The Giudecca Island is located about 400 meters south of Venice and is separate from the city by the homonymous canal. The Giudecca is comprised by 8 islands and has about 4500 inhabitants. In ancient times its name was “Spina Longa”, due to the long and narrow profile similar to that of a bone fish. The stretch of the lagoon between Venice and the Giudecca was a canal called “Vigano”. Later the name became Giudecca because in this part of the city were confined Jews. From 1298 they were transferred to the mainland, but in 1516 they were forced to reside in the Ghetto of Venice. Thus it became an exclusive place for the nobility of that age, before the area of Riviera del Brenta, with its villas, became fashionable. The Giudecca lived a period of brilliance with the construction of palaces, villas with gardens, churches and monasteries (in ancient times there were eight). In the course of the twentieth century this became a popular suburb of the city with some medium-sized industries such as Junghans, the Mulino Stucky (built in 1896 by the German architect Ernst Wullekopf), and many small shipyards located in the south.
The area north of the Giudecca is connected by a long waterfront, where we admire the “Zattere”, the St. Mark’s Basin and S. Giorgio Maggiore. From that waterfront through the long and narrow streets you get to the south part of the islans: from there you see a nice view of the lagoon with a few islands not far away. The major sight of the Giudecca can be considered without doubt the Church of the Redentore, (Christ the Redeemer), in neoclassical style (begun in 1582 by Palladio and completed in 1592 by Antonio da Ponte). This votive temple was erected for the will of the Senate following the end of the terrible plague of 1576 that decimated the population of the city. Every third Sunday of July, the Doge had to visit the church for the occasion. Inside there are some remarkable paintings such as “The Baptism of Christ” by Paolo Veronese and “The Descent from the Cross” by Jacopo Palma the Young. Actually, the Feast of Redentore owes its notoriety to the fireworks being exploded in the S. Mark’s Basin at 23.30 (on Saturday) and lasting nearly 40 minutes, that assist thousands of people by boat and from the waterfront. For that special event is positioned a bridge made by boats, which starts at Zattere, crosses the Giudecca Canal and arrives just in front of the Redentore Church.
How to get to the Giudecca.
From Piazzale Roma or the train station you take the waterbus line 2 or 41 provided by Actv (price € 6.50). To reach the Giudecca from S. Mark’s area you take from stop “S. Zaccaria” (Jolanda) line 2 or 42. The Giudecca has the following waterbus stops: “Palanca”, “Redentore” and “Zitelle.” The word “Palanca” derives from the name of the coin that you once had to pay for ferries to cross the Giudecca Canal. From stop “Zattere” you cross the canal by ferry line 2.
The Redentore festival is close to the hearts of Venetians, and is celebrated on the third Sunday of July, with a grandiose fireworks show on Saturday night as the main attraction. The Venetians take in the spectacle of the fireworks right from their boats which are usually decorated with balloons, festoons and lights. Starting before sunset, the boats make their way to the Saint’s Mark basin and to the Giudecca Canal. The waters sparkle with the reflection of boats and lights. On the boats, among song, dance and typical food, people wait for the fireworks that begin at 11.30pm and go on for almost an hour. Along the banks thousand of people also wait for the fireworks at long tables set up for the occasion.
