Search results

Start typing

This exhibition is in the past. View our current exhibitions.
CANALETTO (VENICE 1697-VENICE 1768)

The Bacino di San Marco on Ascension Day

c.1733-4

RCIN 404417

The ceremony of the Sposalizio del Mar (‘Wedding of the Sea’), held on Ascension Day, was Venice’s most important annual event. The Bucintoro, the Doge’s gilded galleon seen here to the right before the Palazzo Ducale, was rowed in procession out of the lagoon into the Adriatic, where the Doge cast a ring blessed by the Patriarch into the waters, symbolising the marriage of Venice to the sea. The marquee of the traditional Ascension Day market can be seen in the Piazzetta at centre left.

    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.