Local Expert
Bradley Harden
Living the Sweet Life in a Fantasy Land
I was born in Missouri, but grew up in Minnesota where I was exposed to true winter and the health benefits of shoveling A LOT of snow. After graduating from…
Living the Sweet Life in a Fantasy Land
I was born in Missouri, but grew up in Minnesota where I was exposed to true winter and the health benefits of shoveling A LOT of snow. After graduating from high school I attended Northwest Missouri State University for 2 years and then transferred to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music and earned a degree in Music Business and Management. After deciding that a desk job simply wasn't my thing at this point in my life, I set out to see what the world had to offer. I found a wonderful little town a few miles southwest of Venice called Padova. This small, university town truly captures all of the ideas, visions, sights, and sounds of what you think Italy should be...except the gondolas, that is left for Venice.
I enjoy a lot of different things. Travel is obvious. I have traveled extensively throughout Europe in the years since arriving, trying to see as much as I can. This, of course, includes a vast amount of Italy. I have had a wonderful time experiencing the culture with real Italians that have taken me to the places that you can not find in any guidebook and that are not on any map. During the spring and summer I work as a liaison for travelers; helping them find their way from the airport or train station to their hotels and helping them navigate through Venice or surrounding area to see things that are off the beaten path. Of course, if it’s your first time you need to see the important historical things, but if you’ve been before perhaps a day of ‘live like a local’ is more your thing. I always find a huge amount of pleasure and satisfaction from seeing a city that I know very well through the eyes of someone who is experiencing it for the first time. When this happens I, too, see the city for the first time and I realize that the magic never left.
In addition to all of this, I also enjoy movies, most types of music, going out for a “spritz” in the piazzas during the evenings with friends, and since I’m living in Italy eating AMAZING food and drinking a GREAT glass of wine come almost automatically. This is the definition of "Having your cake and eating it too."
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Celebrating the Plague: Redentore Feast Day
During the summer, Italians celebrate for just about any reason...this includes The Plague. The Redentore is one of the greatest Venetian festivities of the summer (July 19-20). Not only because of the food and drink that is produced but because of the massive fireworks display that is shown over Saint Mark's Basin in front of Saint Mark's Square.
The actual celebration falls on the 3rd Sunday in July. During this time Holy Mass is held in the presence of the Patriach and is then followed by a religious procession. However, the most sought after moment of the entire festivity takes place the night before on Saturday when Saint Mark's Square becomes the backdrop for a magnificent fireworks show that shower a kaleidoscope of colors across the water and silhouetted spires, domes, and bell towers of the city behind. The entire weekend ends with a gondola regatta.
A quick history of why:
All of this celebration comes from the Plague. From 1575-1577 the city was tormented by the plague. Helped by the high density of population, the disease spread through the city causing nearly 50,000 deaths, which was more than a third of the city's inhabitants. On September 4, 1576, the Senate decided that the Doge should announce the vow to erect a church dedicated to the Redentore (Redeemer), in return for help in ending the plague. On July 13, 1577 the plague was declared officially over and it was decided that the city's liberation from the terrible disease should be celebrated on the 3rd Sunday in July. At sunset the well illuminated boats, decorated with bows and colored balloons, begin congregating in Saint Mark's Basin and the Giudecca Canal. In the boats people eat traditional food, waiting for the fireworks, which begin at 11:309pm and lasts until after midnight.
If you are planning on going, TrenItalia does run extended services after midnight for this festival, so if you're staying in places like Mestre, Padova, Vicenza, or Verona, you can still get home without any problems.
If you would like to contact me directly about this, or any other event in Venice or northern Italy, visit me HERE.