Murano, Venice glass Concepts

Fodor's Venice and Northern Italy

by Fodor's · 22 Mar 2011

and The Lakes Piedmont and Valle D’Aosta The Italian Riviera Emilia Romagna Travel Smart Northern Italy Atlas Credits and Copyright Main Table of Contents Venice Neighborhoods Piazza San Marco Dorsoduro San Polo And Santa Croce Castello Cannaregio Islands of the Lagoon Padua Vicenza Verona Bolzano Milan Turin Genoa Bologna Ravenna

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sight of its magnificent palaces, with the light reflected from the canal’s waters shimmering across their facades, is one of Italy’s great experiences. Venice’s Gallerie dell’Academia The greatest museum in northern Italy is a treasure trove of Venetian masters; Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Tiepollo, Bellini, Giorgione, and

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foreign immigrants, although their numbers are smaller relative to the local population than in many other European countries. Their welcome has varied widely: proudly cosmopolitan Venice is fairly open to the newcomers, while in cities where government is controlled by the overtly xenophobic Northern League, integration has been contentious. But despite

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to one or more of the outer islands: Murano, where you can shop for Venetian glass and visit the glass museum and workshops; Burano, known for lace-making and colorful houses; and Torcello, Venice’s first inhabited island, home to a beautiful cathedral. Day 9: Venice Venice is more than a museum—it’s a lively

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to the airport. Previous Chapter | Beginning of Chapter | Next Chapter | Contents Main Table of Contents Introducing Venice Planning Exploring Venice Where to Eat in Venice Where to Stay in Venice Nightlife and the Arts in Venice Shopping in Venice Venice in Depth Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Contents Top Reasons to Go | Getting Oriented It’s called La

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around them—San Giorgio Maggiore and the Giudecca just to the south, beyond them the Lido, the barrier island; to the north, Murano, Burano, and Torcello. The Grand Canal. Venice’s major thoroughfare is lined with grand palazzi that once housed the city’s most prosperous and prominent families. San Marco. The

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Cannaregio, this area is home to most of the locals. With its gardens, park, and narrow, winding walkways, it’s the sestiere least influenced by Venice’s tourist culture—except when the Biennale art festival is on. Previous Chapter | Beginning of Chapter | Next Chapter | Contents Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Contents

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chee- kay -toh) : A snack served at a bàcaro—roughly the Venetian equivalent of tapas. ombra: A small glass of wine served at a bàcaro. Getting Here and Around Getting Here by Car Venice is in the middle of the lagoon at the end of SR11, just off the east–west A4

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clear you want to see the more serene areas of the city. Feel free to bring prosecco—your gondolier may even supply glasses. Getting Around on Foot Getting around Venice presents some unusual problems: the city’s layout has few straight lines; house numbering seems nonsensical; and the six sestieri (districts) of

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It’s dominated by one of Italy’s most beautiful rooms, lavishly yet harmoniously decorated with the teleri (large canvases) of Vittore Carpaccio. A lifelong Venice resident, Carpaccio painted legendary and religious figures against backgrounds of Venetian architecture. Here he focused on saints especially venerated in Dalmatia: Saints George, Tryphone, and

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wealthy Venetians during the Republic’s long and luxurious decline, but today, like Cannaregio, it’s largely working class. The Giudecca provides spectacular views of Venice and is becoming increasingly gentrified. While here, visit the Santissimo Redentore church, designed by Palladio and built to commemorate a plague. The third weekend in

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in Taiwan; visit the island’s Museo di Merletto (Lace Museum) to discover the undeniable difference between the two. Murano is renowned for its glass, plenty of which you can find in Venice itself. It’s also notorious for high-pressure sales on factory tours, even those organized by top hotels. Vaporetto connections

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to Murano aren’t difficult, and for the price of a boat ticket (included in any vaporetto pass), you’ll buy

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your freedom and more time to explore. The Murano “guides

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, Museums of San Marco Plus Pass €13 (Apr.–Oct.), Musei Civici pass €18 | Apr.–Oct., daily 10–5; Nov.–Mar., daily 10–4 | Burano. Murano. As in Venice, bridges here link a number of small islands, which are dotted with houses that once were workmen’s cottages. In the 13th century the

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Republic, concerned about fire hazard and anxious to maintain control of its artisans’ expertise, moved its glassworks to Murano, and today you can visit the

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factories and watch glass being made. Many of them line the Fondamenta dei Vetrai, the canal-side walkway leading from the Colonna vaporetto landing.

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Before you reach Murano’s Grand Canal (a little more than 800 feet from the landing), you’ll pass Chiesa di San

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and Aug. | Ca’ d’Oro. Algiubagiò. $$ | ITALIAN | A waterfront table is still relatively affordable at lunchtime here on Venice’s northern Fondamente Nove, where you can gaze out toward San Michele and Murano—on a clear day you can even see the Dolomites. Algiubagiò has a dual personality: pizzas and big salads

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d’Oro/Fondamente Nove. Palazzo Abadessa. $$$$ | At this elegant late-16th-century palazzo, you can experience gracious hospitality and a luxurious atmosphere in keeping with Venice’s patrician heritage. You’ll feel like nobility yourself as you ascend the majestic staircase and enter the expansive piano nobile, which overlooks a side

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guest rooms, which have fine fabric, damask drapes, Biedermeier furniture, and Venetian glass. The staff is top-notch, as are the restaurant and the bar. Pros: superlative views; professional service. Cons: area is one of the most touristy in Venice, and the Riva’s liveliness can extend late into the evening. | Riva

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no TV. In-hotel: bar | No credit cards | BP | Arsenale/San Zaccaria. Dorsoduro Ca’ Maria Adele. $$$$ | One of Venice’s most elegant small hotels is a mix of classic style—terrazzo floors, dramatic Murano chandeliers, antique furnishings—and touches of the contemporary, found in the African-wood reception area and breakfast room

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Palazzo. $$$$ | This is the ultimate word in luxury, Venetian-style. Surroundings are spacious yet intimate, with high ceilings, tufted walls of Bevilacqua and Rubelli fabrics, Murano glass, marble bathrooms, and damask drapes; no two rooms decorated the same. Many rooms have sweeping views of over the Grand Canal and beyond. Breakfast is

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10-minute walk from the Piazza San Marco. Inspired by the style of Mariano Fortuny, the early-1900s Spanish artist and fashion designer who made Venice his home, the intimate rooms are a surprisingly elegant mélange of multiethnic and exotic furnishings. The Mediterranean, Indian, and Venetian fabrics, silverware, chandeliers, and

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are designated “no-stopping” zones to avoid gridlock, and prices skyrocket. Festivals The Biennale (www.labiennale.org) cultural institution organizes events year-round, including the Venice Film Festival, which begins the last week of August. La Biennale di Venezia, an international exhibition of contemporary art, is held in odd-numbered years

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Chapter | Next Chapter | Contents Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Contents Food Markets | Shopping Districts | Specialty Stores Alluring shops abound in Venice. You’ll find countless vendors of trademark Venetian wares such as glass and lace; the authenticity of some goods can be suspect, but they’re often pleasing to the eye regardless of

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the Rialto Bridge and San Polo and in Santa Croce, and art galleries in Dorsoduro from the Salute to the Accademia. Specialty Stores Art Glass The glass of Murano is Venice’s number-one product, and you’ll be confronted by mind-boggling displays of traditional and contemporary glassware, too much of it kitsch

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. Traditional Venetian glass is hot, blown glass, not lead crystal; it comes in myriad forms including the classic ornate goblets and chandeliers, to beads, vases, sculpture, and

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more. To make a smart purchase, take your time and be selective. You can learn a great deal without sales pressure at the Museo del Vetro on Murano

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; unfortunately you’ll likely find the least-attractive glass where public demonstrations are offered. Although prices in Venice and on Murano are comparable, shops in Venice with wares from various glassworks may charge slightly less. TIP A “free” taxi to

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Murano always comes with sales pressure. Take the vaporetto that’s included in your transit pass

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73 and 77 , San Marco | 30124 | 041/5235484 or 041/2770279 | www.pauly.it), established in 1866, features a truly impressive selection of authentic Murano art glass (both traditional and contemporary styles) by the most accomplished masters—and at better prices than on the island. The showroom at No. 73 houses the

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. Visit their Web site to see a series of glass artisans in action. For a more refined experience and to see some of their best offerings, visit the Venini Showroom (Fondamenta Vetrai 47 , Murano | 30141 | 041/2737211). Lace and Fabrics The best of Burano’s renowned lace-making tradition is rarely

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Friuli–Venezia Giulia The Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia in Depth Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Contents Top Reasons to Go | Getting Oriented The arc around Venice —stretching from Verona to Trieste, encompassing the Veneto and Friuli–Venezia Giulia regions—has, in recent centuries, fallen under the cultural influence of its namesake

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and Roman ruins alongside Venetian Gothic buildings, including the Palazzo Comunale. Cividale’s Renaissance Duomo is largely the work of Pietro Lombardo, principal architect of Venice’s justly famous Santa Maria dei Miracoli. It contains a magnificent 12th-century silver gilt altarpiece. | Piazza Duomo | 33051 | 0432/731144 | Daily 7:30–

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with the works of postwar greats, such as Fontana, De Chirico, and Morandi. Along with the art, the museum holds distinctive postwar furniture and stunning Murano glass chandeliers. | Via Jan 15 , Corso Buenos Aires | 20129 | 02/20240568 | www.fondazioneboschidistefano.it | Free | Tues.–Sun. 10–6 Mon.; last entry at 5:30. GAM

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Map Previous | Next Map Previous | Next Map Previous | Next Map Previous | Next Map Previous | Atlas Main FODOR’S VENICE AND NORTHERN ITALY Editors: Salwa Jabado, Matthew Lombardi Editorial Contributors: Peter Blackman, Bruce Leimsidor, Megan McCaffrey-Guerrera, Nan McElroy COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2011 by Fodor’s

Venice: A New History

by Thomas F. Madden · 24 Oct 2012 · 466pp · 146,982 words

(USA) Inc. Copyright © Thomas F. Madden, 2012 All rights reserved Map illustrations by Meighan Cavanaugh Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Madden, Thomas F. Venice : islands of honor and profit : a new history / Thomas F. Madden. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-101-60113-6

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certain license with the facts. The Biblioteca Marciana holds hundreds of centuries-old manuscripts, containing in their yellowed parchment pages a wealth of histories of Venice written in Latin or the Venetian dialect. These are, for the most part, a fascinating hodgepodge of local legend, cherished traditions, and pure fabrication.

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. Drawing extensively from Venetian archival documents, Darù, who had been one of Napoleon’s assistants, painted a generally unflattering picture of the Republic of Venice. Venetian scholars quickly fired back with their own larger, more comprehensive, and better reasoned histories based on careful studies in the archives and manuscript collections

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hundreds, of shorter histories written in English, French, and German for popular audiences during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Since 1900, though, comprehensive histories of Venice based on independent research have been relatively rare. Among the best are Heinrich Kretschmayr’s Geschichte von Venedig (1905–34), Roberto Cessi’s Storia della

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often branded disdainfully with the mark of Shylock, Shakespeare’s Venetian moneylender who insists upon his “pound of flesh.” Perhaps, as the great historian of Venice, Donald E. Queller, once remarked, it is simply that intellectuals and academics are uncomfortable around businessmen. The Venetians, who were businessmen through and through,

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people frequently visited the old ruins to gather more building materials. Other refugees from Altino settled on islands a bit farther from home: Murano (now famous for its glass), Ammiana, and Constantiaca (now lost). It was said that these six islands were named for the six gates of Altino. According to

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aspired to their own political power, and they naturally opposed those who excluded them from it. This potent dynamic would continue to drive events in Venice for centuries. In all ages, privilege and economic mobility are enemies. Complicating this picture was the essentially conservative nature of the Venetians. Resisting concentrated

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or chain, although it does clearly indicate that the Ducal Palace remained fortified. The decades after the Magyar invasion were prosperous and relatively peaceful for Venice. The dogeship alternated between the Badoer and Candiano families with little strife. This was a time of building, when Venetian entrepreneurs, fully supported by

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sapienti, to advise him on the crisis. Chief among these councillors were representatives from the new families, Orio Mastropiero, Sebastiano Ziani (the richest man in Venice), and Vitale Dandolo (the brother of the patriarch). The councillors advised caution. The reports they had received seemed fantastic, almost unbelievable. They urged the

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or the doge. A fundamental shift was occurring in the history of Venetian government as well as in the development of the later “myth of Venice.” Venice, the republic where powerful doges ruled powerful people, was becoming something different—a government in which a distinct body of elites, known for their wisdom

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insisted on Bologna, where they felt sure they could control matters. Not surprisingly, Frederick’s agents objected to this choice, suggesting Ravenna, Pavia, or Venice. Frederick himself favored Venice, because it was neutral, trustworthy, and “subject to God alone”—precisely why the Lombards opposed it. Nevertheless, after much arm-twisting, Alexander finally

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various brothers, spouses, and children to live undisturbed, and warehouse space for conducting the family business. This style of palazzo would become characteristic of Venice—a family home that was at once attractive and functional. However, unlike family palaces in other Italian cities, the Venetian structures remained unfortified—a feature

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had tried to build their own navy, the Genoese living in Galata (a suburb of Constantinople) burned it in the harbor. The rivalry between Venice and Genoa in the fourteenth century, therefore, played out against the backdrop of Byzantine decline and Turkish ascendancy. The Venetians naturally favored international crusading efforts

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the longhi. These included stalwarts such as the Dandolos, Michiels, Zianis, Mastropieros, Morosinis, and Gradenigos. Researching and producing genealogies became popular in fifteenth-century Venice as noble families sought to link their distant ancestors with the first tribunes or other early settlers in the lagoon. In the sixteenth century Marco

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their pound of flesh. The stereotype is inaccurate, but durable nonetheless. Pawnbrokers were useful for quick loans, but wealthy and established investors in Renaissance Venice could find better terms at the banks. Although the Catholic Church continued to condemn usury, its definition began shifting in the thirteenth century. Even St

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of the Byzantine Empire made the waters of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean far more dangerous—especially during periods of war. To provide safety for Venice’s merchants, the state organized regular convoys to Constantinople, Acre, Cyprus, and occasionally other destinations. War galleys initially protected these fleets of merchant vessels,

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room for entertaining. Family quarters frequently spread across several floors as different nuclear families claimed separate sections of a palazzo owned by a common ancestor. Venice’s palazzi are most striking for their open doors and windows, designed to facilitate communication, commerce, and the circulation of air. Elsewhere in Italy,

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, but overseeing busy studios of apprentices. In Florence the Renaissance was pioneered by artists such as Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, and Leon Battista Alberti. Venice’s adoption of these Renaissance styles was itself a remarkable break with the past, for the Venetians had always favored the sophisticated East when it

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across Europe, just as it remains among tourists today. This century also saw the rapid development of the glass industry on Murano. Venetian glass gained a wide reputation for excellence and the artistic skill of Murano’s glassblowers became legendary. Aside from producing glassware and decorative items, the craftsmen also created precision hourglasses, crucial

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in an age of oceanic voyages. Education levels in Venice had always been among the highest in Europe. Merchants,

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centuries-old Venetian custom of separating ecclesiastical and secular authority now seemed both new and enlightened. In short, English visitors were usually well disposed to Venice even before they arrived. The milordi (as the traveling Englishmen were called) stayed in hostels or rented accommodations in palazzi, depending on their circumstances.

