Guardi’s Bucintoro Paintings Return To Venice

Returning to Venice after three centuries in private collections, the pair of works are a testament to the enduring magnificence of La Serenissima.

The paintings, Outwards Voyage of the Bucintoro to San Nicolò del Lido and The Return of the Bucintoro to the Doge’s Palace, depict the most magnificent and historic of Venetian traditions: the annual celebration of the Festa della Sensa. Still taking place on Ascension Day every year, the festival culminates in a spectacular ceremony representing Venice’s Marriage with the Sea.

In these richly detailed paintings, Guardi captures the grand procession of the Bucintoro, the state barge, with the Doge and Senate on board, leaving the Doge’s Palace for the church of San Nicolò del Lido, and the barge’s subsequent return to the Palace. According to tradition, at San Nicolò, the Doge would cast a gold ring into the waters of the Adriatic to symbolise the union of the Venetian Republic and the sea.