Santa Maria Della Salute Celebrations in Venice

VENICE, ITALY - NOVEMBER 20: A butcher shows some dried mutton for the 'Castradina', a dish made with dried mutton and cabbage typical of the traditional Festa della Salute on November 20, 2017 in Venice, Italy. The Festa della Salute is the least 'touristy' of the Venetian festivities and evokes strong religious feelings among the city's inhabitants. The holiday is in memory of a bout of pestilence, which lasted for two years from 1630-31, and the subsequent vow by the Doge to obtain the intercession of the Virgin Mary, even today, thousands of inhabitants visit the main altar of the imposing Salute Church on November 21 to give thanks, and a strong symbolic tie remains between the city and the Virgin Mary. (Photo by Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images)