In città EN

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, especially for children, and to spend it in Venice adds magic to it, as Venice at Christmas is the city as it exists for locals.

The calendar of Le Città in Festa for Christmas offers a wide choice.

Do not miss Christmas markets in Venice and in the Metropolitan City! You can choose among Venezia Christmas Village in Campo Santo Stefano (until January 7, 2018) or in Campo San Polo (from December 8 to February 13, 2018) and the Antiques Fair at Campo San Maurizio on December 8,9,10. Visit the Christmas Markets in Mestre until December 30 or Jesolo Christmas Village until January 7, 2018. Here is a selection of the best street markets!

Christmas shopping in Venice is a unique opportunity to provide you with exclusive ideas thanks to its unique handmade gifts and handicraft. My Christmas Venice, in Dorsoduro, offers the authentic tradition with music, street markets, workshops and events for children and you can pick up very special gifts.

 

From “DeTourism”

The first Sunday of each month is #DOMENICALMUSEO MUSEI FREE FOR ALL in state museums in Italy.

The state museums of Venice are:

• Monumental Halls of the Marciana National Library

• Giorgio Franchetti Gallery at the Ca ‘d’Oro

• Galleries of the Academy of Venice

• Palazzo Grimani

• Museum of Oriental Art in Venice

• Archaeological Museum of Venice

• Archaeological Museum of Quarto d’Altino

Our selection of museums and exhibitions in Venice that you can visit for free in December 2017:

• Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation – Piazza San Marco Gallery until 3 December 2017, Palazzetto Tito – Dorsoduro until 3 December 2017

• Marciana National Library – Free guided tours every second Sunday of the month (advance booking is required)

• Free guided tours of the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Center de musique romantique française every Thursday at 2.30 pm in Italian at 3.00 pm in French at 3.30 pm in English. (Reservations required).

• Vittorio Zecchin: Transparent glass for Cappellin and Venini, Le Stanze del Vetro, Giorgio Cini Foundation, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore until 8 January 2018

“The winter light in this city! It has the extraordinary property of enhancing your eye’s power of resolution to the point of microscopic precision […] The sky is brisk blue; the sun, escaping its golden likeness beneath the foot of San Giorgio, sashays over the countless fish scales of the laguna’s lapping ripples; […]

It’s a private light, the light of Giorgione or Bellini, not the light of Tiepolo or Tintoretto. And the city lingers in it, savoring its touch, the caress of the infinity whence it came.”

Josef Brodskij – Fondamenta degli Incurabili (Adelphi)

Visiting Venice in winter, grasping its atmosphere, lights, subdued colours, water splashing, smells, footsteps bouncing and echoing, in the only time of the year with few tourists, can make you discover and savour a different, more secret,  true dimension. Then get lost in the labyrinthine alleys, take refuge in museums, galleries, palaces and churches, search for the lights of the great painters and experience these magical and intimate atmosphere. If fog swirls around or it’s chilly and there is acqua alta, (high tide) follow the smells of savoury cooked food and have a snack and take a rest.

From “DeTourism”

The Festa della Salute is probably the least “touristy” of the Venetian festivities, as it is for the Redentore (Redeemer), and evokes strong religious feelings among the city’s inhabitants,

Every year,  thousands of Venetians visit the main altar of the imposing Salute Church on November 21th to give thanks and  light candles to the to the  Madonna Mesapanditta. A temporary bridge is built on boats crossing the Grand Canal, connecting the area of  S. Maria del Giglio (in the Saint Mark neighbourhood) with Longhena’s basilica (in the Dorsoduro neighbourhood).
In 1630, the plague (narrated by Alessandro Manzoni in his The Bethroted) gripped the North of Italy and Doge Nicolò Contarini made a public vow to erect a church called the Salute, asking for the Virgin Mary’s divine intercession to rid the city of the plague. Only in these days you can find the “Castradina S’ciavona”  a tribute to the loyalty of the Dalmatians who, during Venice’s long plague-induced isolation, were the only state to provide Venice with food. However, they could only bring what they had to hand: mutton, which was readily available in that region. And so during those seemingly never-ending eighteen months of isolation the Venetians ate almost nothing else. This is why, in memory of that trying time, the tradition of eating castradina on November 21th is maintained to this day.

From “DeTourism”

St. Martin’s Day is one of the most original and traditional Venetian festivals. The Summer of St Martin and the feast are celebrated with a traditional sweet biscuit pastry representing St. Martin on horseback with his sword, while children go around to “batter sanmartin” or “to beat St. Martin” singing a nursery rhyme in exchange for sweets or coins. Do you want to prepare the traditional sweet ?

The feast is celebrated both on the mainland and in the historic centre with many events for children and families: animation, music, workshops and culinary stands keep the tradition alive.

In Venice two are the churches dedicated to St. Martin. Why not make a visit on this day?

One church is not far from the Arsenale in Castello, built in the 16th century on Jacopo Sansovino’s project, the other one is in the island of Burano. In the church you can admire the Crucifixion by Giambattista Tiepolo (about 1721)

From “DeTourism”