Today our post from “Detourism: La newsletter di Venezia”, the newsletter prepared by the Tourism Office of the Town of Venice, is celebrating 1600 years of Venice! March 25, 421 is commonly recognized as the date on which the City of Venice was founded, as written in the manuscript of the Chronicon Altinate. This year, 2021, marks the 1600th anniversary of the foundation of Venice and the City will be celebrating with an exciting program of events organized and promoted by the local authorities, institutions and associations, which includes exhibitions, museum and city tours, conferences and seminars.
The “Up and Down the Bridges” also celebrates the City of Venice this year with the brand new project “Su e Zo Detour – the guided tours of the Up and Down the Bridges of Venice” (see previous post: “La Su e Zo presenta: Su e Zo Detour!”).
And now let’s find out more about Venice’s 1600th birthday from “Detourism”, the newsletter of Venice. Enjoy your reading!

Three places to discover Venice’s history and mith

According to a centuries-old tradition, Venice has 1,600 years of history. Conventionally, it is assumed that the city was founded on 25 March 421, the day of the Annunciation. The link between the myth of the origins and the fervent culture which derives from it unfolds through the historical and architectural stratification of the entire city. Here we suggest three symbolic and fascinating spots, maybe little-known, to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of Venice.

1. The Chapel of the Vision of Saint Mark

The chapel of the Vision of Saint Mark, inside the Convent of San Francesco della Vigna, is deeply connected to the founding myth of the city. According to tradition, landing in the place where the chapel is now situated, Saint Mark saw an angel in a dream: “Pax tibi Marce, Evangelista meus, hic requiescet corpus tuum” (“Peace to you, Mark, my evangelist. Here will your body rest”). The words of the angel, a prophecy that came true in 828, are imprinted, as is known, on the book of the winged lion, symbol of Saint Mark and emblem of the Serenissima. You can visit San Francesco della Vigna booking in advance (tel. 041 5222476 at meal times). The chapel is now closed for restorations. Also worth seeing at the Gallerie dell’Accademia is The Dream of Saint Mark, by Domenico Tintoretto.

2. The Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo

Over the course of 1100 years, from 697 to 1797, 120 doges have taken turns at the head of the Venetian Republic. Many doges chose the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, the largest in Venice, as their burial place, and their splendid tombs tell us great stories about the city’s history.

3. The Pantheon of the Venetians

Palazzo Loredan houses the Pantheon Veneto, a collection of great historical and artistic value, dating back to 1847. It consists of busts and medallions representing “distinguished men” who were born or had lived in the Venetian provinces. Some of the greatest sculptors of the time participated in the creation of the collection. Access is free (from Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 5 pm).

For a year, beginning from March 25, 2021, the City of Venice will be celebrating its 1,600th anniversary with an exciting program of events, organized and promoted by local authorities, institutions and associations in Venice and in other places in the world related to the Serenissima.

Find our more on the official web site for the celebrations of Venice’s Foundation Anniversary 1600Venezia!

[source: La newsletter di Venezia, N° 05/2021 del 08.03.2021]
[picture: Ve.La. S.p.A.]

We are proud to publish some selected contents of such newsletter (see previous post: “Detourism for the Up and Down the Bridges“). On our website, in several episodes, we will only present some samples (see all posts in our archive page “Detourism Newsletter“), but the invitation addressed to all the friends of the Up and Down the Bridges is to subscribe to the newsletter directly.
Special thanks to the Councillor for Tourism for having enthusiastically welcomed this new important collaboration between TGS Eurogroup and the Tourism Office of the Town of Venice and for giving us the precious opportunity to publish on the pages of this blog some extracts from this newsletter, both in Italian and in English.

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