The Sensa Festival commemorates a historical event that took place on
Ascension Day, May 9th 1000. On that day,
Doge Pietro Orseolo II left Venice at the head of a great fleet, to defend the inhabitants of Zara and Dalmatia against the incursions of Croatians and Narentines. Before leaving, the Doge boarded the cerimonial galley,
the Bucintoro, and set out to sea along
San Nicolò di Lido Canal, while the Bishop of Venice gave his blessing to the Adriatic. Having reached the mouth of the harbour, the Doge then threw a golden ring into the sea to symbolically marry Venice to the sea and demonstrate the Serenissima's domination of the gulf. Every year since then, the Doge (now the Mayor of Venice) has repeated this solemn ritual. The re-enactment of this cerimony is also accompained by numerous other attractions, including the Sensa market in the cloisters of the San Nicolò church on the Lido, and the Voga alla Veneta rowing races - the water parade staged by Associazioni Remiere (Venice Rowing Club)