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her colonies. Even without the pirates, trade with the United States held little appeal. Venice had goods that the United States wanted, such as glass and textiles, but not vice versa. The English ambassador to Venice, Robert Ritchie, reported that: the Americans are attempting to begin a kind of trade with this

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State [Venice]; I say a kind of trade, for they do not order goods on their

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strict adherence to the law, but was much loved and trusted by the people. Napoleon would have none of it. For him, the myth of Venice was Venice. He shouted back, “I will have no more Inquisition, no more Senate! I will be an Attila to the Venetian State!” Napoleon’s famous

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mounted them above his Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel with the caption “Brought from Corinth to Rome and from Rome to Constantinople, from Constantinople to Venice, from Venice to France: they are at last in a free country!” And that was by no means the end of the looting. The ancient winged

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without character or discipline. Shortly after his departure, the royal government announced a plan to reform and renew its cityscape. Napoleon wanted to introduce to Venice the modern style of urban planning, which included classical forms, geometric simplicity, manicured public parks, and broad avenues. These were the principles on which

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whole new class of commoners. And, indeed, they came. In the 1840s guidebooks for Venice appeared in a variety of languages, each advising its readers where to stay, eat, and shop. Specialty glassmaking was revived on Murano, thus establishing a new and indispensable class of souvenir for tourists. During the summer months

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the Piazza San Marco began once again to fill with tourists, who packed into the Florian and the Quadri seeking coffee and ambience. In 1845, just before the railroad opened, the population of Venice equaled

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at Marghera, each belching out smoke yet bringing in revenue and jobs. In 1926 the municipal government of Venice grew to encompass Marghera and Mestre, as well as the lagoon islands of Murano and Burano. Venice had at last returned to the mainland. During the 1920s and 1930s the Fascists, led by Benito

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Mussolini, took over the Italian government. Although physically Venice lacked a Roman pedigree—always an important component in Fascist rhetoric—it

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the intriguing Renato de Rossi (Rossano Brazzi). Summertime was the first mass-market film to use the cityscape of Venice as a crucial element in its story. Jane strolls through the Piazza San Marco, buys Murano glass, shops for fashionable clothes, and visits the brightly colored island of Burano. Yet, like the dark

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Venice of eighteenth-century myth, the romantic Renato has a terrible secret. He is married. Although Jane suspects that he

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PizzaExpress, which donated a portion of every sale of its Pizza Veneziana (with red onions, capers, olives, sultanas, and pine nuts) to the preservation of Venice. Venice in Peril was the first, but by no means the last, of the charitable organizations that responded to the need. Twenty-nine of them in

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Jean Paul Delmas, the foundation is primarily devoted to funding all aspects of research into Venetian history and civilization. Although dwarfed by organizations like Save Venice, the Delmas Foundation has made it possible for hundreds of American and British Commonwealth scholars to undertake original and innovative research in the Venetian archives

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. Lawsuits, appeals, and demands for additional environmental impact studies slowed its implementation. A host of alternative solutions were presented, ranging from the raising of Venice’s pavements, to the erection of barriers along the islands, to the pumping of groundwater back into the aquifer. All were rejected. The question became

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privatized,” but there was no disputing the revenues generated for Venetian businesses. In 2010 most estimates put gross receipts at approximately a hundred million dollars. Venice can reasonably handle approximately 20,000 tourists per day before the narrow streets become jammed and the vaporetti fill up. During Carnevale 2010 around 150

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the Crypt of Aquileia Cathedral. Princeton University Press, 1997. Dorigo, Wladimiro. Venezia origini: Fondamenti, ipotesi, metodi. Electa, 1983. Hodgson, Francis Cotterell. The Early History of Venice from the Foundation to the Conquest of Constantinople A.D. 1204. George Allen, 1901. MIDDLE AGES Borsari, Silvano. Il Dominio veneziano a Creta nel XIII

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und Macht im Mittelalterlichen Venedig: Die Familie Ziani. Max Niemeyer, 1988. Fotheringham, John Knight. Marco Sanudo: Conqueror of the Archipelago. Clarendon, 1915. Hodgson, Francis Cotterell. Venice in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. George Allen and Sons, 1910. Kedar, Benjamin Z. Merchants in Crisis: Genoese and Venetian Men of Affairs and the

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Pennsylvania Press, 1997. Rando, Daniela. Una chiesa di frontiera: Le istitutzioni ecclesiastiche veneziane nei secoli VI–XIII. Il Mulino, 1994. Romano, Dennis. The Likeness of Venice: A Life of Doge Francesco Foscari, 1373–1457. Yale University Press, 2007. Rösch, Gerhard. Venedig und das Reich. Max Niemeyer, 1982. Thiriet, Freddy. La

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Zanichelli, 1934. Concina, Ennio. L’Arsenale della Repubblica di Venezia. Electa, 1984. ———. A History of Venetian Architecture. Cambridge University Press, 1998. Cooper, Tracy. Palladio’s Venice: Architecture and Society in a Renaissance Republic. Yale University Press, 2005. Demus, Otto. The Mosaics of San Marco. University of Chicago Press, 1984. Denker, Eric

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. Whistler and His Circle in Venice. Merrell, 2003. Glixon, Jonathan. Honoring God and the City: Music at the Venetian Confraternities, 1260–1806. Oxford University Press, 2003. Goy, Richard J. The

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House of Gold: Building a Palace in Medieval Venice. Cambridge University Press, 1993. ———. Venice: The City and Its Architecture. Phaidon, 1997. Hocquet, Jean-Claude. Venise: Guide culturel d’une ville d’art, de la Renaissance à nos

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jours. Les Belles Lettres, 2010. Howard, Deborah. Jacopo Sansovino: Architecture and Patronage in Renaissance Venice. Yale University Press, 1975. ———. Venice and the East: The Impact of the Islamic World on Venetian Architecture, 1100–1500. Yale University Press, 2002. Huse, Norbert, and Wolfgang Wolters

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. The Art of Renaissance Venice. University of Chicago Press, 1990. Lorenzetti, Giulio. Venezia e il suo estuario. Bestetti & Tumminelli, 1926. Muratori, Saverio. Studi per una operante storia urbana di

Rough Guide DIRECTIONS Venice

by Jonathan Buckley

T IO N S WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY Jonathan Buckley NEW YORK • LONDON • DELHI www.roughguides.com 9/29/06 2:21:55 PM Venice Intro.indd 2 9/29/06 2:21:57 PM Introduction 4 Ideas 9 The big six .................................................................10 The main islands ..................................................12 Museums and art

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galleries ..........................14 Hotels .............................................................................16 Venice viewpoints ................................................18 Palaces .........................................................................20 Restaurants ...............................................................22 Scuole ............................................................................24 Bars .................................................................................26 Renaissance art and architecture ........28 Shops and markets ............................................30 Cafés, cakes and ice cream

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lagoon – San Michele – is the city’s historic cemetery; a little farther out lies the glassmaking island of Murano, while in the outermost reaches you’ll find Burano and Torcello, Venice’s predecessor. SOUTHERN ISLANDS Sheltered from the Adriatic by the Lido and its neighbouring sandbanks, the southern part of the

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north of the city centre, San Michele is possibly the most beautiful cemetery in the world. P.142 THE NORTHERN ISLANDS Murano Glass has been the basis of Murano’s economy for seven hundred years, and there are still plenty of factories where you can admire the glassblowers’ amazing skills. P.143

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beautiful old palazzo and it’s inexpensive – in Venetian terms, anyway. P.166 ACCOMMODATION 9/29/06 2:24:27 PM Venice viewpoints 18 Venice Idea.indd 18 Venice is the most photogenic of cities, and wherever you’re standing you’ll see something memorable. For great panoramic views of the place

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The tiny, homely Alla Fontana offers superb traditional seafood at extremely reasonable prices. into the quieter zones of the city, though, and the picture changes: Venice has an increasing number of excellent (and not necessarily expensive) P.116 CANNAREGIO Corte Sconta Imaginative cuisine and a friendly atmosphere have made Corte

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plus thousands of souvenir T-shirts. P.104 SAN POLO AND SANTA CROCE Glass No trip to Venice would be complete without a visit to the furnaces and shops of Murano. P.143 THE NORTHERN ISLANDS Lace Lying beyond Murano in the northern lagoon, Burano too has its specialist handicraft – in this case, exquisite

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lacework. P.145 THE NORTHERN ISLANDS The Mercerie Running from the Piazza to within a few metres of the Rialto Bridge, the Mercerie are the busiest shopping streets in Venice. P.63 SAN

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Napoleonic era, now the city’s main tourist office. Shops Seguso Piazza S. Marco 143 W www .seguso.it. Daily 10am–7pm. Traditional-style Murano glass, much of it created by the firm’s founder, Archimede Seguso. Venini Piazzetta dei Leoncini 314 W www .venini.com. Daily 9.30am–5.30pm

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by 8pm you may have to queue on the pavement. Alla Madonna DA FIORE very best in Venice, and service is faultless. You can also drop into the tiny front room bar for a glass of high-quality wine. Calle della Madonna 594. Closed Wed. Roomy, loud and bustling seafood restaurant

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and its campanile, one of home past Santa Fosca when he the most notable landmarks was set upon by three men and when approaching Venice from 02 Venice DIR Places.indd 112 9/29/06 2:45:16 PM 113 Ca’ d’Oro Mon 8.15am–2pm, Tues–Sat 8.15am–

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entrance to the Cappello Lando (left aisle), where you’ll find a bust of St Lorenzo Giustiniani, the first Patriarch of Venice. Giustinani, who died in 1456, lies in the glass case within the elaborate high altar, which was designed by Longhena. Sant’Elena Mon–Sat 5–7pm. The island of

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C E S J^[dehj^[hd_ibWdZi A trip out to the main islands lying to the north of Venice – San Michele, Murano, Burano and Torcello – will reveal the origins of the glass and lace work touted in so many of the city’s shops, and give you a glimpse of the

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origins of Venice itself, embodied in Torcello’s magniﬁcent cathedral of Santa Maria dell’Assunta. To get to the northern islands,

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the boat is going towards the islands, not away from them.) For San Michele and Murano only, the circular #41 and #42 vaporetti both run every twenty minutes from Fondamente Nove, circling Murano before heading back towards Venice; the #41 follows an anticlockwise route around the city, the #42 a clockwise route

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. Murano can also be reached by the #DM (“Diretto Murano”), which from around 8am to 6pm runs to the island from Tronchetto

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via Piazzale Roma and Ferrovia. For Murano, Burano and Torcello the #LN (

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northern islands S A N T I M A R I A E D O N AT O , M U R A N O Murano Murano nowadays owes its fame entirely to its glassblowing industry, and its main fondamente are crowded with shops selling the fruit of the furnaces, some of

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fire in 1474, its main interest lies with its pair of paintings by Giovanni Bellini hanging on the right wall. Murano’s one museum is, as you’d expect, devoted to glass. Occupying the seventeenthcentury Palazzo Giustinian (formerly home of the bishop of Torcello), the Museo del Vetro (April–Oct 10am

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–5pm; Nov– March 10am–4pm; closed Wed; e4, or Museum Pass/Venice Card) features pieces dating back to the first century and examples of Murano glass from the fifteenth century onwards. Perhaps the finest single item is the dark blue Barovier marriage cup, dating from

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around 1470; it’s on show in room 1 on the first floor, along with some 02 Venice DIR Places.indd 144 splendid Renaissance

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enamelled and painted glass. A separate display, with some captions in English, covers the history of Murano glass techniques – look out for the extraordinary Murine in Canna, the method of placing different

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coloured rods together to form an image in crosssection. The other Murano church, and the main reason for visiting the island today, is Santi Maria

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requires about a month of work. P L A C E S The northern islands Because of the risk of ﬁre, Venice’s glass furnaces were moved to Murano from central Venice in 1291, and thenceforth all possible steps were taken to keep the secrets of the trade locked up on the island.

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Although Muranese workers had by the seventeenth century gained some freedom of movement, for centuries prior to that any glass-maker who left Murano was proclaimed

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a traitor, and a few were even hunted down. A ﬁfteenth-century visitor judged that “in the whole world there are no such craftsmen of glass as here”, and the Muranese were masters of every

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crystal that a decree was issued forbidding the manufacture of false gems out of glass, as many were being passed off as authentic stones. The traditional style of Murano glass, typiﬁed by the multicoloured ﬂoral chandeliers sold in showrooms on Murano and round the Piazza, is still very much in demand. However, in

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recent years there’s been turmoil in the glass industry, due to an inundation of cheap Murano-style tableware and ornaments from Asia

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and Eastern Europe. Few of Murano’s 250 glass companies remain in Venetian hands – the long-established ﬁrm of Salviati is French-owned,

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dei Vetrai 109a & Fondamenta Manin 68 W www .berengo.com. Daily 10am–6pm. Berengo has pioneered a new approach to Venetian glass manufacture, with foreign artists’ designs being vitrified by Murano glass-blowers. Domus Vetri d’Arte Fondamenta dei Vetrai 82. Daily 9.15am–1pm & 2–6pm. Stocks work by the major

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postwar Venetian glass designers, artists such as Barbini, Ercole Moretti and Carlo Moretti. Murano Collezioni Fondamenta Manin 1c. Daily 10am– 6pm. Outlet for

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work from the Shops: Murano glass Venini, Moretti and Barovier & Toso factories. Barovier & Toso Penso Davide Fondamenta dei

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Vetrai 28 W www .barovier.com. Mon–Fri 10am–5pm. Fondamenta Longa 48. Daily 10am– 6pm. The jewellery sold here is both manufactured and designed by the firm, which specializes in giving a new slant to traditional Murano

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styles. You can watch glass pieces being made in the shop. Venini Fondamenta Vetrai 47, W www.venini.com. Mon–Sat 9.30am–5.30pm. One of

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the more adventurous producers, Venini often employs designers from other fields of the applied arts. MURANO GLASS 02 Venice DIR Places.indd 148 9/29/06 2:46:26 PM 149 Shops: Burano lace Scuola del Merletto Piazza Baldassare Galuppi. Restaurants Al Gatto Nero

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(now owned by the Benetton family) look over to the Salute and are kitted out in full-blown olde-worlde Venetian style, with kilos of Murano glass and great swags of brocade. In the annexe – the Palazzo Selvadego – you don’t get a view of the water, but the decor is

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and com- fortable three-star on one of the city’s most lively and spacious squares. Decorated mainly in eighteenth-century style (ie lots of Murano glass and floral motifs), it has an unusually wide variety of accommodation, ranging from large suites to rooms with private but not en-suite bathroom.

