Happy Fourth of July!

OK, clearly these were not taken in the U.S. on the 4th of July! This was taken in Venice in August of 2006 when we were living in Verona and went to Venice for a festival called "Il Redentore"." This celebration commemorates an event that happened in the middle ages, when the people realized that the plague had ended and they decided to build a church. A festival followed where they erected a temporary bridge suspended on boats across the lagoon from the Dorsoduro neighborhood to Giudecca so that people could easily walk to the beautiful church of the Redentore (Church of the Redeemer) to celebrate Mass. And while there is on the surface, nothing similar about these two events – our 4th of July and the Festival of il Redentore – it can be said that for the colonists the tryanny was over and they were building a bridge to the future by working together to bring about freedom and liberty. Happy Fourth of July everyone. Let Freedom Ring.

The fireworks for the Redentore festival came from barges in the Guidecca Canal, between the island of Guidecca and Dorsoduro. If you look carefully you can see a gondola passing by.


to see more of our Italian adventure, visit our Italy blog at www.livecheapmakeart.blogspot.com