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Picture of the Week |
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We start this new section where
every week a different picture will be showcased. Occasionally, there
will be a second picture for you to identify.
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The answer will be posted the
following week, but if you do not want to wait, you can always e-mail
me at:
sestiere@aloverofvenice.com |
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Palazzo Contarini dal
Zaffo also known as
Contarini-Polignac, near San Vio. One of the first Gothic palaces to be
remodeled according to the dictates of the Renaissance style. At the
end of the 15th century, Giovanni di Antonio Buora worked on the
façade which has also been attributed to Mauro Codussi and
Pietro Lombardo.
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Festa della Sensa
is May 16, 2010. This is the most traditional of all Venetian feasts.
It originated in the year 997 when Doge Pietro Orseolo sailed from
Venice
on Ascension Day to liberate the Dalmatian coast from pirate dominance.
This event marked the beginning of Venice's control over the Adriatic
and was celebrated every year by the Doge and his entourage visiting
the port of
the Lido on Ascension Day. In the year 1177, as a sign of gratitude for
the Doge's role in the reconciliation between Pope Alexander III and
Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa, the pope presented the Doge with a ring, symbol
of papal authority. From then on a new custom was added to the
traditional
ceremony of visiting the port of the Lido. The Doge
threw the ring to the waters to consecrate Venice's marriage to the sea
and as a symbol of true and perpetual dominion over the sea. La Sensa, as the festivity is
known in Venetian, was also celebrated by a famous fair in Piazza San
Marco. The locations where merchants had to set their stands were
clearly indicated, as can be seen in the photo below for "L'Arte de Calegheri" (shoemakers).
Today La Sensa is celebrated on the first Sunday following Ascension Day (Ascension Day, always a Thursday, is the 40th day from Easter), but there is a full calendar of events this year beginning on May 10. |
 Gabriel Bella, Antica fiera della Sensa,
Fondazione Querini Stampalia
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"In many of the calli
you'll find old plastic bottles full of tap water on the ground resting
against the walls....they are anti-pee devices. Apparently cats give
them a wide berth, can't help it, they just can't go when there's a
transparent container full of water in the vicinity: I don't know which
feline ethologist discovered this little trick" Tiziano Scarpa, "Venice is a Fish".
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 A fondamenta in Castello
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 Can you identify
it? The picture doesn't seem to contain much information but that odd
shape is unique. Answer |
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