A row of bridge-guided boats sways peacefully on the water, moved with elegance by the gentle waves that ripple the canal.
It is July 20 and the pontoon bridge is ready to host travelers to commemorate the end of the plague epidemic that struck Venice in 1575.
The Basilica del Redentore stands out, as a true sign in memory of the liberation from the fatal grip of the city. Built on an ambitious Palladian project, the Basilica will host the Capuchin Friars and will follow the rule of poverty.
In the materials, but not in the intentions: from the dome the light symbolically floods the spaces making the volumes vibrant and alive.
That Basilica is a return to the origins: terracotta and bricks raise the Byzantine plan. Stripped of all narcissism, today the Redentore remembers: it is a warning. We are strong until we are no more, we live until we no longer live.
Fireworks light up the Lagoon, laughter crashes against the white marble facade. A new day is peeping out.