The Marriage of the Sea ceremony ( it, Sposalizio del Mare) was a major maritime event in the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

commemorated on Ascension Day. It symbolized the maritime dominion of Venice and was manifested by the throwing of a golden ring into the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. This ritual gesture was performed by the

doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...

until the fall of the republic in 1797. Since 1965, the ceremony has been reenacted annually by the mayor of Venice reprising the role as doge.

Origins

The rites of propitiation linked to the sea dates back to antiquity. In his short memoir, the French archaeologist and religious historian

Salomon Reinach Salomon Reinach (29 August 1858 – 4 November 1932) was a French archaeologist, religious historian and was a major figure in the Franco-Jewish establishment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was vice president of the mo ...

recalls famous episodes, in particular the throwing by

Polycrates Polycrates (; grc-gre, Πολυκράτης), son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from the 540s BC to 522 BC. He had a reputation as both a fierce warrior and an enlightened tyrant. Sources The main source for Polycrates' life and activit ...

, tyrant of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

, of a precious ring into the sea to appease the gods. He also quotes

Empress Helena Flavia Julia Helena ''Augusta'' (also known as Saint Helena and Helena of Constantinople, ; grc-gre, Ἑλένη, ''Helénē''; AD 246/248– c. 330) was an '' Augusta'' and Empress of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine th ...

throwing a nail from the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

into the

to make it more lenient to navigators. According to Reinach, the Marriage of the Sea ceremony of the Venetians was derived from a pagan ritual reappropriated by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. According to most authors, the ceremony first appeared around the year 1000, concurrent to the conquest of Dalmatia by the Venetians around 997 under the leadership of Doge

Pietro II Orseolo Pietro II Orseolo (961−1009) was the Doge of Venice from 991 to 1009. He began the period of eastern expansion of Venice that lasted for the better part of 500 years. He secured his influence in the Dalmatian Romanized settlements from the Croa ...

. The event was definitively codified and fixed on Ascension Day in 1173 under the reign of Doge Sebastian Ziani. Its principle was confirmed in 1176 by Pope Alexander III who, during the truce in Venice, gave Doge

Sebastiano Ziani Sebastiano Ziani was Doge of Venice from 1172 to 1178. He was one of the greatest planners of Venice. During his short term as Doge, Ziani divided the city-state into many districts. He realised that the government headquarters were too close ...

a gold ring, saying to him: "Here, my son, Doge of Venice, this is the wedding ring of your marriage to the sea. From now on, we want you and your successors to marry her every year". The ceremony would be commemorated for more than six centuries until the entry of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's troops and the abdication of Doge

Ludovico Manin Ludovico Giovanni Manin (; ; 14 May 1725 – 24 October 1802) was a Venetian politician, patrician, and the 120th and last Doge of Venice. He governed the Venetian Republic from 9 March 1789 until its fall in 1797, when he was forced to ab ...

during the

fall of the Republic of Venice The fall of the Republic of Venice was a series of events that culminated on 12 May 1797 in the dissolution and dismemberment of the Republic of Venice at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte and Habsburg Austria. In 1796, the young general Napoleo ...

in 1797. The major symbolic importance of this Venetian ceremony is regularly underlined. According to Italian art historian Sergio Bettini, the event is "something deeper and more substantial ..than a simple occasion of rest or jubilation or commemoration". Like the "great Roman and Byzantine ceremonies", it is "the periodic representation and incarnation of the myth of Venice in real life". The

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(UNSECO) evokes the ceremony as a "fundamental" rite for ancient Venice.

Procedure

The ceremony begins with the bucentaur docking at the Môle in front of the Doge's Palace. The

boards the sovereign galley dressed in full regalia: a mantle of gold and silver lamé brocade made with ermine fur, with a ceremonial

corno ducale The corno ducale (), a unique ducal hat, was the headgear and symbol of the Doge of Venice. It was a stiff horn-like bonnet, which was made of gemmed brocade or cloth-of-gold and worn over a camauro. The ducal horn was a fine linen cap with a str ...

headwear and command rod in hand. He takes his seat at the stern, with the papal legate on his right and the French ambassador on his left. The

Venetian Senate The Senate ( vec, Senato), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, la, Consilium Rogatorum), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or le ...

occupies four rows of seats. The bucentaur leaves the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

and heads for the

surrounded by accompanying boats and

gondolas The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hul ...

. Once it is off the

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from ...

Lido di Venezia The Lido, or Venice Lido ( it, Lido di Venezia), is an barrier island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy; it is home to about 20,400 residents. The Venice Film Festival takes place at the Lido late August/early September. Geography Th ...

, the

Patriarch of Venice The Patriarch of Venice ( la, Patriarcha Venetiarum; it, Patriarca di Venezia) is the ordinary bishop of the Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few patriarchs in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church (currently three other Latin ...

climbs aboard from another ship and heads to the stern. The Patriarch then pronounces a nuptial benediction (marriage) which consecrates the ceremony. The doge then throws the ring into the sea while and recites the following address translated as: "We espouse thee, O sea, as a sign of true and perpetual dominion". The return of the bucentaur to shore signals the opening of the Festa della Sensa, a feast famous throughout Europe for its splendor and wealth, and its huge fair in Saint Mark's Square. A Grand Admiral was responsible for passenger safety during the journey. The bucentaur was not well-suited for navigation, difficult to maneuver, and had a flat bottom and shallow draft which risked it

capsizing Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fr ...

. The author

Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...

noted that the slightest headwind could "drown the doge with all the most serene lordship, the ambassadors and the nuncio of the pope", and that an accident would cause Europe to laugh and say "the doge of Venice finally went to consummate his marriage".

Present day

Since 1965, modern-day

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

has reenacted the ceremony on Ascension Day every year with the mayor of Venice reprising the role as doge. The mayor is accompanied by the patriarch of Venice and other dignitaries as they travel to San Nicolò Church on a replica of the bucentaur, where a ring is ceremoniously thrown into the sea. The only contemporary evidence of the ancient ritual which is currently preserved is the ring of an unidentified doge fished out of the sea by chance. It is now part of the collection in Saint Mark's Basilica.

References

External links

Video footage of the 2014 ceremony
{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 Ceremonies in Italy Culture in Venice History of Venice History of the Adriatic Sea Italian traditions Marriage and religion Maritime culture in Europe Naval ceremonies

Origins

Procedure

Present day

See also

References

External links