Festival name: Feast of Santa Maria della Salute
Date: November 21
Where: Santa Maria della Salute Church
Town: Venice
Region: Veneto
Food: Asparagus
About the event: In 1630, thousands of Venetians died from the plague. The priests in the city prayed for divine intervention and promised to build a church in honor of the Virgin Mary if God would cure the people. Within weeks the epidemic faded, so the Venetians built Santa Maria della Salute Church. Today city workers still lay a footbridge built on pontoon boats across the Grand Canal every November 21. The bridge leads from the San Marco quarter to the steps of the Church, and the main doors are opened for mass. The Venetians light candles in front of the church and everyone enjoys mutton and frittele veneziana (fritters stuffed with pine nuts or raisins).

Festival name: St. Mark's Day
Date: April 25
Town: Venice
Region: Veneto
About the event: April 25, St. Mark's Day, is celebrated around the world. However, in Venice (whose patron saint is Mark) a special festival is held, with the holiday jointly commemorating the city's historic founding on that day in 421 AD. Venetians hold a gondola race in Bacina di San Marco, and throw feasts in honor of the Saint, making sure to include "risi e bisi" (literally, "rice and peas"), a dish historically served to the doge each year on St. Mark's Day. A plate of risotto cooked in vegetable broth and prepared with fresh peas and pancetta, the recipe is a tasty tradition definitely worth maintaining.

A different, more unusual tradition also observed on this holiday is the sale of boccioli ("buds") of red roses. April 25, every Venetian man takes care to purchase one of these flowers as a token of love for all the ladies in his life (wife, mother, cousins, friends, etc.). The longer the flower's stem, the deeper the love. According to legend, this practice originated when a soldier, enamored of the doge's daughter, became mortally wounded during battle in a far-off land. As his blood spilled onto the ground, it bore red roses, which he entrusted to his companion to take to the girl. Although the tale does not specify that the flowers arrived on St. Mark's Day, Venetians have elected to celebrate this pagan miracle on the day of their patron saint.

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