Venice mystic Marriage to the sea 20.05.07

Today the ceremony is not as magnificent as in previous centuries, but the symbolism of the mystic marriage to the sea is still evident and is certainly still valid today. The Mayor of Venice, civic dignitaries and religious and military representatives leave Saint Mark’s Square and get rowed to the Port of S. Nicolò where the ritual ring throwing takes place. Marriage to the seaThe Doge of the Serenissima used this rite to demonstrate the Republic’s dominion in the gulf. The doge and his entourage embarked on the Bucintoro. On reaching the mouth of San Nicolò port, the Doge threw a gold ring into the sea.

To commemorate the arduous enterprise, the Festa della Sensa was created; first of all, it was restricted to the blessing of the Sea. This was originally an exclusively propitiatory rite, with a simple and modest ceremony. It became more complex and splendid when the same occasion was used to commemorate another Venetian victory, of diplomatic nature. By this time, 1177, the two major European authorities signed a peace in Venice that marked the end of the centuries-old battle between the Papal State and the Empire: acting as mediator between Pope Alexander III and Frederick I Barbarossa was the Doge Sebastiano Ziani of Venice. The Pope was very grateful to the Venetians and swamped the city with gifts, also donating to Doge Ziani a blessed ring pronouncing the words: "Accept this as a pledge of the sovereignty that you and your successors will have perpetually over the Sea" and, according to the historian Sanudo, there was also specific reference to a wedding "... that he marry the sea just as a man marries a woman, to become its master". Thus the initial visit to the sea and its blessing was transformed into an act of investiture and possession: by now, Venice’s domination over the Adriatic was acknowledged by the two major European powers of the time.