Venice: an Infinity Story - The Feast of the Madonna della Salute

On 21st November, many here celebrate what for us Venetians is a significant week-long event: the Feast of the Madonna della Salute (Our Lady of Good Health). Still celebrated to this day, this annual holy festival is deeply embedded in Venetian tradition, offering a rare opportunity to experience the “authentic” Venice. 

Known here as the Festa della Salute and cited in Alessandro Manzoni’s famed novel, “I Promessi Sposi” (The Betrothed), the commemoration derives from the Great Plague of 1630, which affected about a quarter of the population in the region of Venice alone. 

So concerned were the Venetian Doge, Nicolò Contarini, and Patriarch Giovanni Tiepolo about the gravity of the situation that they made a Sacred Vow to Our Lady: if the city-state survived the epidemic a church would be built as a token of gratitude. A religious procession was arranged, and a few weeks passed before contagions as the result of the plague began to subside. As promised, the Venetian authorities then proceeded to build the Madonna della Salute Basilica. Designed by Baldassare Longhena and completed in 1687, the majestic church with its magnificent Baroque lines still towers above Punta della Dogana. 

The Basilica is well worth visiting, characterised by a double dome surmounted by a statue of the Virgin Mary, which dominates and protects the City of Venice and the entire lagoon. Inside the church sacristy are works by Titian, Tintoretto, and other artistic luminaries, as well as the recently restored church organ and its multiple pipes. 

Starting 18th November, the annual celebrations of the Feast of the Madonna della Salute are inaugurated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony performed on the temporary votive bridge, with the Patriarch of Venice in attendance. Commemorating the original procession and to facilitate access for the numerous pilgrims visiting the Basilica, each year a temporary floating bridge of boats is recreated linking the two banks of the Grand Canal, between Santa Maria del Giglio and the Basilica. This unique historical and religious occasion has been repeated annually for around four centuries.  

Although it began as a strictly religious commemoration, the festival has evolved into a popular Venetian celebration. During the week-long festivities, numerous stalls are set up in the area in front of the Basilica and in Campo San Gregorio, offering sweets, children’s toys, and candles – bringing happiness to young and old alike – while showcasing traditional community life as it once was here in Venice.