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24 April 2019
On 25 April of each year, Venetians not only celebrate Liberation Day and St Mark’s Day, but also the Festa del Bòcolo (Rosebud festival).
On this day, men traditionally give women a ‘bòcolo’ or a red rosebud to show their love.
Legend has it that in the second half of the 9th century, Maria, the pretty daughter of Partecipazio, the Doge of Venice, fell in love with Tancredi, a charming and valiant troubadour.
Maria’s father did not approve of their union because of the young man’s humble origins, so the girl advised her beloved to go to war so that he could obtain the glory and honours necessary to win her father’s respect.
So Tancredi left to fight and immediately distinguished himself for his courage and bravery, obtaining important recognitions.
In Roncesvalles, the brave warrior was mortally injured in battle, betrayed by his own courage and by his excessive desire to prove his worthiness to marry Maria. Before dying, he entrusted his friend Orlando with a rosebud tinted with the red of his blood and asked him to deliver it to his beloved as a pledge of true and everlasting love.
When the Frankish knights returned to Venice, Maria ran to meet them looking for Tancredi, but his comrade gave her the rosebud entrusted to him on the battle field. The poor girl was heartbroken and rendered entirely mute in her grief and, with the bloody flower in her hands, withdrew to her room where she was found dead the next day, on 25 April, with the rose lying on her chest.
Ever since that day, the rosebud, a symbol of love that is about to open up to life and the sun, is offered to women on St Mark’s Day as a sign of eternal love.
The Festa del Bòcolo is a perfect occasion to express your love with a ring full of meaning, for this reason we have created a selection of engagement rings symbolising this bond inspired by one of Venice’s most romantic legends.
The power of love between Maria and Tancredi was the source of inspiration for our Anonimo Veneziano solitaire, a ring of refined simplicity, but unparalleled beauty.
The designer, Marzia Pendini, recreated the image of the rosebud in the Star solitaire ring, which captures the beauty of the rose embellishing it with 20 diamonds, weighing 0.12 carats, along the platinum stem that supports a 0.40 carat diamond, colour G extra white.
The strength and union between two lovers is symbolised by Contrariè, the romantic platinum ring formed by a pair of brilliant-cut diamonds that express the subtle but deep bond between two hearts.
Come and visit our website and our stores to discover all the treasured symbols of love designed by Salvadori!