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transport ES S ENT IA L S #3 #41/42 The circular service, running right round the core of Venice, with a short detour at the northern end to San Michele and Murano. The #41 travels anticlockwise, the #42 clockwise and both run every 20min from 6.30am until around 8pm;

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Fondamente Nove, running every 20min until around 11.30pm. #51/52 Similar to the #41/42, this route also circles Venice, but heads out to the Lido (rather than Murano) at the easternmost end of the circle. The #51 runs anticlockwise, the #52 clockwise, and both run fast through the Giudecca

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canal, stopping only at Záttere and Santa Marta between San Zaccaria and 04 Venice Essentials.indd 176 #DM From around 8am

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to 6pm the “Diretto Murano” runs from Tronchetto via Piazzale Roma and Ferrovia to Murano, where it always calls at Colonna and Museo, and often at other

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along the whole of the route in both directions roughly every 30min, and along the Rialto to Tronchetto part every 20min. Another night service connects Venice with Murano and Burano, running to and from Fondamente Nove every 30min between midnight and 4am. Traghetti Costing just 50 cents, traghetti (gondola ferries) are

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Aceto Aglio Biscotti Burro Caramelle Cioccolato Focaccia Formaggio Frittata Gelato Grissini Marmellata Olio Olive Pane Pane integrale Panino Patatine Patatine fritte Pepe Pizzetta 06 Venice Language.indd 193 Vinegar Garlic Biscuits Butter Sweets Chocolate Oven-baked breadbased snack Cheese Omelette Ice cream Bread sticks Jam Oil Olives Bread Wholemeal

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broth Stracciatella Broth with egg Pasta Cannelloni Farfalle Fettuccine Gnocchi Lasagne Maccheroni Pasta al forno Penne Ravioli Rigatoni Risotto Spaghetti Spaghettini Tagliatelle Tortellini Vermicelli 06 Venice Language.indd 194 Large tubes of pasta, stuffed Literally “bow”shaped pasta; the word also means “butterflies” Narrow pasta ribbons Small potato and

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Carciofini Carotte Cavolfiori Cávolo Ceci Cetriolo Cipolla Fagioli Fagiolini Finocchio Funghi Insalata verde/ insalata mista Melanzana Orígano Patate Peperoni Piselli Pomodori Radicchio Spinaci 06 Venice Language.indd 195 Asparagus Basil Broccoli Capers Artichokes Artichoke hearts Carrots Cauliflower Cabbage Chickpeas Cucumber Onion Beans Green beans Fennel Mushrooms Green salad/ mixed

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Murazzi 155 Museo Archeologico 59 Museo Correr 59 Museo del Settecento Veneziano 87 Museo del Vetro (Murano) 144 9/29/06 3:22:33 PM INDEX 206 Venice Index.indd 206 Museo di Dipinti Sacri Bizantini 124 Museo di Storia Naturale 97 Museo di Torcello 148 Museo Diocesano 122 Museo Ebraico

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Scuola del Merletto 149 Seguso 61 Testolini 67 Tragicomica 104 Valeria Bellinaso 104 Venetia Studium 67 Venini (Murano) 148 Venini 61 Sottomarina 155 Squero di San Trovaso 83 Strada Nova 112 INDEX Venice Index.indd 207 207 j taxis 177 Teatro Malibran 114 telephones 181 toilets 181 Tolentini 103 Torcello 147

Top 10 Venice

by Gillian Price · 21 Feb 2011 · 162pp · 56,627 words

66 Places to Stay 144 Shops 68 General Index 152 Contents Left Ballroom, Museo Correr Right Gondola traghetto ride Left Mercerie shops Right Venice Carnival 3 VENICE’S TOP 10 Basilica San Marco 8–11 Doge’s Palace 12–15 Piazza San Marco 16–19 Grand Canal 20–23 Accademia Galleries

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as the trademark of Venetian dominion: it is often shown with two paws in the sea and two on land, to symbolize the geography of Venice. Venice’s Top 10 1 Milk of the Virgin Mary, Basilica Treasury (see p9) 2 Blood of Christ, Basilica Treasury 3 Nail from the True

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The communicating rooms of the Doge’s living quarters are furnished with rich brocades, impressive ﬁreplaces, triumphal friezes, gilded ceilings and works of art. 13 Venice’s Top 10 Left Paradise, Tintoretto Centre Wellhead Right Giants’ Staircase Doge’s Palace Art & Architecture ! Paradise Possibly the world’s largest oil painting

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elegant 15thcentury buildings were the residence of the Procurators, responsible for state administration. Booming through the city, the ﬁve bells in the Campanile have marked Venice’s rhythms for centuries. The Maleﬁcio bell announced an execution, the Nona rang at midday, the Trottiera spurred on the nobles’ horses for assemblies

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is ﬁlled with masterpieces and is visited free of charge. Some changes to the ﬂoorplan may result from extensive restoration of the galleries. 25 Venice’s Top 10 Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari A masterpiece of Venetian Gothic ecclesiastical architecture, this cavernous 15th-century church for Franciscan friars took more

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from the island and priceless treasures from the church, are housed in adjoining Gothic buildings (above). Venice’s Top 10 colours, rivalling the ﬂooring in Basilica San Marco, are brilliant 11thcentury tesserae of stone and glass. Cubes, semi-circles and triangles are laid into square designs. The ﬂoor level was raised

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Palazzo Giustiniani. Other exhibits include Phoenician phials, blown vases, ruby chalices, exquisite mirrors and the famed kaleidoscopic beads once traded worldwide. d Fondamenta Giustinian 8, Murano • Map G2 • Open Apr–Oct: 10am–6pm Thu–Tue (Nov–Mar: 10am– 5pm) • Admission charge Correr % Museo Priceless artworks and a miscellany of items

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to Constantinople, where he negotiated a peace treaty bringing long-term hostilities between Venice and the Turks to a temporary halt (see p21). ^ Ca’ Rezzonico Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi This glittering palace adorned with Tiepolo ceiling frescoes, majestic Murano glass chandeliers and elaborate carved period furniture was renovated and is home to the

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the Accademia Galleries. Scarpa ) Carlo Modernist Scarpa (1906–78) admirably reorganized both the Accademia collection and the Querini Stampalia along Japanese-inspired lines. 45 Venice’s Top 10 Left Ponte degli Scalzi Centre Rialto Bridge Right Ponte dei Pugni Bridges of Sighs ! Bridge This evocatively named bridge 7-m (23

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A comprehensive history of the city’s maritime prowess. Alta, Donna ) Acqua Leon From the best-selling mystery series featuring detective Guido Brunetti. 51 Venice’s Top 10 Left Marco Polo Centre Daniele Manin Right Giovanni Casanova Outstanding Venetians Polo ! Marco Legendary Cathay and the kingdom of the mighty Kublai

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one in infamously daring escape. theology to which she aspired. £ 52 ^ Manin & Daniele Organizer of the 1848 Sarpi * Paolo When the pope excommuni- cated Venice for insubordination, involving restrictions on church construction and the refusal to hand over two priests on criminal charges, Sarpi (1552–1623) resolved the rupture. A

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• 041 275 02 06 • Open 10am–4pm Sat–Sun. Due to restructuring, some displays are temporarily closed • Free admission. ^ Glassmaking Demonstrations Glassmaking demonstration in Murano 64 Magic moments are guaranteed as children are transﬁxed by skilful craftsmen blowing blobs Blu Bookshop ( Laboratorio Just off the main Cannaregio & canal is this

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of a canal. Usual Disney fare is on sale. d Campo S Bartolomeo, Venice’s Top 10 of molten glass into ﬁne vases, or moulding coloured rods into myriad animal shapes. Small workshops are dotted all over Venice, while Murano has more large-scale furnaces – demonstrations are free, on the condition you stroll

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(see p51). Look Now $ Don’t (1973) This thriller, with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, will keep you awake at night. Merchant of % The Venice (2004) Starring Al Pacino as a brilliant Shylock. (1962) ^ Eve Joseph Losey’s blackTeatro Fondamenta Nuove Santa ( Auditorium Margherita This converted cinema regularly stages live

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s largest department chain has an elegant clothing range and sleekly designed homeware. home with a genuine Murano chandelier or perhaps a milleﬁori paperweight. Food @ Gourmet For something £ T-shirts The essential guaranteed souvenir of Venice, sold at the ubiquitous street stalls. $ Masks A mind-boggling array of d Salizzada S

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• Open 10am–7pm Wed–Mon • www.palazzograssi.it Fortuny ( Museo Flamboyant Spanish artist and theatrical stage designer Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo (1871–1950) adopted Venice as his home and muse, and transformed this ponderous 15th-century palace in GothicVenetian style into an exotic atelier. The building retains rooms and structures

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in DIY kit form. d Calle II° dei Saoneri, S Polo 2702 • Map M3 le Borse @ Mazzon For 50 years Papa Piero has frames and Murano glass creations. d Campo Sant’Agostin, S Polo 2279/B • Map L3 e Nebbie & Sabbie Tasteful boutique of pottery, candles and oddities from Japan and

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, Dorsoduro 3172 • Map L5 * Madera Uber-cool design store with minimalist pieces in wood and glass, as well as gorgeous ceramics. d Campo S Barnaba, Dorsoduro 2762 • Map K5 Mondo in Miniatura ( IlMiniatures of Venice’s palaces and bridges modelled by the craftsman who has produced a 6 x 4 m

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Specialist Shops ! Tàkalá Close to Campo SS Apostoli, a gift shop of fascinating holograms, Murano glass delights and chunky jewellery. d Strada Nova, Cannaregio 4391/C • Map D2 @ One of the best shoe shops Mori & Bozzi in Venice, offering an irresistible selection of sumptuous women’s footwear, from high heels to ﬂat

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settled on Torcello, which grew with the additional influx of influential religious orders. Today, however, only a handful of islands are still inhabited – glassmaking Murano is the most important, while Burano, Mazzorbo and Sant’ Erasmo have skeletal populations of fishermen and market gardeners. Salt pans, such as Le Saline, were

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glassmaking, Murano developed blowing and fusion techniques to extraordinary heights in the 1500s, and so closely guarded were the trade secrets that skilled craftsmen could migrate only under pain of death. Though Venice’s glass monopoly lasted only until the 17th century, its fame lives on. A visit to the Glass Museum with

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of charge. However, if you accept a free boat trip from San Marco to a glass factory, you’re expected to make your own way back by vaporetto if you don’t buy anything. Glassmaking aside, Murano is a lovely place to wander around, with canals, alleyways and friendly islanders. d

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This talented artist from a ^ Mazzega Vast showrooms display 8B, Murano • Map G2 d Fondamenta da Mula 147, Murano • Map G2 @ ArtStudio Watch glass artist Davide & CAM The ﬁrst shop you see as d Fondamenta Rivalonga 48, Murano • Map G2 d Piazzale Colonna 1, Murano • Map G2 56 £ Manin Striking etched bowls and e

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Panificio * Pastificio Giorgio Garbo d Fondamenta Manin 56, Murano • Map G2 d Via

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S Mauro 336, Burano • Map H1 long line of glassmakers, transforms the ancient art of murrhine glassware into striking modern objects. d Fondamenta Vetrai Penso at work producing marvellous African-inspired glass beads. slender wine glasses from Salviati ﬂank international designer items

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in this wonderful collection. Collezioni $ Murano A stunning showroom containing contemporary pieces by Carlo Moretti and Venini, alongside classic light ﬁttings by Barovier &

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Toso. traditional and semi-modern glass designs with an emphasis on chandeliers and vases. you disembark at Murano, this internationally known ﬁrm specializes in distinctive modern pieces. Sample Burano’s trademark vanilla-ﬂavoured shortbread, bussolai, freshly baked

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to trace their ancestry back to the 13th century. They still produce stunning contemporary pieces. d Fondamenta Vetrai 28, Murano • Map G2 112 Lidia Merletti d’Arte For more on shopping in Venice See p138 d Via Galuppi 215, Burano • Map H1 Price Categories € For a three-course €€ meal for one

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Map H1 tomato and olives, and traditional zaletti biscuits or luscious pincetto, sponge cake with chocolate. • 041 730 151 • Closed Thu • € d Fondamenta Rivalonga 16, Murano • Map G2 • 041 739 176 • Closed Sun • € Gatto Nero * AlWonderful al fresco ﬁsh £ Home-style cooking at Osteria La Perla Ai Bisatei reasonable prices.

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credit cards • No disabled access • € $ Stylish eating on a waterside Trattoria Valmarana terrace near the Glass Museum (see p41). Try rombo al forno con patate e olive (ﬂounder with potatoes and olives). d Fondamenta Navagero 31, Murano • Map G2 • 041 739 313 • Open for lunch only • €€ Al Corallo % Trattoria A popular,

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last Sunday in Christmas Day (25 Dec) October, moving the time Boxing Day (26 Dec). difference to GMT plus two hours. ) & Arriving in Venice Airport ! Venice Marco Polo Airport is located at Tessera, 8 km (5 miles) north of the city, on the edge of the lagoon, so arrivals and departures

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Bar. 133 Streetsmart Left Concert poster Centre left Ospite di Venezia Centre right and right Italian tourist ofﬁce logos Sources of Information Offices ! Tourist in Venice timetables and info on exhibitions and concerts. There are numerous helpful tourist ofﬁces around the city (see box). Posters ^ Wall Many events in Offices

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section and Libreria Sansovino (see p18), Ca’ Pesaro (see p41), Palazzo Mocenigo (see p82), the Glass and Lace museums (see pp40–41) and Ca’ Rezzonico (see p21). The pass is excellent value. Streetsmart Left Venice street signs Centre Gondola ride Right Vaporetto arriving at San Marco Church ) Chorus Pass If you

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It’s worth shopping around as many glass shops stock similar items and prices can vary wildly. Murano (see p109) tends to be more expensive than Venice but you get a free demonstration as well. Venice street seller For more shops in Venice See pp68–9 Virtually all glass shop staff are experts in packaging fragile

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and bulky items and they can arrange for forwarding overseas by air or sea. Always check that insurance is included. Venice for the Disabled ! Maps Ask

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at tourist ofﬁces (see p134) for the special map of Venice which shows areas

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not be spacious. Outside dining usually offers easier access. Lavatories might not be wheelchair-friendly. £ Hotels Apart from the luxury chains, few hotels in Venice have wheelchair facilities let alone elevators, mainly due to renovation restrictions on historic buildings (which covers virtually everything in town). However a ground-ﬂoor room

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The Alilaguna launch to and from the airport (see p133) is also wheelchair accessible. Streetsmart Left Disabled accessibility sign Centre and right Wheelchair ramps in Venice & Taxis Waterborne taxis are out of the question unless you can handle steps. However Sanitrans, an efﬁcient private ambulance/taxi service can be booked.

