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.

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
(your e-mail address will not be published or shared)

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.

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

"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".

A fondamenta in Castello