FESTA DEL REDENTORE (Feast of the Redeemer)

Everything You Need to Know About the Festa del Redentore 2026.

Festa del Redentore (Feast of the Redeemer) is a religious holiday that usually attracts thousands of participants. Unlike the Venice Carnival, which is primarily intended for tourists, Festa del Redentore is more a local holiday, trying to keep alive a four centuries old tradition.

SHORT HISTORY

For three years, between 1575 and 1577, a merciless plague made Venice suffer, killing about one-third of the city’s population. Because of the precarious conditions in which people were living and a high population density, the epidemic has expanded rapidly and was difficult to control.

The Venetian Senate decided in 1576 to build a church dedicated to Jesus the Redeemer (Il Redentore), hoping that it would escape the city from the disease. A year later, in July, the city was declared cured, and the Venetians began to celebrate.

Today, the celebration usually takes place in the third weekend of July. On this occasion, a pontoon is built between Zattere and the Giudecca Island, across the Giudecca Canal, which people cross in a short pilgrimage to the church built by Andrea Palladio, Il Redentore.

On this Saturday in July, a great party is held, completed in the evening by a spectacular firework, and Sunday is reserved for religious service and for the Regate del Redentore (Regatta of the Redeemer), a race of typical Venetian boats.

FESTA DEL REDENTORE 2018 will be held on the weekend of July 14-15. For the two days of the feast, the program is as follows:

July 14, Saturday

7.00 pm – The opening of the Thanksgiving Bridge, connecting Zattere to the Church of Il Redentore, on the island of Giudecca;
11.30 pm – Fireworks display in St. Mark’s Basin.

July 15, Sunday