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replaced with Posta Prioritaria for a faster service. Streetsmart Left Public telephone sign Right Browsing at a newsstand & Internet Internet points have mushroomed in Venice and range from cramped single-computer affairs to ﬂashy modern premises such as InternetPoint (extended opening hours). Budget hotels are now installing e-mail points

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hotels provide satellite TV for guests so Englishlanguage stations, such as CNN, BBC World Service and Sky News, are common. 141 Streetsmart Left Policemen in Venice Right Crowds of tourists Security & Health ! Police Two police forces operate in Italy. The blueuniformed polizia answer freephone 113 emergency calls, while the military

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Italy so the appropriate paperwork is needed. All other nationalities should take out private health insurance. and £ Consulates Embassies & Pharmacies Seek advice at a Venice itself does not have major embassies in the city, but the nearest Italian consulates and embassies will be able to assist (see box). pharmacy (farmacia

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.it • €–€€ Recommend your favourite hotel on traveldk.com 145 Streetsmart Left Locanda Cipriani Right Hotel Marconi Hotels with Charm La ! Pensione Calcina Abadessa £ Palazzo Murano glass In 1877 Ruskin stayed at this guesthouse on the Zattere, as the friendly staff eagerly explain. Of course, the rooms have been modernized since those

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Map D2 • 041 275 0125 • www.hotelcavendramin. com • €€€–€€€€ Ducale ( Villa Halfway between Padua and Venice, this stately residence stands in a lovely private park with statues. The beautiful rooms have all mod cons plus frescoes and glass chandeliers. d Riviera Martiri della Libertà 75, Dolo • ACTV bus 53 from Piazzale Roma • 041

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such as cell phone rental and cleaning included. d Campo Sant’Angelo, S Marco 3818 • Map N5 • 041 522 1505 • www.venicehouse.it • €–€€€€€ ^ Mitwohnzentrale Venice Alternative Accommodation Venetian resident Helga Gross is in an excellent position to advise on the 150 fully furnished properties she deals with and will rent

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Giardinetti Reali 17 Giardini 102 Giardini Papadopoli 82–3 Giorgione 7, 44 Giotto 123 Giovanna Zanella 104 Giudecca 115 153 Index glass 69, 74 demonstrations 64–5 glass glassmaking courses 143 Murano 109 shops 138 Goethe, Johann Wolfgan von 50 Goldoni, Carlo 50, 66, 74 golf 63 gondolas 22, 23, 29, 135

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Veneto 122–9 map 122 restaurants 129 shops 128 villas 126–7 Veneziano, Paolo 18, 82 Coronation of the Virgin 25 Venice Carnival Show, The 67 Venice Marathon 63 Venice Pavilion Bookshop 69 Venice in Peril Fund 89 Venini 68 Verdi, Giuseppe 27, 73, 124 Verona 122, 124–5 tourist ofﬁce 134 Verona

Italy

by Damien Simonis · 31 Jul 2010

performances. CARNEVALE During the period before Ash Wednesday, many towns stage carnivals and enjoy their last opportunity to indulge before Lent. The carnival held in Venice is the most famous. SA SARTIGLIA Sun & Tue before Lent The highlight of carnival celebrations Click here at Oristano. It involves a medieval tournament

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Stradivarius violins from Cremona. Within Italy, there’s an ongoing revival of ‘early music’ from the medieval through Renaissance and baroque periods. Ensembles in Venice, Naples, Milan and Rome play historically accurate arrangements on period instruments like recorders and harpsichords, creating surprisingly funky Renaissance dance tunes and groovy late-medieval

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meadows and craggy peaks in the Dolomites * * * AREA : 18,378 SQ KM * * * POPULATION : 4.83 MILION * * * * * * REGIONAL ITINERARY Villas & Vino Three days / Brenta Riviera / Venice Drift along the Brenta Riviera on an easy bike ride or in a burchiello (flat-bottomed boat), stopping by the grand Veneto villas along the

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incredibly daring, bringing sensuous colour and sly social commentary even to religious subjects. The city became a playground for Europe’s upper crust; nunneries in Venice held soirées rivalling those in ridotti (casinos) and Carnevale lasted three months. Venetian nobles’ illegitimate daughters were trained as musicians in ospedaletti (orphanages)

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November 1966, disaster struck: record floods poured into 16,000 Venetian homes, stranding residents in the wreckage of 1400 years of civilisation. But once again, Venice’s cosmopolitan nature was a saving grace: assistance from admirers poured in – from Mexico to Australia, millionaires to pensioners – and Unesco coordinated some 27

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wine) in the Carlo Scarpa—designed garden before your Interpreti Veneziani concert. Island-hop your fourth day away, with blown-glass shopping in Murano, lunch in Burano and mosaics and bucolic splendour in Torcello. One Week Now you’ll get to be a regular at your favourite cafes

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and osterie, recognise the local specialities at the Rialto Market and find yourself striking up conversations in Venice’s sociable campi (squares). Sign up for

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over 150 canals. Across the expanse of shallow waters of the Laguna Veneta to the north are Murano, Burano and Torcello. To the east, the 10km Lido di Venezia serves as a breakwater for Venice, and to the south Palladio’s white marble edifices gleam from San Giorgio Maggiore and Giudecca.

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with 500 prominent Venetians, including several Tintoretto patrons. Veronese’s political posturing is more elegant in his oval ceiling panel The Apotheosis of Venice, where gods marvel at Venice’s coronation by angels, with foreign dignitaries and Venetian blondes rubbernecking from the balcony below. In the wall frieze depicting the first

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stairway to heaven, glimpsed in Tiepolo’s nine-panel ceiling of a resplendent Virgin in Glory upstairs; ask downstairs about occasional performances by the Venice Opera (www.venice-opera.com) staged here. San Polo & Santa Croce Art historians are torn between two Venetian loves: Titian’s colour and Tintoretto’s drama.

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Galleria Franchetti (Map), Baron Franchetti’s art collection, plus a jackpot of bronzes, tapestries and paintings plundered from Veneto churches by Napoleon and reclaimed by Venice. Collection highlights include Andrea Mantegna’s teeth-bearing, arrow-riddled Saint Sebastian altarpiece; Pietro Lombardo’s tender Madonna and Child in glistening Carrara marble;

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looks with baby Jesus. Zanipolo contains 25 doges’ tombs by such notable sculptors as Nicolo Pisano and Tullio Lombardo, and the vast 15th-century Murano stained-glass window is currently undergoing restoration to illuminate designs by Bartolomeo Vivarini and Girolamo Mocetto. Zanipolo’s austere brick facade is almost overwhelmed by the

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neighbouring lavish Renaissance polychrome marble facade by Pietro Lombardo that once fronted the Scuola Grande di San Marco (Map), confraternity of Venice’s patron saint, and

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but now arty types invade the shipyards during Venice’s art and architecture Biennales. Giardini Pubblici (Map) is the main site of the art Biennale, with curators and curiosity-seekers swarming national showcases ranging from Carlo Scarpa’s daring 1954 raw-concrete-and-glass Venezuelan Pavilion to Peter Cox’s awkward 1988

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of its red carpet, C+S Associates’ 2003 ‘Wave’ entrance begs for a skateboard. San Michele En route to Murano from the Fondamente Nuove, vaporetti 41 and 42 stop at Venice’s city cemetery, established on Isola di San Michele under Napoleon. Until then, Venetians had been buried in parish plots

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basalt-clad walls engraved with the Gospels. Murano Venetians have been working in crystal and glass since the 10th century, but due to the fire hazards of glass-blowing, the industry was moved to the island of Murano (off Map) in the 13th century. Woe betide the glass-blower with wanderlust: trade secrets were

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so jealously guarded that any glass-worker who left the city was guilty of treason and

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subject to assassination. Today they ply their trade at workshops along Murano’s Fondamenta dei Vetrai marked by ‘Fornace’ (Furnace) signs,

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secure in the knowledge that their wares set a standard that can’t be replicated elsewhere. To ensure glass

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you buy in Venice is handmade in Murano and not factory-fabricated elsewhere, look for the

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heart-shaped seal guarantee. Since 1861, Murano has displayed its glass-making prowess at the Museum of Glass (Museo del Vetro; 041 73 95 86; www.museiciviciveneziani.it

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technical explanations detail the process for mosaics and Venetian trade beads, while displays range from 17th-century winged goblets to Carlo Scarpa’s 1930 octopus. Murano’s glass-making is also showcased in the 12th-century Virgin Mary apse mosaic at Chiesa dei SS Maria e Donato ( 041 73 90 56; Campo

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church visit until after the museum and shops close around 5pm to 6pm, before hopping vaporetto 41 or 42 back to Venice – Murano is deserted at night. Burano After you binge on Venice’s Gothic ornament, Burano (off Map) brings you back to your senses with a shock of colour. The 40-

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CHILDREN Adults think Venice is meant for them; kids know better. This is where every fairy tale comes to life, with attic prisons inside pink palaces Click here, dragon bones hidden in church walls Click here, glass-blowers breathing life into pocket-sized sea monsters Click here, and fish balancing on

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1343; d €80-250; ) Brothers Giorgio and Matteo inherited this Grand Canal mansion and converted it into a hotel and antique showplace, with original Murano glass chandeliers, namesake angels dating from the 16th century and a restored Louis XIV sofa in the canalside reading room. Spacious room 1 has Grand Canal

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organic breakfast buffets and ecofriendly spa treatments like the milk, honey and rose bath (€90) with complimentary sauna, Jacuzzi and marble steam-room access. * * * CICHETI: VENICE’S BEST MEAL DEALS Even in unpretentious Venetian osterie (bistros), most dishes cost a couple of euros more than they might elsewhere in Italy – not

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the Flying Dutchman, where study-abroad students mingle easily and laugh loudly with local eccentrics over cheap beer. Return to beginning of chapter ENTERTAINMENT In Venice, you can purchase tickets for major events at helloVenezia ticket outlets ( 041 24 24; www.hellovenezia.com), located near key vaporetto stops Click here.

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sets to keep you dancing until you face-plant in the sand. Return to beginning of chapter SHOPPING Retail therapy approaches delirium in Venice. A single visit to Murano can mysteriously max out carry-on limits with fragile glassware, and a visit to the Rialto Market and neighbouring gourmet shops like

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Drogheria Mascari induces foodies to stash bottles of wine and jars of mountain honey in their checked baggage. But Venice’s ultimate shopping triumphs are

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). Airport bus services link both airports with Venice’s Piazzale Roma and Mestre, and the Alilaguna fast ferry runs from Marco Polo airport. ATVO’s Eurobus connects to Treviso’s San Giuseppe airport. For more details, Click here. . * * * TOP FIVE AVANT-GARDE ARTISANS IN VENICE Glass – find witty statement jewellery in handblown

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glass at Marina & Susanna Sent (Map; 041 520 81 36; www.marinaesusannasent.com; Campo San Vio, Dorsoduro 669; 10am-1pm & 3-6.30pm

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( 0437 94 12 37; www.dolomitibus.it) offers service to smaller mountain towns, Belluno and other Veneto locales. By car, take the A27 motorway from Venice (Mestre), which turns into SS51 around Belluno and heads northwest to Cortina. Return to beginning of chapter Friuli Venezia Giulia * * * TRIESTE AROUND TRIESTE GORIZIA

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curiosity like a cryptic crossword clue at the ancient gateway to Mitteleuropa (Middle Europe). Start this two week cultural unravelment in diminutive Sacile, a mini-Venice of willow-lined river banks and curvaceous Venetian arches, before moving onto stately Pordenone; larger, more self-confident and veering culturally towards the east.

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; s €110-130, d €130-160; ) The old and the new combine to great effect at this eye-catching, centrally located three-star hotel. Murano glass chandeliers, original 15th-century frescoes and coffered ceilings are set against modern fixtures and flat-screen TVs. The ample breakfast features pastries from Ravenna’s

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this business; operates from the heart of Siena province in Tuscany. Ilios Travel (www.iliostravel.com) UK-based company with villas, apartments and castles in Venice, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Le Marche, Abruzzo and Sardinia. Invitation to Tuscany (www.invitationtotuscany.com) Wide range of properties across Tuscany, Umbria & Liguria. Simpson (www

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.simpson-travel.com) Concentrates on Tuscany, Umbria, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily. It also has properties in Rome, Florence and Venice. Summer’s Leases (www.summerleases.com) Properties in Tuscany and Umbria. * * * BOOK ACCOMMODATION ONLINE For more accommodation reviews and recommendations by Lonely Planet authors,

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, as is the town of Gubbia in Umbria. Shoes and leathergoods are one of Florence’s big calling cards. In Venice, seek out beautifully handmade Carnevale masks, along with Murano glassware and Burano lace. Return to beginning of chapter SOLO TRAVELLERS The main disadvantage for solo travellers in Italy is the

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, Ancona, Bergamo, Bologna, Brescia, Brindisi, Bari, Cagliari, Cuneo, Genoa, Lamezia (Calabria), Milan, Olbia, Palermo, Parma, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Rimini, Rome, Trapani, Trieste, Turin and Venice. Some of these routes are seasonal. BMI Baby (www.bmibaby.com) flies from Birmingham to Bergamo and Rome. Prices vary wildly according to season and

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consortium of European coach companies that operates across Europe with offices in all major European cities. Italy-bound buses head to Milan, Rome, Florence, Siena, Venice and other Italian cities and all come equipped with on-board toilet facilities. * * * BUS PASSES Eurolines (www.eurolines.com) offers a low-season pass

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sector (often dating to Middle Ages) Brigate Rosse – BR; Red Brigades (terrorist group) cambio – money-exchange office camera – room campo – field; also a square in Venice cappella – chapel carabinieri – police with military and civil duties Carnevale – carnival period between Epiphany and Lent caruggio – dark, narrow alley (Liguria) casa – house castello –

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day; holiday Feste di Pasqua – Easter Holy Week fiume – river foiba – pl foibe; sinkhole created by collapsing caves; see dolina fondaco – trading house and hotel (Venice) fontana – fountain fornaio – bakery foro – forum Forza Italia – Go Italy; political party francobollo – postage stamp frazione – municipal division funicolare – funicular railway funivia – cable car

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scavi – excavations sci alpinismo – ski mountaineering sci alpino – downhill skiing sci di fondo – cross-country skiing servizio – service charge in restaurants sestiere – city district in Venice settimana bianca – literally ‘white week’; winter-sports holiday spiaggia – beach stazione – station stazione marittima – ferry terminal strada – street; road strada provinciale – main provincial road;

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known as Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) trullo – conical house in Perugia ufficio postale – post office; also posta ufficio stranieri – foreigners bureau vaporetto – small passenger ferry (Venice) vendemia – grape harvest via – street; road viale – avenue vico – alley; alleyway vigili del fuoco – fire brigade vigili urbani – local police; traffic police villa – town

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frequently for work and (especially) pleasure. Involved with this guide since its 2nd edition, Damien also wrote the original editions of Lonely Planet’s Venice, Best of Venice, Florence, Tuscany and Sardinia guides. He was last seen working on the Italian Lakes, a new regional guide. For this edition of Italy,

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uk Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd ABN 36 005 607 983 © Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 2010 © photographers as indicated 2010 Cover photograph: Venice, Campo San Barnaba, Olimpio Fantuz, SIME/4Corners Images. Many of the images in this guide are available for licensing from Lonely Planet Images: lonelyplanetimages.

Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism

by Elizabeth Becker · 16 Apr 2013 · 570pp · 158,139 words

the worst, the Cambodian government oversaw the expulsion of farmers from their homes to make way for beach resorts and casinos, and officials of Venice are allowing tourism to push out local residents and hollowing out their society. Governments sell their countries—think of those advertisements telling us to sun

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of the glorious sights of medieval and Renaissance cities that sparked his uncritical love affair with travel. In one of his favorite passages, he describes Venice at night: “As you chug along, little clusters of candy-striped mooring poles emerge from the dark, a gondola approaches with a lighted lantern

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tariff. Bhutan calls this “low volume and high value” tourism. At the opposite end of the spectrum are countries like Cambodia and cities like Venice. Cambodia encourages so many tourists to visit its great eleventh-century temple complex at Angkor that the rare temples are sinking because the surrounding water

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table is being drained by hundreds of new tourist hotels. In Venice, with a native population of less than 60,000, over 20 million tourists descend on the city every year, an onslaught that is pushing

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the rich to the poor nations.” • • • The hot June sun lit the medieval square where I was waiting near the crowded Rialto Bridge of Venice. I was early for an appointment with Claudio Paggiarin, who is active in a community group trying to control tourism in their city. Paggiarin and

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s downfall. The more France depends on tourism, the more the government has to guard against the runaway mass tourism that is destroying life in Venice and the beaches of southern Spain. And tourists can be fickle, looking for the next great destination. There is no bureaucratic answer to those

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and money to travel abroad invented the grand tour of the European continent and called it tourism. Their itinerary included long stays in Paris, Florence, Venice, Rome and Naples. Italy was the destination, the seat of European culture, while Paris was a delightful stop along the way. These English were

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created a treasure-house of churches and paintings, sculptures and bells ringing over noble palazzos from the Renaissance and Gothic eras. Matteo shook his head. “Venice is dying, slowly, slowly. But it is dying.” He wasn’t referring to the classic Venetian problem of rising water. A flood in 1966

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oversee this and the newer problem of global warming that has added to the issue of rising waters. The disease that Matteo believes is killing Venice is tourism; the crowds of tourists gathering all around us, crowds descending from enormous cruise ships whose wakes often cause more damage to the

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tourists will be threatened, he said with black humor. “It would be hypocrisy for me to complain about tourism but, yes, tourism is killing Venice,” he said. Matteo pointed toward the square, rousing us to our feet with descriptions of the Byzantine and Renaissance roots of the masterworks around us

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specialty in Islamic architecture, and spent five years on excavation projects until most of that work disappeared as budgets were cut. Determined to stay in Venice, he sat for the tour guide examination, passed and became one of only 200 guides wearing the badge of an official guide. (In Rome,

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building that was once a state-owned storage and living space that traced its name to the Arabic word for “warehouse.” The famous merchants of Venice bought and sold their goods from these fondacos: the warehouse was on the ground level, offices on the first floor, living quarters on the

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lost their souls. And I thought of the British lawmaker who tried to put a hold on more foreigners buying up properties in rural England. Venice most nearly reflects the real nightmare of those officials. The city has become so popular with foreigners buying up properties, hotels replacing homes, and

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to me why they were active in 40xVenezia, an organization of mostly young professionals in their forties dedicated to reining in the runaway tourism in Venice. The sun was scorching. We found a café on the canal with umbrellas and ordered drinks. The men started talking at once, laughing as

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they interrupted each other. First, the problem as they saw it: “When our population reaches under 60,000, Venice stops existing as a living city. We are worried from several points of view. All the prices are boosted up by tourism. Whenever there is

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now it’s been sold by the university and it will become a hotel,” said Flavio, the English professor. When they saw their lives in Venice threatened, they created 40xVenezia in November 2007. Claudio picked up the story. “We felt excluded from the government and the decisions of the city.

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tourist accommodations to rise by 450 percent since 2002. (The city leaders had also granted permission for double the number of cruise ships to visit Venice.) “Basta—enough” they said. The protesters won; the law didn’t pass, but the city still felt imperiled. The next year another group of

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The 40xVenezia group has remedies. First, they want authorities to enforce all the laws against cheap foreign copies pretending to be fine Venetian crafts. Murano blown glass has been undercut by cheap foreign copies, leading to more local unemployment. Kempinski Hotels recently bought up one of those abandoned factories on the island

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of Murano. The press release announcing this new hotel said: “This veritable gem of a building offers dazzling vistas across the lagoon to Venice and is

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directly connected to Rio dei Vetrai Canal. Apart from its outstanding location, the hotel will feature approximately 150 rooms and suites, a sun terrace, bar with a terrace, café, spa area and fitness center, a ballroom as well as meeting and convention facilities.” With factories transformed to hotels, “Murano glass

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the tourism expert, who listed a better Internet system, protection of traditional artisans, emphasis on education and high-end conferences. Several groups even challenged whether Venice should continue to enjoy the status as a United Nations World Heritage Site if local and national leaders refuse to protect it. UNESCO, the U

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sites, paid for a full-page advertisement recently praising the “collective riches” of the city and warning that tourism “could help send the vulnerable Venice to a watery grave.” UNESCO recommended a combination of putting a physical ceiling on the number of visitors, diffusing the flow of tourists, coordinating bookings

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Internet. The city had to concentrate on reducing expenses for the inhabitants, to create “the political will to make things happen outside tourism. Otherwise, Venice becomes a golden cage.” We finally rose from the table. I was depressed by the litany of wrongs afflicting this city, described as the “greatest

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of art in the world” by Evelyn Waugh. I took refuge in the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, the Palladio masterpiece, to remind myself why Venice is known as “Serenissima,” the Most Serene One. One hour at the church, whose exterior pillars open into the sunlit altar, paintings and sculpture,

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cover maintenance costs would be better. At St. Mark’s Square we ran into the real problem. We wanted to buy a beautiful piece of Murano glass and instead we ran into blocks of brand-name fashion stores that rivaled the Champs-Élysées of Paris. Familiar Italian names like Prada, Armani, Gucci

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were joined by Dior and Burberry. The night before, we had dined at the fabled Osteria da Fiore, an extraordinary one-star restaurant that uses Murano glasses, which enchanted Bill. He asked for the name of the shop where we could buy a good piece of

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Tottle. He was British, married to an Italian, and a twenty-six-year veteran of the Venetian glass industry. After we bought a wine carafe, I asked him what had happened to the glass business in Venice. “Mass tourism,” he said. “Cruises, bus tours, they take tourists in boats to the island

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to so-called glass factories where they are taken into showrooms. Real glass factories are closed to the public,” he said. High-pressure

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salesmen tell tourists they can buy the glass at a “50 percent discount,”

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but still they pay more than twice what it’s worth. It isn’t Murano glass. It’s

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shoddy glass mass-produced somewhere else: Taiwan, China, Russia, the Czech Republic—who knows. “We’ve complained to the authorities that this is false merchandising. The Chamber

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break all records and take 100 million trips every year beginning in 2020. • • • Donna Leon is the author of a mystery series set in Venice. Guido Brunetti, the series’ fictional hero, is a police detective who knows the vaporetto schedule by heart as well as the best trattoria in any

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the dwindling populations, lost industries, lost jobs and the damage from cruise ships, including the pollution from the engines left idling for power. “Living in Venice now is like living in a parking lot,” she said. “And the city says cruise ships cause no damage.” “So of course people who don

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by bit tourism was given special treatment by politicians that led to the disappearance of other businesses and a dramatic rise in costs so that Venice today is “virtually an unlivable city for the average person.” “Venetians who own tourist enterprises—they favor it,” she said. She does not: “I

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only from the frustration of seeing your city overrun on a regular basis but also knowing that there is little profit in welcoming them. In Venice the city spends more to cover the services used by the ships—water, electricity, cleaning—and their passengers than it receives in the taxes

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ship. Local businesses on the list pay a percentage of their fee to the cruise ship—often as much as 50 percent. Moreover, as in Venice, citizen groups question what happens to the fees cruise ships pay political leaders for permission to dock. “No Caribbean country has survived intact from

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are cultural “ambassadors” of China and should behave accordingly—no shouting, no spitting and no disputing prices at luxury stores. Matteo, our guide in Venice, repeated universal fears that Chinese tour operators were ruining legitimate Italian businesses by dropping off their tourists at stores and pizza parlors newly purchased by

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. Department for Communities and Local Government, London, July 2008. “made aware in advance”: Author interview with Lord Taylor, December 16, 2010. Three: Postcard from Venice Matteo Gabbrielli was easy to spot: Author interview with Matteo Gabbrielli, June 3, 2010. Zoning favors the hotel business: Between 2002 and 2008 the number

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dropped: Population is tallied every decade. It halved from 121,000 to 62,000 from 1966 to 2006. John Hooper, “Population Decline set to Turn Venice into Italy’s Disneyland,” The Guardian, August 25, 2006. “When our population reaches under 60,000”: Author interview with Flavio Gregori, Claudio Paggiarin and

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and, 118–19 spending by, 295–96, 309–10, 311 tour operators’ exploitation of, 307–8 UNWTO profile of, 309 in U.S., 365 in Venice, 84–85, 310 Chinzombo Lodge, 218 Chipata, Zambia, 218 Chiriquí, Gulf of, 249 Chitamfya, Caristo, 231 Choeung Ek, Cambodia, 107 Christ, Costas, 270 Cinnamon

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regions and, 162–63 political contributions by, 142–43 pollution from, 20, 30, 34, 82, 85, 134, 156–64 tax exemptions of, 140, 143 Venice damaged by, 77, 81, 85, 152 Crystal Cruises, 161 culinary tourism, 37 Culinary Workers Union, 374 cultural degradation: from cruise ships, 152 tourism and, 20

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” (genocide tourism), 37, 92, 105–8 Dassance, Rick and Jewell, 294–95 Datan, Rajan, 271 David, Armand, 335 Dawson, Barbara, 303–4, 305 Death in Venice (Mann), 82 Deauville, France, 51 deforestation, 247, 253, 275, 276 de Gaulle, Charles, 55 Delaux, Stephan, 64–65 Delom, Christian, 66–67, 68, 310

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Ireland, 19 Israel, 35, 141 Italy, 83 ITB International Tourism Bourse, 229 ivory trade, illegal, 220–21, 234–35 Jacobs, Susan, 358 Japanese tourists, in Venice, 76 Jarrett, Valerie, 360 Jayavarman VII, Angkor emperor, 95 Jebel Ali International Hotels, 201 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 182, 184, 185 Jenanyan, Gary, 257 Jerusalem,

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, 52–54 Martin, Esmond, 234–35 Masdar, UAE, 195 Masdar Initiative, 195 mass tourism: at Angkor temples, 91, 94–95, 98 dangers of, 47 in Venice, 75, 76–86 Matthews, Charlie, 63–64 Matthews, Kathleen, 270–71, 274 Maud’hui, Philippe, 47, 57, 66, 75 Mauriac, François, 62 Mavrogiannis, Anthony,

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Park, 237 Motse Lodge, 240 Moulinier, Alain, 68 Mozambique, 208, 235, 238–39 M. Silvers Associates, 32 Mugabe, Robert, 209, 237 Muller, Margit Gabriele, 198 Murano glass, 80–81, 83–84 Murkowski, Frank, 160 Musée d’Orsay, 56 Muslims: Hajj pilgrimages of, 17–18, 167, 170, 181–85 Umrah pilgrimages of, 181

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Patients Beyond Borders, 379 Patrick, Deval L., 374 Payton, Donald L., 148 Peace Corps, 228 Pei, I. M., 38 Pellerin, Mathieu, 110 Pensione La Calcina (Venice), 82 PEPY, 103 Pérol, Jean-Philippe, 69 Petruccelli, Charles, 272 Phiai, Deborah, 211–12 philanthropy, conservation, 225–26, 238–40, 254, 264 philanthropy tourism,

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in 2012 election, 366–67 Resorts World Sentosa, 113 retirees: in France, 72–73 as tourists, 18, 37 rhinos, threatened extinction of, 221 Rialto Bridge, Venice, 78–79 Rice, Condoleezza, 273 Ridge, Tom, 359 Riklis, Meshulam, 136 Riley, Richard, 199 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 276 as 2016 Olympics host, 273,

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Lusaka), 210–11 St. Onge, Alain, 174 Salas, Isabel, 247, 249, 251 Sanders, Daniel, 60 Sanders, Véronique, 60–61 Sands Macao, 369 San Giorgio Maggiore (Venice), 82 San Miguel, Mexico, 129 Santiago de Compostela, pilgrimages to, 182, 185–86 Sarajevo, Bosnia, 106 Sarkozy, Nicolas, 48, 71 Sata, Michael, 238 Saudi Arabia

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.S., 191 Bureau of Consular Affairs, 358 improved visa process of, 363–64, 366 Stettinius, Edward, 139 Steves, Rick, 32 stewardship principles, 267 Stones of Venice (Ruskin), 82 Storella, Mark C., 210 Sud Ouest, 62 Summers, Lawrence, 360 Sunday Times (London), 355 Sun House, 284 Suraphon Svetasreni, 194 Svalbard Archipelago,

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

by Peter Frankopan · 26 Aug 2015 · 1,042pp · 273,092 words

accumulated from slave trading and human suffering was to lay the basis for its transformation into one of the crown jewels of the medieval Mediterranean: Venice. The Venetians proved to be singularly successful when it came to business. A dazzling city rose up from the marshes, adorned with glorious churches

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built on the lucrative proceeds of prolific trading with the east. While it stands today as a glorious vision of the past, the spark for Venice’s growth came from its willingness to sell future generations into captivity. Merchants became involved in the slave trade as early as the second half

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Lyubech, Smolensk, Minsk and Polotsk rose as Kiev, Chernigov and Novgorod had done before them. This was precisely the same process that had already seen Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi rise in wealth and power: the key to their growth was business with the east. The same held true for

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to grasp that the seizure of Jerusalem would open up exciting commercial possibilities. Even before the Crusaders had reached the Holy City, Genoa, Pisa and Venice had fleets out on the water, making for Syria and Palestine. In each case, the initiative to put to sea was either the direct

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basis for fortunes that transformed them from regional centres into international powers.21 Not surprisingly, such dizzying rewards sparked intense competition between Pisa, Genoa and Venice. Amalfi, which had been slow off the mark in getting ships out to the east, was unable to compete, excluded from the Great Game

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Crusaders were instructed to do by the Pope) but also stamped on their souls.22 The background to this particular fracas was that in 1092 Venice had been granted extensive trading concessions across the Byzantine Empire as part of a grand strategy by the Emperor Alexios to stimulate the economy. This

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in fact, by the early twelfth century, the Byzantine Emperor had granted Pisa its own privileges that were not dissimilar to those previously granted to Venice, if not quite as generous. Although they too were granted a quay and anchorage in the imperial capital, Pisan merchants were offered only discounted customs

