The Fèsta de ƚa Sènsa was a feast of 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 ...

held on the occasion of the

feast of the Ascension The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared by ...

(in the Venetian language, Sensa) and still celebrated as a recreation today. It commemorated two significant dates in the Republic's history; the first being May 9, 1000, when the

Doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

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 ...

rescued the denizens of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

imperiled by the

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

. The aforementioned date marked the onset of Venetian extension in the

Adriatic 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 the ...

The second event commemorated took place in 1177 when the 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 ...

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

and the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

agreed to the

Treaty of Venice The Treaty or Peace of Venice, 1177, was a peace treaty between the papacy and its allies, the north Italian city-states of the Lombard League, and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily also took part in negotiations and ...

which ended the long-standing differences between the

Pontificate The pontificate is the form of government used in Vatican City. The word came to English from French and simply means ''papacy'', or "to perform the functions of the Pope or other high official in the Church". Since there is only one bishop of R ...

and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

. On the occasion of this festival was held the ceremony of the

Marriage of the Sea The Marriage of the Sea ceremony ( it, Sposalizio del Mare) was a major maritime event in the Republic of Venice commemorated on Ascension Day. It symbolized the maritime dominion of Venice and was manifested by the throwing of a golden ring into ...

(It. Sposalizio del Mare). This ceremony is recreated annually with the

Mayor of Venice The mayor of Venice (Italian: ''sindaco di Venezia'') is an elected politician who, along with the Venice City Council of 36 members, is accountable for the strategic government of the municipality of Venice, Veneto, Italy. The current office ho ...

taking on the traditional role which was historically executed by the Doge.

References

External links

* The Festa della Sensa Commission
Comitato Festa della Sensa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Festa della Sensa Annual events in Italy Festivals in Venice Holidays based on the date of Easter May observances Spring (season) events in Italy