Festa di San Marco 2023

Find out more information about Festa di San Marco 2025!

Festa di San Marco 2023 will take place on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in the beautiful city of Venice.

The Feast of Saint Mark is a religious celebration dedicated to Saint Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of Venice, which is held every year on April 25.

SHORT HISTORY

In the distant past, the Feast of Saint Mark was celebrated three times a year.

The first date of the feast was January 31. According to legend, on this day, in the year 828, the body of Saint Mark was stolen from Alexandria, in Egypt, and brought to Venice by two Venetian merchants, with the help of a servant named Basilio.

The second feast dedicated to Saint Mark took place on April 25, on the date of his death and martyrdom.

The third day of celebration was June 25, in memory of the discovery of his relics, which, according to tradition, appeared inside a column during the Mass held for the consecration of the Basilica of San Marco, in 1094.

The feast on April 25 is the only one remaining and still celebrated today.

After the Second World War, the date of April 25 coincided with the anniversary of the liberation of Italy from Fascism. For this reason, the Municipality of Venice chose to move the feast of the patron saint to November 21, the date on which the Madonna della Salute was celebrated.

FESTA DEL BÓCOŁO

The Feast of Saint Mark is also known as the Rosebud Festival (Festa del Bócoło). On this day, men traditionally give a rosebud to the women they love.

According to legend, this tradition originated in the 8th century, when a poor man fell in love with Maria, the daughter of Doge Agnello Participazio. In order to win her father’s approval, he went to Spain to fight against the Arabs.

He was mortally wounded in battle, but managed to pick a rose and begged his friend Orlando to take it to Venice to his beloved Maria. After Maria received the rose, she was found dead with the flower on her chest on April 25.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

On April 25, the most important religious celebrations are the solemn Mass held at 10.30 am in the Basilica of San Marco, and the Vespers, officiated in the late afternoon in the same church. Both celebrations are presided over by the Patriarch of Venice.