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The feast of la Sensa happens in May on the
Sunday after Ascension Day (Jesus' Ascension into Heaven), the
latter being the day on which the doge enacted the wedding of Venice
to the sea. The ritual has recently been revived, a distinctly
feeble procession which the doge ends with with the mayor and a gang
of other dignitaries getting into a present day approximation
of the Bucintoro (the state barge) and sailing off the Lido.
The Sensa Feast-day, Ascension Day, was the major Venetian
celebration at the time of the Republic. Moreover, it took on a
special importance because of the huge number of pilgrims to be
found in the city in spring awaiting passage on the Venetian ships
heading for the Holy Land.
The Sensa celebration dates back to the year 998 when the Venetian
fleet, baptized by the Bishop and under the command of Doge Pietro
Orseolo II, sailed on Ascension Day to liberate Dalmatia.
This victorious undertaking meant that every year on that day the
Doge, on board a sumptuous processional boat called the Bucintoro,
was to throw a ring, the symbol of the city's power and dominion
over the sea, into the waters in front of the Church of San Nicoḷ
on the Lido.
Today many things changed and the water
procession consisting of historical boats and boats belonging to the
Venetian sporting associations, is escorted by naval vessels and
military landing craft to the waters in front of the Church of
San Nicoḷ on the Lido.
In the procession there is the Mayor, accompanied by the highest
civil authorities and by the Patriarch of Venice. Here, after being
blessed, the auspicious ring is thrown into the waves. High Mass
follows in the church. In the afternoon the festivities continue
with two Venetian rowing races, costume parades and a concert of
classical music.
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