Perdòn di Barbana

Perdòn di Barbana is Grado's historic annual boat pilgrimage, held on the first Sunday of July, when a procession of decorated boats draped with flags and garlands crosses the lagoon from Grado to the sanctuary island of Barbana carrying the statue of the Madonna degli Angeli. The tradition originates from a vow made in 1237 when Grado was delivered from a terrible plague; the community promised to carry the statue of the Madonna by sea from the Basilica to the Sanctuary of Barbana in perpetual thanksgiving. The procession departs from Porto Mandracchio in Grado, led by the 'Regina del Mare' boat bearing the Madonna degli Angeli statue, and arrives at the Santuario di Barbana for a Solemn Mass presided by the Archbishop, followed by a return procession and Te Deum at the Basilica di Sant'Eufemia.