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an independent Crusader state.28 With Pisa and Genoa caught up in their own squabbles, desperate appeals were sent from Antioch to the Doge in Venice, begging for help in the name of Jesus Christ. A powerful force was put together because, as one generous contemporary commentator put it, the

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secured on the substantial future tax revenues of Tyre, the leading trade emporium in the region. When that city fell following a siege in 1124, Venice’s status in the region was transformed by the granting of extensive concessions that would apply throughout the kingdom of Jerusalem. From having a mere

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infrastructure of warehouses and hostels had sprung up along the littoral to support merchants and enable business to take place smoothly.36 Genoa, Pisa and Venice stimulated the growth of a string of other towns around them – just as Kiev had done in Russia. Cities like Naples, Perugia, Padua and

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were a major motor in the commerce of the Christian Mediterranean – responsible for half the international trade of Venice, to judge from the surviving documents for this period.46 Even so, and while glass, metalwork, oil, wine and salt from Byzantium were exported to markets in Italy, Germany and France, it

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alone apologising for his unilateral, unannounced actions. When Doge Vitale Michiel was unable to resolve matters after sailing to Constantinople in person, the situation in Venice became febrile. With crowds gathered hoping to hear positive news, disappointment turned to anger which then gave way to violence. Attempting to flee his own

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– which had no value from a biblical or religious perspective.63 Hardly a decade later, there was another attempt to recover the Holy Land. Venice was to be the cornerstone of the assault this time, transporting men east by ship. Initially reluctant to help, the Doge was persuaded to back

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arteries leading east had been subject to upheaval and uncertainty. With the turbulence following Saladin’s successes matched by a period of instability in Byzantium, Venice was desperate to get exposure to Alexandria and the ports at the mouth of the Nile, places where it had traditionally been under-exposed: perhaps

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that a Christian force would attack a Christian city without provocation – and against the express orders of Pope Innocent III. The city was not spared; Venice was extracting its pound of flesh from the knights.68 As the Crusaders considered how to justify such actions and argued about what to do

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and private collections all over western Europe. Sculptures of horses that had stood proudly at the Hippodrome were loaded on to ships and transported to Venice where they were mounted above the entrance to St Mark’s Cathedral; innumerable relics and precious objects were likewise transported to the city, where they

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to connect and embed itself in the east. As the Byzantine Empire was dismantled, the Europeans led by the Italian city-states Pisa, Genoa and Venice rushed to seize strategically and economically important regions, towns and islands at each other’s expense. Fleets clashed regularly off Crete and Corfu as each

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focus on the medieval struggle for power to thank for the recording of Marco Polo’s travels. The ruthless duels for commercial supremacy raged wherever Venice and Genoa came into contact: there were violent clashes in Constantinople, confrontations in the Aegean and in Cyprus, and full-blooded battles in the

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guidebooks was to avoid disappointment and to reduce the chances of being taken advantage of by unscrupulous merchants.27 That Pegolotti himself was not from Venice or Genoa, the two powerhouses of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Europe, but from Florence was itself revealing. There were new upstarts eager to get

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the rest of the world now became lethal highways for the transmission of the Black Death. In 1347, the disease reached Constantinople and then Genoa, Venice and the Mediterranean, brought by traders and merchants fleeing home. By the time the population of Messina in Sicily realised there was something wrong with

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secondary outbreaks), southern Europe underwent change too. In the 1370s, the Genoese tried to take advantage of the terrible effect that plague had had on Venice, where suffering had been particularly acute, and attempted to wrest control of the Adriatic. The gamble backfired spectacularly: unable to deliver a decisive blow,

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Egypt, as well as shipping considerable volumes from the Levant. By the late fifteenth century, nearly 5 million pounds of spices were passing through Venice each year to be sold on at handsome profits elsewhere, where they were used in food, medicine and cosmetics.77 It also seems to have

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Nevertheless, said one proud Venetian, even normal merchants’ houses were lavishly appointed with gilded ceilings, marble staircases, balconies and windows fitted with the finest glass from nearby Murano. Venice was the distribution point for European, African and Asian trade par excellence – and had the trappings to show it.79 It was not just

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Venice that flourished. So too did the towns dotted along the Dalmatian coast which served as stopping points on the outbound and inbound journeys. Ragusa,

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slavery: in times of such plenty, it seemed wrong to hold fellow humans in bondage and not to pay them for their work.80 Like Venice, Ragusa was busy building its own trading network, developing extensive contacts with Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and even India, where a colony was established in

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spices with their money, will now turn to Lisbon’. For Priuli, the reasons were obvious. Everyone knew, he stated in his diary, that goods reaching Venice overland went through endless checkpoints where taxes and duties had to be paid; by transporting goods by sea, the Portuguese would be able to offer

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are lost for sure, almost all of them laden with spices, and of another forty, nothing is known.’21 Nevertheless, envoys were soon sent by Venice to Muslim Egypt to discuss ways of co-operating against the Portuguese, with suggestions of joint military operations and even, anticipating the construction of the

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the Red Sea and off the coast of India in the early sixteenth century were the result of a grand alliance orchestrated against them by Venice, in truth the Egyptians needed little encouragement to try to impose control over their own shipping lanes. The appearance of rising numbers of Portuguese

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were still some who harboured grandiose schemes. Afonso de Albuquerque mused that the capture of Malacca meant that ‘Cairo and Mecca will be ruined, and Venice will be able to obtain no spices except what merchants are able to buy in Portugal’; he therefore set about slaughtering the Muslim population of

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s sexual partner would ‘object to him getting off her again’.33 Competition to supply these newly minted markets was ferocious. Despite the alarm in Venice that followed news of Vasco da Gama’s first expedition, the long-established trade routes were not replaced overnight. If anything, they thrived thanks to

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wealth of a freshly minted bourgeoisie. In times of extraordinary affluence, magnificent buildings started to go up in Amsterdam, which rose from the water as Venice had done centuries earlier. Areas like the Jordaan were reclaimed from the sea as canal houses went up on the Keizersgracht and near by that

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the city’s reinvention was in many ways understandable: what other choices did it have?78 In the place of international commerce and high politics, Venice, Florence and Rome became stops on a tourist trail for the new rich. Although first referred to as the Grand Tour in 1670, such expeditions

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30 (2004), 135–60. 24Monk of the Lido, Monachi Anonymi, pp. 258–9; Dandolo, Chronica, p. 221. Also see D. Queller and I. Katele, ‘Venice and the Conquest of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem’, Studi Veneziani 21 (1986), 21. 25F. Miklosich and J. Müller, Acta et Diplomata graeca medii aevi

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238. 30G. Tafel and G. Thomas, Urkunden zur älteren handels und Staatsgeschichte der Republik Venedig, 3 vols (Vienna, 1857), 1, p. 78; Queller and Katele, ‘Venice and the Conquest’, 29–30. 31Tafel and Thomas, Urkunden, 1, pp. 95–8; Lilie, Byzantium and the Crusader States, pp. 96–100; T. Devaney, ‘“Like

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67–8. 66D. Queller and T. Madden, ‘Some Further Arguments in Defence of the Venetians on the Fourth Crusade’, Byzantion 62 (1992), 438. 67T. Madden, ‘Venice, the Papacy and the Crusades before 1204’, in S. Ridyard (ed.), The Medieval Crusade (Woodbridge, 2004), pp. 85–95. 68D. Queller and T. Madden, The

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Enrico Dandolo in Santa Sofia a Constantinople’, Rivista Mensile della Città di Venezia 6 (1927), 270–83; T. Madden, Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice (Baltimore, 2003), pp. 193–4. 76Michael Khoniates, Michaelis Choniatae Epistulae, ed. F. Kolovou (Berlin, 2001), Letters 145, 165, 100; T. Shawcross, ‘The Lost Generation (

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and Saint-Guillan, Identities and Allegiances, pp. 265ff.; also G. Jehei, ‘The Struggle for Hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean: An Episode in the Relations between Venice and Genoa According to the Chronicles of Ogerio Pane’, Mediterranean Historical Review 11.2 (1996), 196–207. 79F. Van Tricht, The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium

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(Milan, 1980), pp. 21–3; for changes to internal space in this period, see R. Good, ‘Double Staircases and the Vertical Distribution of Housing in Venice 1450–1600’, Architectural Research Quarterly 39.1 (2009), 73–86. 80B. Krekic, ‘L’Abolition de l’esclavage à Dubrovnik (Raguse) au XVe siècle: mythe ou

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.1, pp. 116–17. 63For Anne Boleyn, in Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts, Relating to English Affairs, Existing in the Archives and Collections of Venice, and in Other Libraries of Northern Italy, ed. R. Brown et al., 38 vols (London, 1970), 4, p. 824. 64Francisco López de Gómara, Historia

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Teixeira da Mota (ed.), A viagem de Fernão de Magalhães e a questão das Molucas (Lisbon, 1975). 18R. Finlay, ‘Crisis and Crusade in the Mediterranean: Venice, Portugal, and the Cape Route to India (1498–1509)’, Studi Veneziani 28 (1994), 45–90. 19Girolamo Priuli, I Diarii di Girolamo Priuli, tr. D. Weinstein

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, Ambassador from Venice (Minneapolis, 1960), pp. 29–30. 20‘La lettre de Guido Detti’, in P. Teyssier and P. Valentin, Voyages de Vasco da Gama: Relations des expeditions

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Moors, and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery (New York, 1999). 9N. Matar, Britain and Barbary, 1589–1689 (Gainesville, FL, 2005), p. 21; Merchant of Venice, I.1. 10C. Dionisotti, ‘Lepanto nella cultura italiana del tempo’, in G. Benzoni (ed.), Il Mediterraneo nella seconda metà del ’500 alla luce di Pepanto

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suo tempo: Atti del Convengo internazionale (Venezia 16–18 settembre 1985) (Florence, 1987), pp. 293–317; I. Fenlon, ‘Lepanto: The Arts of Celebration in Renaissance Venice’, Proceedings of the British Academy 73 (1988), 201–36. 11S. Skilliter, ‘Three Letters from the Ottoman “Sultana” Safiye to Queen Elizabeth I’, in S. Stern

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Relations (Oxford, 1977), p. 69. 16Ibid., p. 37. 17L. Jardine, Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance (London, 1996), pp. 373–6. 18Merchant of Venice, II.7; Othello, I.3. 19J. Grogan, The Persian Empire in English Renaissance Writing, 1549–1622 (London, 2014). 20A. Kapr, Johannes Gutenberg: Persönlichkeit und Leistung

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26Hakluyt, ‘A Discourse on Western Planting’, 20, p. 315. 27See J. McDermott, Martin Frobisher: Elizabethan Privateer (New Haven, 2001). 28Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts, Venice, 6.i, p. 240. 29P. Bushev, Istoriya posol’tv i diplomaticheskikh otnoshenii russkogo i iranskogo gosudarstv v 1586–1612 gg (Moscow, 1976), pp. 37–62

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here Gaul, here, here Gazprom, here Geneva Protocols, here Genghis Khan, here, here, here, here, here, here Genoa and Black Sea trade, here competition with Venice, here, here, here decline of, here destruction of Pisan fleet, here and gold trade, here plague in, here rise of, here, here, here, here, here

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and succession, here, here al-Muktafī, Caliph, here Multan, here Mumbai, here Mun, Thomas, here Mundy, Peter, here Munich Olympic Games, here Murad, Sultan, here Murano glass, here Murmansk, here, here Murphy, Richard, here Muscat, here music, Chinese enjoyment of, here Musil, Robert, here musk, here, here, here Mussolini, Benito, here

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here van der Heist, Bartholomeus, here Vance, Cyrus, here Vandals, here Varangian guard, here Varennikov, General Valentin, here Velázquez, Diego, here Venezuela, here, here, here Venice, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and Black Sea trade, here and competition with Portugal, here conflict with Pisa, here decline of, here economic

The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor

by David S. Landes · 14 Sep 1999 · 1,060pp · 265,296 words

tropical areas is better than it used to be. Meanwhile improvement in this area requires awareness and attention. We must take off the rose-colored glasses. Defining away or ignoring the problem will not make it go away or help us solve it. “I Have Always Felt Reinforced and Stimulated by

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working life…if he could see well enough. Eyeglasses solved the problem. We think we know where and when the first spectacles appeared. Crude magnifying glasses and crystals (lapides ad legendum) had been found earlier and used for reading.3 The trick was to improve them so as to reduce distortion

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to magnify, and although some magnify more than others, just about any and all will help the user. This is why people will occasionally borrow glasses in a restaurant to read the menu, and why five-and-dime stores can put out boxes of such spectacles for sale. The buyer simply

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picks the most suitable. Myopes (shortsighted people) cannot do that. That was the beginning. By the middle of the fifteenth century, Italy, particularly Florence and Venice, was making thousands of spectacles, fitted with concave as well as convex lenses, for myopes as well as pres-byopes. Also, the Florentines at least

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da Gama’s astonishment, the merchants he encountered in India were Muslims and had no intention of trading with Christian infidels; what’s more, the glass beads, trinkets, and shirts he had brought with him for barter or sale, though eminently attractive to natives of the Caribbean, were near to worthless

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through the hands of a half-dozen intermediaries and paying substantial fees and bribes to kings, sheikhs, and officials along the way, it sold in Venice for 80. Against that kind of gain, what was the cost of outfitting a fleet? And what the value of seamen’s lives? This was

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were selling an empty hand.3 (These figures of market share are grossly approximate. We have no aggregate data.4 But we do know that Venice, drawing on overland shipments to the Levant, once again found itself Europe’s key pepper emporium in the latter part of the sixteenth century. When

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the news came of the first successful Dutch voyages to the East Indies [Cornells Houtman, 1595], Venice, as well as Portugal, could see the imminent, “utter overthrow” of the older trade.5 By 1625, the Venetian customs classified spices as “western commodities

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small, hives of shipping. By the 1560s the province of Holland alone possessed some one thousand eight hundred seagoing ships—six times those floated by Venice at the height of its prosperity a century earlier. About five hundred of these were attached to Amsterdam, but in fact the whole seaboard was

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on the Scheldt, dominated the new maritime economy. It linked an enormous European hinterland to the Atlantic and beyond, sweeping past older centers such as Venice and Genoa to become the ultimate destination of cargoes from new worlds overseas. These might stop first in Lisbon and Seville, but they finished in

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on work. Europe’s shift in economic gravity northward obviously transcends the inglorious Spanish fiasco. The great old mercantile and industrial city-states of Italy—Venice, Florence, Genoa—also lost out. Italy had been at the forefront of the medieval commercial revolution and had led the way out of autarky into

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the tariffs. Such increases invariably drew howls of protest and pain, but no one was ready to crack down even on small gougers; too many glass houses to start throwing stones. The initial result of industrial development, then, was to raise the barriers. From the seventeenth century on, the centralizing tendency

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later enterprise: the machine works and ingenious equipment of Polhem in Sweden; the Norwegian cobalt mines and refinery, which supplied brilliant blue colorants to the glass and porcelain works of Europe, from Wedgwood to Meissen. Much of the craftwork was crude and dowdy by comparison with that of nations to the

