pietro di Castello in Sant’Elena, where the Bishop waited to bless him on a hemmed boat. To underline the dominion of the Serenissima over the sea, the Feast ended with a propitiatory rite: once in the lagoon the Doge threw a golden ring into the water.
Still today the ceremony is repeated as a traditional feast on the Sunday following Ascension Day. A water procession, made up of traditional rowing boats, moves from San Marco to the Lido. At the head of the procession is the “Serenissima“, a boat carrying the Mayor and other city dignitaries. The “Sposalizio con il Mare” is celebrated right in front of the Lido: first a symbolic ring is thrown into the water, then a religious rite in the church of San Nicolò.
The program ends with the Venetian rowing race and many other events. Today the “Sensa” is an occasion of great meeting and awareness of the history and traditions of Venice: the festivities of the city and its relationship with the sea.
Website: www.comune.venezia.it
Location: Bacino San Marco, Venice
Schedule: May 29, 2022
