The Festa della Salute perfectly expresses the lagoon city's history and tradition: it is in this spirit that you have to understand the tradition of eating castradina on November 21.

It is a tribute to the loyalty of the Dalmatians who, during Venice's long plague-induced isolation, were the only state to provide Venice with food. However, they could only bring what they had to hand: mutton, which was readily available in that region. And so during those seemingly never-ending eighteen months of isolation the Venetians ate almost nothing else.

This is why, in memory of that trying time, the tradition of eating castradina on November 21 is maintained to this day.