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; Spanish industry made little use of it. Italy moved ahead faster, especially in the Po Valley (Lombardy, under Habsburg rule) and in and around Genoa. Venice and Florence, once flourishing industrial as well as commercial centers, were well on the way to becoming pure tourist attractions—clusters of shops and hotels

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and living museums. No traveler could afford to miss them. (The process continues, and Venice has already had to restrict access.) Italian unification (1870) changed little of the earlier division of labor and wealth. The north, especially Lombardy and the

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supply of their 75-mm field guns. This was their key artillery piece, the pride of their arsenal, a machine so exquisitely designed that a glass of water perched on the carriage would not spill when the gun was fired. Violating all their rules of secrecy, they sent the blueprints to

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the emigration of skilled artisans. In this, Britain was following an immemorial tradition. In medieval Italy, for example, the glassworkers of Murano and the shipwrights of the Arsenal in Venice emigrated only on pain of death. Such constraints delayed the diffusion of knowledge, but in a world of rudimentary surveillance, could not

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had turned from carpentry to millwork. Doors and windows were cut and assembled to standard size; glass, precut accordingly. (A French ship arriving in the young republic around 1815 with a cargo of window glass of various sizes was surprised to find it had to give most of it away.) Sawdust generated

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industry. The result was industry in a time warp of backwardness:30 Each industry had its particular health hazards. In the textile, metal, match and glass factories, the air was always full of a fine dust that irritated the lungs. In leather factories, the curing process required the use of sulfuric

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scarce that executions, still free and easy, had to be done by steel. When the Paraguayans ran out of shells, they fired stones and broken glass. Lopez himself fought to the death—his death, that of his oldest son, and by this time that of the great majority of the Paraguayan

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them on the alleged joys of marriage. Women now attend universities with the men, get advanced degrees, seek executive careers. They still bump against the glass ceiling, and they remain shy, even tongue-tied, in the presence of men. But many are ready to give up on family to concentrate on

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process, the United Provinces abdicated as world leader in trade and manufacture and went into a postindustrial mode. Italy had gone that way before. In Venice, for example, the wool craft had sunk under the burden of taxes, key industries had migrated to cheaper lands, and businessmen had reinvested their fortunes

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in agriculture on the mainland.8 In Genoa, active merchants had become bankers to Habsburg Spain. Both Venice and Florence were already taking on the new role of tourist magnets, living on the wealth of erstwhile competitors. In the aggregate, Holland was still

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very architecture of the Crystal Palace, hall to the exhibits, marked farewell to stone and brick and welcomed in a new age of iron and glass, of light and open space, of modular components and mechanized washings. It was the equivalent of the medieval shift from heavy Romanesque to vaulting Gothic

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; the trees received birds; the birds left souvenirs on the throngs below. What to do? Shoot them? But how to do that without breaking the glass walls and roof? “Sparrow hawks, Ma’am,” suggested the duke of Wellington to Her Majesty the Queen.) Even then, small clouds appeared. Some potential competitors

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twentieth-century Britain to stay with the rest, nothing less than a new industrial revolution would do: innovation and enterprise in electronics, pharmaceuticals, optics and glass, engines and motors. Some few firms did make a start and gains along these lines. One thinks of ICI, Pilkington, Glaxo, Courtauld, Dunlop, all of

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) never shows watermarks, such trademarks appear in Italian paper by the 1280s, a sign of commercial enterprise. 3. On these glasses before eyeglasses, see the work of Zecchin, Vetro e vetrai di Murano (Venice, 1989), cited by Ilardi, “Renaissance Florence,” p. 510. 4. The speaker is the Dominican Fra Giordano of Pisa, in

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it to the effect of cheap fuel on wages (they could be lower) and on the costs of such fuel-intensive (heat-using) industries as glass and iron. He does not speak of coal as fuel for engines and machines; for that matter, he does not speak of steam engines and

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, and n. 24; and Sella, “Rise and Fall.” Trade policy seems to have been appallingly counterproductive. On migration of capital to the mainland, see Woolf, “Venice and the Terraferma.” Also Ciriacono, “Venetian Economy” and “Venise et la Venetie.” 9. Cf. van Zanden, “The Dutch Economy in the Very Long Run.” 10

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Latin America Since Independence. Cambridge: Univ. Press. Burawoy, Michael. 1985. The Politics of Production: Factory Regimes Under Capitalism and Socialism. London: Verso. Burke, Peter. 1974. Venice and Amsterdam: A Study of Seventeenth Century Elites. London: Temple Smith. Burn, D. L. 1931/1970. “The Genesis of American Engineering Competition, 1850-1870,” in

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, Oliver. 1972. The Slave Trade: The Story of Transatlantic Slavery. Newton Abbot: Readers’ Union. Rapp, Richard Tilden. 1976. Industry and Economic Decline in Seventeenth-Century Venice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press. Ratcliffe, Barrie. 1977. “Great Britain and Tariff Reform in France 1831-36,” in Chaloner and Ratcliffe, eds., Trade and Transport

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. 1997c. “The Golden Age of European Growth: Review Essay,” European Rev. Econ. Hist., I, 1: 127-49. Tenenti, Alberto. 1967. Piracy and the Decline of Venice 1580-1615. Berkeley: Univ. of Calif. Press. Italian ed.: Venezia e i corsari, 1580-1615 (Bari: G. Laterza, 1961). Tenner, Edward. 1996. Why Things Bite

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That Changed the World. New York: Rawson Associates. Wood, Peter. 1979. The Spanish Main. “The Seafarers.” Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books. Woolf, S. J. 1962. “Venice and the Terraferma: Problems of the Change from Commercial to Landed Activities,” Boll. dell’Istituto di Storia della Società et dello Stato Veneziano, 4: 415

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. It made even more sense in the forested parts of the United States. * In matter of organization, one thinks of the naval arsenal in medieval Venice; in matter of production techniques, of Henry Maudslay’s manufacture of Joseph Bramah’s lock in 1790-91 and Marc Isambard Brunel’s famous pulley

The Outcast Blade

by Jon Courtenay Grimwood · 26 Mar 2012 · 444pp · 103,367 words

Duchess Alexa, the late duke’s widow, mother to Marco IV. A Mongol princess in her own right. She hates… Prince Alonzo, Regent of Venice, who wants the throne Lady Eleanor, Giulietta’s young cousin and lady-in-waiting Marco III, known as Marco the Just. The late lamented duke

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of Venice, elder brother of Alonzo, godfather of Lady Giulietta and the ghost at every feast Members of the Venetian court Atilo il Mauros, once adviser

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to the late Marco III, and head of Venice’s secret assassins. Alexa’s lover and long-term supporter. Engaged to Lady Desdaio, daughter of… Lord Bribanzo, member of the Council of Ten,

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the inner council that rules Venice. One of the richest men in the city, Bribanzo sides with Alonzo Prince Leopold zum Bas Friedland. Now dead. Until lately leader of the krieghund

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the emperor’s death and the emperor suspected the Seljuk king used it as a cynical way to rid himself of troublesome younger sons. “And Venice?” Andronikos drew together his fingers. “No need for masking spells. No one will hear us.” The emperor was right, of course. The chanting of

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. His mind would never decide they were someone else. He fought to remember the girl and failed. “Well?” he said crossly. “The late duke of Venice’s niece.” “Zoë’s daughter? How is Zoë?” “She was murdered by Republicans, majesty.” “Ahh…” The emperor considered this. Decided he probably remembered that.

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lady, no leper has been there in fifty years. Nowadays, the White Crucifers treat those wounded in battle. Since there have been no battles in Venice for twenty years,” Roderigo shrugged, “they have time enough for prayer. My lady Giulietta, if you’ll take the first boat…?” She smiled graciously.

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if you’ll travel with her?” Lady Giulietta’s smile turned to a scowl. Stone steps disappearing under dark waves were a common occurrence in Venice, where such runs helped adjust for tidal differences. Most of the water steps in the island city were algae-green and slippery underfoot. The steps

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at the ambassador, who was so shocked he forgot to keep his face impassive. “My lady, that is unexpected.” The balance of power in Venice had changed and Alexa intended to provide proof. In removing Lady Desdaio without permission, Atilo had risked disgrace. He’d also made it impossible for

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, done with what?” “Getting everyone’s permission for everything.” “I’m the duchess,” Alexa said stiffly. Giulietta sucked her teeth. “Gods, I understand how Venice works. I need the Ten’s permission to leave the city or trade in rare goods, buy new estates or build a palace. Even remarry

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, although why I’d want… I know you and Uncle Alonzo rule Venice.” Duchess Alexa’s shoulders stiffened. “Because Marco is bored by such things,” Giulietta added hastily. Hearing his name Marco grinned happily. “This has to

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would be accompanied, like as not, by jeers. “Almost there,” one of the carters said. Saint Apollinaire was patron of those who fled to Venice from Ravenna four centuries before. Here he’d become San Aponal, and his church formed the north-east corner of a slightly better square. The

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godfather, for what that’s worth. Back then I thought the toy sweet. Now, of course…” Since the emperor turned his krieghunds’ attention on Venice anyone could recognise the toy for the double-edged offering it was. What lesson was she meant to take from this, Giulietta wondered, before discovering

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Cathay, spices from northern India and silverwork from Samarkand; while Western goods went east, carried by Venetian caravans, and the profits returned to Venice’s coffers. Venice needed Aunt Alexa for her kinship with the khan of khans. It made Giulietta thankful to be herself. As she walked home accompanied by

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. (Even excommunication, and the threat of an eternity in hell, wasn’t enough to make the city obey the Pope.) Tradition was another matter. Venice liked tradition. And then there was resurrection. Which wasn’t really religion or tradition. More a matter of common sense. How could you come back

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mix of Moors, Mamluks and Mongols who bartered on the Riva del Ferro, their eyes on profit and the next deal. “Then…” “Yes. Exactly.” Venice was where worlds met to sell what others lacked. Information, spices and silks, jade from Cathay, weapons, armour. Merchants bet on the next Seljuk harvest

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of this is calculated? Tycho wondered. “I’m going to be honest,” said Alonzo, answering Tycho’s question. Everything about this meeting was calculated. “Venice cannot afford to have Giulietta marry Leopold’s brother.” Tycho waited to be told why. “It will upset Byzantium. That’s the first. The second

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battle before I get old. All this politicking wearies me. All these council meetings about monopolies and taxes. All this grubbing after money. Even when Venice does fight, it’s off Cyprus, which we practically own. And we have to rely on a turncoat Moor for victory.” Iacopo was shocked.

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. Mamluk assassins had landed at night to slaughter Atilo’s entire Venetian household… Atilo’s proper family, the one he abandoned in Tunis to serve Venice, had finally taken their revenge. No, it was Emperor Sigismund removing the Ten’s wisest voice. It was John V Palaiologos, the Byzantine emperor,

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the smell of corruption, and its weight would stop the coffin from trying to float to the surface and ruining the mosaics the next time Venice had an aqua alta. Prayers having been said, the trench would be filled, the earth compacted and the underfloor replaced. After which a master

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Alexa’s shoulders stiffened and then she relaxed, sitting back in her carved chair to stroke Marco’s hand, settling him. “Do go on…” “Venice cannot be without a Blade.” The Regent’s slight pause suggested he was waiting to see if Duchess Alexa would object. When she remained silent

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?” Maybe there was warning in Alexa’s question. There was certainly warning in Alonzo’s scowl. Iacopo simply smirked. He was the Blade, the weapon Venice wielded against its enemies. How could Tycho touch him now? “They’re e-equals?” “Yes,” Alonzo said heavily. “Equals.” The duke smiled happily. Beyond

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nets. Somewhere in the back canals smugglers would be stacking contraband knowing the Watch had been bribed or threatened into looking the other way. Venice was Venice. As it was and maybe always would be. If he couldn’t truly mourn Atilo’s death Tycho was surprised to discover he could

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duelling site together. The site being a ruined square beyond Arzanale, almost over the bridge into San Pietro, the island at the eastern edge of Venice ruled by the patriarch. The pair arrived flanked by Lord Roderigo, his half-Mongol sergeant and a half-dozen Dogana guard carrying lit torches.

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recalled. Her black silks and sombre jewellery a disturbing mockery of his own costume. The blade she drew shone silver. Its workmanship was the best Venice could supply. “You killed Lord Atilo.” Tycho stared at her. In her eyes were anger, confusion, a wish to believe something she didn’t

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more. “What would it take to buy Sigismund off?” “What do you think…?” Alexa caught herself, shrugged apologetically. “Giulietta, of course. And through her, Venice.” Alonzo’s mouth tightened behind his beard. This was not a conversation he relished, but perhaps he saw the truth in Alexa’s face, or

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it either.” “What happened to him?” “Atilo had him killed.” “And no one could prove that either?” She smiled sadly. “Atilo brought me to Venice wrapped in a blanket and carried in his arms. Small, afraid and mostly snivelling. We travelled at night, through mountains. He made it seem an

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it. She was pregnant before being taken from the basilica. Some days Rosalyn really hated the Millioni princess and her brat. Eleanor’s arrival in Venice had been unhappy, the years following it miserable. She served Lady Giulietta as lady-in-waiting as best she could and Giulietta barely noticed.

