Rice and peas soup

• Shuck the peas and wash them. Chop the parsley. Warm up the broth.
• Brown some minced bacon in a pot with some butter, two spoons of oil, chopped parsley and a chopped onion.
• Add the peas and leave them simmering, adding a few spoons of broth.
• Pour the broth into the pot and add the rice when it is boiling again. Stir frequently.
• Five minutes before removing the rice from heat, taste it and adjust salt and pepper. Then add the remaining butter and three spoonfuls of Parmesan and cream it.

The Feast of the Ascension (La Sensa) is a festivity introduced by the Republic of Venice to celebrate the Ascension of Christ. This event celebrates the intimate relationship between Venice and the Sea. Today it also represents an important event for the Venetian rowing, with people living again the traditional competition of the historical regatta. The cerimony of the Marriage of the Sea used to take place during this event, to represent the symbiosis of La Serenissima with the Sea. The celebration culminated with a propitiatory rite: on the Bucintoro, the Doge used to reach the mouth of the harbour at Lido and to throw a golden ring into the sea. The Sensa is a great moment for gathering together and it celebrates the important relationship between the city and the sea. The date varies depending on the calendar, but it is always celebrated at the end of May,  at late spring, when vegetables, especially those grown on the islands, is in its prime. Among the typical recipes of this period you can found risi e bisi (rice and peas), a dish that gained fame like few others and that was able to embody all features of the typical Venetian meal.