In Venice, the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (known as the Salute) is an emblem of the city – a 17th-century Baroque Roman Catholic church in the Dorsoduro area that is a well-known landmark, visible from the Grand Canal and the Piazza San Marco for its mighty domed roof. It was built following a devastating plague in the city, as an offering to God for delivering the city from the terrible disease at last.

On 21 November, Venetians celebrate the Festa della Madonna della Salute (Madonna of the Salute Festival), in which people parade from San Marco to the Salute to participate in a service that remembers those who died in the plague and offers thanks to God for saving the city. Santa Maria della Salute means ‘Our Lady of Health’.

You may wonder, all these years on, why Venetians still remember the plague of 1630–1. It is because it claimed the lives of almost a third of the population (100,000 Venetians), leaving a terrible scar on the city. At the time all known medicines failed to make any difference, leaving those who survived no option but to turn to God for their salvation. Some 10,000 survivors made a pilgrimage around Piazza San Marco for three days and nights, and it is in these footsteps that the modern-day procession follows.

The festival is popular with Venetians, who flood the streets from morning until night to follow the lead of the Archbishop of Venice. They cross a temporary pontoon bridge set up across the Grand Canal to link Campo Santa Maria del Giglio to La Salute. The bridge is quite a sight to behold: resting on eight tethered barges between which vaporetti (water buses) squeeze through.

Visitors are most welcome to join in – nonbelievers and believers alike; for this is a festival about health, first and foremost. You’ll find an array of vendors offering treats along the way, from cakes to candy floss, plus tall candles that you can light in remembrance once inside the Salute.

Once you’ve made the journey, the custom is to eat castradina– a cabbage and mutton stew – in memory of the loyal Dalmatians, who were the only state to provide Venice with sustenance during the plague in the form of the one foodstuff they had access to: mutton. The recipe is really very simple but tasty: smoked mutton boiled for three hours, with browned Savoy cabbage and onion added after two hours.