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. “Where’s Lady Giulietta?” Marco said her family had taken her. Unpacked, that meant soldiers had arrived with orders for her immediate return to Venice. The great lord who brought the order sounded like Roderigo. When Giulietta refused he said he had orders to bring her anyway. That was when

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with the power that feeding on each other gave them. When marsh turned to track they increased their speed. Eighty miles separated Alta Mofacon from Venice and he and Rosalyn covered half of that with barely a stop. A wild fowlers’ camp approached and disappeared behind, an arrow failing to

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to be something different. His problem was that noise, emotion and expectation blasted off the assembled guests as they readied themselves for the largest feast Venice had thrown since the last one. A blare of trumpets met the slam of halberds. The great doors crashed open and Alonzo and Frederick

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. As Tycho watched him the goblet lifted enough to let the first drop touch. “See? We have all the time in the world.” The glass masters of Murano said glass was a liquid and windows flowed downwards over the decades, so they became thicker along the bottom. If

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to order her mistress’s murder. “Hightown Crow.” Tycho gaped at her. “Everyone hates their rivals.” He doubted it was that simple. Little in Venice was. Tycho spotted his missing sergeant against one of the walls. He’d positioned himself almost directly between the two piazzetta windows opposite and occupied

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for. “Does light show around the door?” “A little. At the very bottom.” “You have sandbags?” Of course he had. Every official building in Venice had sandbags against the effects of the acqua alta, the high tides that periodically flooded the city. “Fetch me some before you go.” “But, my

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little early and Lord Andronikos’s boat glided on. The Council of Ten had assembled hastily, as well it might. No Byzantine prince had visited Venice since the city broke with Constantinople six hundred years earlier. The odd princess had been traded in one direction or the other. And, notoriously,

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not introduced to Roderigo, stood in silence. When he thought no one was looking his gaze had apparently slid beyond The Will’s side to Venice beyond. He’d seemed unimpressed and disappointed, as if expecting more. “And they definitely berthed without a pilot?” “Yes, my lord.” Lord Roderigo bowed

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– was a message of defiance, this was the Byzantine emperor’s answer. “Maybe they abducted a pilot,” Alonzo suggested. Pilots were forbidden to leave Venice and the penalty for trying was death; the same sentence passed on fleeing glassblowers. Abductions happened, however. Then it was up to the assassini to

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stronger as Andronikos neared the city. Tendrils of insight feeling their way through the water to judge which direction was safe and which not. If Venice was a hundred islands, the Byzantine emperor had a thousand, two thousand, such. Southern Greece was a jigsaw of sea-skirted rock. He took

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That would be Lord Corte whose fear of catching diseases from foreigners was infamous. Given his father survived God’s Wrath, when the plague cleared Venice of more than half its citizens and swept across Western Europe killing as effectively as any Mongol army, his nervousness was perhaps acceptable. The virulence

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of them had ever seen. Now her niece was here and as cross as ever. Apparently unconcerned that between them the Byzantines and Germans had Venice surrounded. The fanciful whispered they could see the Byzantine fleet at anchor in the mouth of the lagoon. Alexa doubted it. She could barely

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Hated everything they represented. On her aunt’s desk were letters from the emperors. Both demanded she marry their son. Both claimed first rights over Venice’s heiress and stressed their ancient ties to the city, mentioned the many advantages marriage would bring, and left implicit the threat of what would

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second later a splash sounded to one side like a huge ballista shot hitting water. More thunder followed and a second splash. The bombardment of Venice had obviously begun. “I’m going up on deck.” Giulietta nodded, not offering to join him; while Rosalyn barely bothered to look up, staring

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even Rosalyn, eyes still dark with fury at Lady Eleanor’s death, looked away. 59 The islands forming Giudecca were not quite part of central Venice, and the people who lived there liked it that way. As well as fishing huts, it had monasteries, nunneries, warehouses and whorehouses, a cluster

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of squares and several small farms. Like everywhere in Venice it had churches. Rich cittadini owned cottages here. Red-tiled houses fringed with tiny skirts of carefully tended land. The patriarch kept a sheep garden

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. Unlike central Venice, from which it was separated by a wide sound, Giudecca had fields and orchards, fir trees and graveyards. Its name came either from the

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other. I should be closer, Tycho realised. The handgun was untested and he didn’t trust himself to hit Andronikos’s heart from this distance. “Venice chooses Sigismund, then?” Tycho looked at him. “At least I assume it does. Since you’re protecting that.” Andronikos jerked his chin contemptuously towards

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’t imagined possible. “By tomorrow,” Tycho said, “the whole city will know. And then the world beyond. Does that matter to you?” “This is Venice,” she said. “The world will expect no less.” Tycho lost his grin at her next comment. “You realise,” Giulietta said, “Aunt Alexa intends to

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of fangs and the slash of daggers in the night.” —robwillreview.com “Sharp as a stiletto, dark and dazzling as a masquerade. Grimwood’s Venice is totally compelling.” —Mike Carey “This grim tale will appeal to fans of political and historical fantasy as well as those who appreciate more traditional

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theme.” —The Guardian (UK) Contents Front Cover Image Welcome Dedication Map The Millioni family tree Dramatis Personae Part 1 Prologue: Constantinople 1408 Chapter 1: Venice Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4: Tyrol Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

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-19344-3 Table of Contents Front Cover Image Welcome Dedication Map The Millioni family tree Dramatis Personae Part 1 Prologue: Constantinople 1408 Chapter 1: Venice Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4: Tyrol Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

Rick Steves Florence & Tuscany 2017

by Rick Steves · 8 Nov 2016 · 920pp · 237,085 words

the official site, but their booking fees run about €10 per ticket. (When ordering from these broker sites, don’t confuse Florence’s Accademia with Venice’s gallery of the same name.) By Phone: From a US phone, dial 011-39-055-294-883, or from an Italian phone call 055

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’s time is up, and they (we) are entering eternity. Just below that, on the base that supports the dome, is a round stained-glass window by Donatello, showing the coronation of the Virgin—demonstrating that human beings can eventually be exalted through the Christian faith. Follow the crowds back

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off the architectural lines. Brunelleschi designed the interior to receive an even, diffused light. This is a post-Gothic church—with clear rather than stained glass. The Medici coat of arms decorates the ceiling, and everywhere are images of St. Lawrence, one of the Medici patron saints (who was martyred

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Medici family’s collection of manuscripts. It has the feel of a Renaissance church, with its high ceiling, rows of ergonomic “pews,” and stained-glass windows. But instead of religious scenes, the windows are filled with Medici heraldic emblems. Knowledge is power, and this was like a public library—but

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their wheeled wooden stalls and push them through the city streets to their overnight parking spaces. ▲Mercato Centrale (Central Market) Florence’s giant iron-and-glass-covered central market, a wonderland of picturesque produce, is fun to explore. While the nearby San Lorenzo Market—with its garment and souvenir stalls in

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explain the confusing politics that divided Florence between the victorious Black Guelphs and the defeated Whites, which included Dante. Politically incorrect Dante was exiled (in glass case, see the Book of the Nail—“Libro del Chiodo”—that condemns him), and never again returned to his beloved Florence. Dante probably would have

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a fine example of pre-Renaissance mosaic art (1200s-1300s) in the Byzantine style. Workers from St. Mark’s in Venice came here to make the remarkable ceiling mosaics (of Venetian glass) in the late 1200s. The Last Judgment on the ceiling gives us a glimpse of the medieval worldview. Life was

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the Gothic tabernacle’s medieval elegance. What it lacks in depth and realism it makes up for in color, with an intricate assemblage of marble, glass, gold, and expensive lapis lazuli. Florence had just survived the terrible bubonic plague of 1348, which killed half the population. The elaborate tabernacle was

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café terrace facing the Duomo. The visit continues downstairs with many more rooms of art, showing how the Florentine Renaissance spread to Rome (Raphael) and Venice (Titian), and inspired the Baroque (Caravaggio). We’ll concentrate on the Uffizi’s forte, the Florentine section, then get a taste of the art

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spirit pioneered in Florence and carried it to its logical hedonistic conclusion. Using bright, rich colors, they captured the luxurious life of happy-go-lucky Venice. While other artists may have balanced their compositions with a figure on the left and one on the right, Titian balances his painting in a

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. (You may recognize this bust from the Accademia, which has a copy.) • Circling back clockwise toward the entrance, look for small statues in a glass case, by a pillar. Cellini, Models of Perseus, 1545-1554 The life-size statue of Perseus slaying Medusa, located in the open-air loggia next

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Jesus, done by members of the Della Robbia clan, and an imposing armory collection. The most interesting room (sometimes closed at slow times) has large glass cases filled with miniature bronze models of famous statues. For example, look for small-scale, alternate versions of works by Giambologna, including his Mercury and

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faced Marys, Christs, and saints wearing gold halos, evenly lit scenes, and meticulous detail—all creating a mystical world apart, glowing from within like stained-glass windows. • Start with the large three-peaked altarpiece—showing the Deposition—in the middle of the long, windowless wall. Deposition from the Cross (Pala di

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a larger altarpiece) are surprisingly realistic. The folds in the clothes, the gold-brocade hemlines, and the precisely outlined people are as though etched in glass. Notice the Renaissance perspective tricks he was exploring, setting the wedding in front of receding buildings and the funeral (on the right) among candles that

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them. (Copies now adorn the Baptistery itself.) But even indoors, corrosive oxides gathered between the bronze panels and their gilding. Now they are under glass to protect against natural light and preserved in nitrogen to guard them from oxygen and humidity. Moving from left to right and top to bottom

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and interior decor throughout Europe. This palace was ground zero of international style. • Eventually you’ll reach a room displaying a painting in a glass case. Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child Lippi’s cheek-to-cheek Madonna and Child demonstrates his specialty—humanizing the son of God and the

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if you mentally frame off small sections, you discover a collection of mini-masterpieces. • On the lowest part of the center wall, flanking the stained-glass window, are two matching panels. Giovanni Tornabuoni and His Wife Francesca Kneeling Giovanni Tornabuoni, who paid for these frescoes, was a successful executive in the

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having scandalized the city with a collection of erotic/pornographic sonnets known as the Sixteen Ways (or sex positions). He took refuge in luxury-loving Venice, where he befriended Titian, a fellow connoisseur of eroticism and the arts. Titian and Aretino were both commoners, but they moved easily in court circles

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last case on this wall contains a... Thermoscope: Galileo also invented the thermometer (or thermoscope—similar to the museum’s 19th-century replica), though his glass tube filled with air would later be replaced by thermometers filled with mercury. • Across the room is a giant model of an... Inclined Plane:

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. Van Leeuwenhoek opted for a simple microscope (not in this museum), since early compound ones often blurred and colored objects around the edges. His glass bead-size lens could make a flea look 275 times bigger. Room XV: Atmosphere and Light Even nature’s most changeable force—the weather—was

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eat it, see the sidebar on here. MERCATO CENTRALE AND NEARBY In Mercato Centrale (See “Florence Restaurants” map, here.) Florence’s Industrial Age, steel-and-glass Mercato Centrale (Central Market) is all about feeding people. The ground floor has always been a fun-to-explore food wonderland of vendors selling meat

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curates a fragrant selection of exotic teas, including some unusual flavor combinations. A block farther on the left, Tabescè (#39 red) produces quirky, modern, Murano-style glass jewelry and funky art objects that appeal to hipsters. Across the street is the characteristic Legatoria La Carta marbled paper shop and book bindery (#58

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An enoteca is fun for sampling regional wines and enjoying munchies, especially before dinnertime. Throughout the old town, enoteche serve fine Italian wines by the glass with memorable atmospheres. Le Volpi e l’Uva, specializing in small, often organic wine producers, has a cozy interior and romantic seating on a quiet

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the Duomo. Train Connections The departures listed below are operated by Trenitalia; Italo offers additional high-speed connections to major Italian cities (including Milan, Padua, Venice, Rome, and Naples; see here). From Florence by Train to: Pisa (2-3/hour, 45-75 minutes), Lucca (2/hour, 1.5 hours), Siena (

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in Pisa), La Spezia (for the Cinque Terre, 5/day direct, 2.5 hours, otherwise nearly hourly with change in Pisa), Milan (hourly, 2 hours), Venice (hourly, 2-3 hours, may transfer in Bologna; often crowded—reserve ahead), Assisi (8/day direct, 2-3 hours), Orvieto (hourly, 2 hours, some

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Siena!” Once upon a time (about 1260-1348), Siena was a major banking and trade center, and a military power in a class with Florence, Venice, and Genoa. With a population of about 50,000, it was even bigger than Paris. Situated on the north-south road to Rome (Via Francigena

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Italy. This ornate but surprisingly secular shrine to the Virgin Mary is slathered with colorful art inside and out, from inlaid-marble floors to stained-glass windows. The cathedral’s interior showcases the work of the greatest sculptors of every era—Pisano, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Bernini—and the Piccolomini Library

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spiritual ecstasy and St. Jerome playing the crucifix like a violinist lost in beautiful music. The chapel is classic Baroque, combining colored marble, statues, stained glass, a dome, and golden angels holding an icon-like framed painting, creating a multimedia extravaganza that offers a glimpse of heaven. It’s enough to

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MOSTLY LOCALS OPTIONS IN THE TOWN CENTER Pisa Connections In A.D. 1200, Pisa’s power peaked. For nearly three centuries (1000-1300), Pisa rivaled Venice and Genoa as a sea-trading power, exchanging European goods for luxury items in Muslim lands. As a port near the mouth of the Arno

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center of the bridge of the elegant mansions that line the riverbank, recalling Pisa’s days of trading glory—the cityscape feels a bit like Venice’s Grand Canal. Back when the loggia area was stinky and crowded, nobles preferred to live in stately residences along the river. Looking downstream

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, a pragmatic port town, needed the money and business connections of the Jews and treated them relatively well for the age. Unlike in Rome or Venice, there was no Jewish ghetto here in the Middle Ages. Museum of the Sinopias (Museo delle Sinopie) Housed in a 13th-century hospital, this

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Scapellini, with market stalls and another entrance into Piazza dell’Anfiteatro. Near #104 (on the left) notice the snazzy Old World shopping gallery, with glass canopies in the Liberty Style (Italy’s version of Art Nouveau, from around 1900). As you stroll, notice how many of the original storefront paintings

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’ve noticed that those statues of big shots that decorate many an Italian piazza are mostly absent from Lucca’s squares. That’s because unlike Venice, Florence, and Milan—which were dominated by a few powerful dynasties—Lucca was traditionally run by an oligarchy of a hundred leading families, with

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D. 1111, second line from bottom, lower right). The interior—bigger than it seems from outside—features brightly frescoed Gothic arches, Renaissance paintings, and stained glass from the 19th century. On the left side of the nave, a small, elaborate, birdcage-like temple contains the wooden crucifix—much revered by locals

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an antidote to dark, claustrophobic medieval churches, like the Church of San Francesco we saw earlier. Instead, this was to be a “house of glass,” representing the cultural enlightenment that came with the Renaissance. This concept clashed with the architect’s plans for the building, but Pius insisted on his

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(“People’s Square”). Since 1888, the Caffè Fiaschetteria Italiana has been the elegant place to enjoy a drink. Its founder, inspired by Caffè Florian in Venice, brought fine coffee to this humble town of woodcutters. City Hall was the fortified seat of government. It’s decorated by the coats of arms

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Pozzo sits just a few steps below the square, serving affordable homemade pasta dishes in a pleasant interior with big windows overlooking the hillsides (free glass of vin santo for dessert with this book, closed Tue, tel. 0577-844-015, www.trattoriailpozzo.com, Binerelli family). ▲Sant’Antimo Abbey Set amidst

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High above Cortona, capping the hill, is the basilica, which houses the remains of Margherita, the town’s favorite saint (her actual mummy is behind glass at the altar). The red-and-white-striped interior boasts some colorfully painted vaults. Santa Margherita, an unwed mother from Montepulciano, found her calling in

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Lorenzo surrounded himself with Florence’s best and brightest. They created an informal “Platonic Academy,” based on that of ancient Greece, to meet over a glass of wine under the stars at the Medici villa and discuss literature, art, music, and politics—witty conversation was considered an art in itself. Their

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direct. Or try Steve and Linda of Cross-Pollinate, a booking service for private rooms and apartments in the old centers of Rome, Florence, and Venice; rates start at €30 per person (www.cross-pollinate.com). Before you commit to a rental, be clear on the details, location, and amenities.

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can give you a list of possibilities (or try the free Ciao Italia Bed & Breakfast, which books B&Bs and hostels in Rome, Florence, and Venice; www.ciaoitalia-bb.com). These rooms are usually a good budget option, but since they vary in quality, shop around to find the best value

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options: Cappuccino: Espresso with foamed milk on top (cappuccino freddo is iced cappuccino). Caffè latte: Espresso mixed with hot milk, no foam, in a tall glass (ordering just a “latte” gets you only milk). