Madonna della Salute 2026: votive bridge, Mass, castradina

1. A festival born from the 1630 vow

Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute

Entry: no fee on record Saturday 21 November 2026 November: cold and damp Every year on 21 November

The feast marks the end of the plague of 1630–1631. At the height of the epidemic, the Senate and Doge Nicolò Contarini vowed to build a church to the Virgin if the city was spared. The architect Baldassare Longhena designed the basilica, with an octagonal plan crowned by a great dome, on the tip of Dorsoduro, facing the Customs House. It was consecrated in 1687, but the exact day varies by source: 9 or 21 November (Italian Wikipedia). 21 November also coincides with the liturgical feast of the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple.

What you need to know before you go

• Each person brings or buys a candle, lit in front of the high altar as a gesture of gratitude.
• The basilica stays open all day for the pilgrimage (Venice Welcome).
• There is no show and no fireworks on the day of the festival (Venice Welcome).

If 21 November leaves you a free half-day, the lagoon is easy to reach from Venice. This trip heads to Murano, then Burano, famous for its lace. Traffic on the Grand Canal may be restricted during bridge week, so confirm the route with the operator before you book.

Pixidia tip: arrive before 10am. Sources describe the morning as the calmest time, with peak crowds between 10am and 3pm (Venice Welcome, checked on 19 October 2026).

Guided tour of the Murano and Burano islands from Venice Price and availability to check on Viator

Book my boat trip

2. The votive bridge, a structure set by ordinance each year

The boat bridge between Giglio and San Gregorio

Giglio, San Marco side, towards San Gregorio Ordinance published in early November Traffic restricted for one week Boats prepared at Punta della Dogana

The temporary bridge links Santa Maria del Giglio, on the San Marco side, to the San Gregorio shore. The boats are prepared at Punta della Dogana, under the two recent municipal ordinances. The bridge is only put up if the floating pontoon itself is installed, a condition noted by Venice Welcome and consistent with the ordinances, which confirm the annual set-up.

The City sets the dates each year through a traffic ordinance, published in early November: 7 November 2023 for 2023, and 6 November 2024 for 2024. It restricts navigation on the Grand Canal for about a week. The table below sums up the two known editions and what is still missing for 2026.

Votive bridge: 2023 and 2024 ordinances, and unknowns for 2026

Year (ordinance)	Installation	Grand Canal restriction	Removal
2023 (OR/2023/0000783)	Thursday 16 or Friday 17 November	From 16 November, 6pm, to 22 November; boats over 4.50 m wide or 3.70 m high excluded	22 November from 7am
2024 (OR/2024/0000922)	Thursday 14 November, 8am–7pm (fallback 15 November)	From 14 November, 6pm, to Monday 25 November, 6pm; alternating passage over about 10 m	Monday 25 November, 8am–7pm (fallback 26)
2026 (not published)	Unknown; inference: between 12 and 20 November	Unknown; inference: about one week	Unknown; inference: Monday 23 or Tuesday 24 November

Source: Comune di Venezia ordinances OR/2023/0000783 and OR/2024/0000922, checked on 19 October 2026. The 2026 rows are inferences from only two years, not announcements.

For the traveller, the consequence is simple: the bridge may be absent, moved or delayed. As 21 November 2026 is a Saturday, removal will probably fall the following week, but nothing has been announced. Locanda Fiorita describes the bridge without citing these ordinances. Wait for the official publication before building your plan around crossing it.

Pixidia tip: check the City’s ordinance page in the first week of November. If the 2026 text hasn’t come out, you’ll only know the bridge is possible, not that it is there.

3. The boat procession, the Mass and how the day unfolds

The festival is not only about a bridge. In 2024, a votive procession by boat was authorised for Saturday 16 November, from the Santa Chiara basin to the Salute, with a boat carrying the votive candle (ordinance no. 941/2024). None of the mainstream guides we checked mention it. In 2019, a procession was postponed to 1 December after the 17 November one was cancelled because of bad weather (ordinance no. 942/2019). No 2026 programme had been published by 19 October: if a procession takes place, it will only be known once the official announcement is made.

The Mass on 21 November

The basilica only publishes its opening hours from 1 April to 31 October, and its pages don’t always agree (9am–12pm and 3pm–5:30pm on one, 9am–5:30pm on another). It announces a Sunday Mass at 11am and publishes no Mass for 21 November 2026 (Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, checked on 19 October 2026). Some guides cite a solemn Mass at 10am: that time comes from the 2019 or 2023 editions and should not be used for 2026.

An undated press report describes a solemn Mass celebrated by Patriarch Francesco Moraglia, with a queue of Venetians in the rain to light their candles. The same report mentions no disruption to the pilgrimage.

The rhythm of the day

The crowd is densest between 10am and 3pm. The morning is quieter, and the basilica welcomes pilgrims all day. The candle stalls are near the church, and the sweet and balloon stalls take over towards the end of the morning and in the afternoon.

4. Castradina, a stew whose origin is still debated

Castradina is a stew of salted, smoked mutton, slow-cooked with cabbage. Its name is Venetian. It is the dish people associate with the 21 November festival, and 2025 reports list it among the day’s traditions (VeNews).

Its origin, however, is not established. According to Venice Welcome, Dalmatian shepherds may have brought the sheep during the famine of 1630. According to venise1, a ship loaded with sheep from Istria was unloaded during that same famine. A third version, with no open source, mentions a Dalmatian blockade.

We found no reliable price for a portion. If you want to try castradina, check the restaurant’s menu on the spot rather than trusting a figure you find online.

5. Salute or Redentore: two festivals not to confuse

The two festivals share some features: a pontoon bridge, crowds of Venetians, sweets and candles. Yet they differ in place, atmosphere and season. The Redentore is celebrated in July on the Giudecca, with fireworks. The Salute is celebrated on 21 November on the Grand Canal, with no show.

Source: Venice Welcome, checked on 19 October 2026, for the Salute; our Redentore festival guide for the July festival.

If you want to see the July vow festival, see our Redentore festival guide, which covers the Giudecca bridge and the evening fireworks.

6. Around the festival: Biennale, access ticket and hours to confirm

21 November 2026 falls on a Saturday, and the Biennale Arte is open that day. The 2026 edition runs from 9 May to 22 November. Its autumn hours are 10:00 am–6:00 pm, with last entry at 5:45 pm, and the exhibition is closed on Mondays, except Monday 16 November. A full ticket costs €30 (La Biennale di Venezia, Arte 2026, checked on 19 October 2026). Some pages published on the subject give an opening time of 11:00 am: the official hours prevail. To plan your visits, our Venice Biennale guide covers the pavilions and how to get in.

The Venice access ticket, known as the contributo di accesso, may be required on some days, but we could not check its November 2026 calendar: the official portal was empty when we looked. The calendars we found only cover spring and summer 2026. Check it before you book your day.

Source: La Biennale di Venezia, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute and Comune di Venezia, checked on 19 October 2026.

7. Budget for the day

The festival itself costs nothing as far as we know: neither the basilica nor the bridge is linked to an entry fee in the sources we consulted. The real costs lie elsewhere.

• Basilica: no entry fee on record for the pilgrimage.
• Biennale: €30 for a full ticket, online booking to be confirmed on the official site.
• Lagoon trip: price and availability to check on Viator (see the card in the first section).
• Venice access ticket: amount and November 2026 calendar not verified.
• Transport: we don’t publish bus or vaporetto fares: the figures found online are not verified for 2026.
• Meals: no reliable price found for castradina; expect the menu price on the spot.

8. A possible plan for the day

Before you leave: check the City’s ordinance page and the basilica’s page. If the 2026 ordinance has been published, you’ll know whether the bridge is planned and on which dates. If not, build a day that doesn’t depend on the bridge.

Early morning: arrive before 10am, while the Dorsoduro district is still quiet. Walk across to the basilica, then take your candle and queue at the high altar. Access is through the usual streets of Dorsoduro, as guides describe them.

Late morning: enjoy the tip of Dorsoduro, facing the Customs House and the San Marco basin, before 11am. It’s also a good moment to look at the bridge from the bank, if it is in place.

Afternoon: the crowd is densest between 10am and 3pm. If you want to leave the centre, a lagoon trip can fill the afternoon, with the duration to confirm with the operator. For more ideas, our selection of day trips from Venice lists the excursions available from the city.

Late afternoon: if you want to visit the Biennale, go before the last entry at 5:45 pm, at the official autumn 2026 hours.

9. Depending on your profile

• First visit to Venice: keep the morning for the basilica and the bridge, then the afternoon for the Biennale or a lagoon trip. One big thing per half-day is enough.
• Family: the festival takes place by day, with stalls of sweets and balloons. Plan breaks, as the walk between the basilica and the bridge is long and the paving stones are damp in November.
• Couple: arrive early to enjoy the basilica without the crush, then spend the end of the day on the water.
• Budget traveller: the festival and the basilica cost nothing as far as we know. Keep your budget for a simple meal and one paid activity.
• Reduced mobility: the sources don’t document the accessibility of the bridge or of the area around the basilica. Check with the City before you come, and plan a route that doesn’t use the bridge.

10. Mistakes to avoid

• Counting on the bridge without an ordinance. It depends each year on a municipal text published in early November. Without that text, nothing guarantees it will be there.
• Using the 2019 or 2023 Mass times. Those times still circulate in older guides. No 2026 time has been published so far.
• Looking for fireworks. The Salute festival has none: it is the Redentore, in July, that has them.
• Assuming a restaurant is open all day. Opening hours for the venue are not published in our sources: check them before you travel.
• Forgetting the Venice access ticket. Its November 2026 calendar had not been published when we wrote this.

What other guides don’t tell you

These five points are missing from, or badly covered in, the mainstream guides we checked. Each one links to its official source, checked on 19 October 2026.

• The bridge depends on an annual ordinance. The City sets the Grand Canal traffic restriction each year, and it lasts about a week (in 2024, from 14 to 25 November, at 6pm). Comune di Venezia, ordinance OR/2024/0000922 (checked on 19 October 2026).
• Clearance and reduced passage. Boats over 4.50 m wide or 3.70 m high are kept out of the works area, and the free passage shrinks to a section of about 10 m with alternating direction. OR/2023/0000783 and OR/2024/0000922 (checked on 19 October 2026).
• A boat procession exists. On Saturday 16 November 2024, a procession set off from the Santa Chiara basin towards the Salute. Comune di Venezia, ordinance no. 941/2024 (checked on 19 October 2026).
• No Mass time for 2026. The basilica publishes nothing for 21 November. One guide cites a Mass at 10am, a time not confirmed for 2026. Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (checked on 19 October 2026).
• Biennale hours don’t agree everywhere. Some pages give an opening at 11am; the official site lists 10:00 am–6:00 pm in autumn, with last entry at 5:45 pm. La Biennale di Venezia, Arte 2026 (checked on 19 October 2026).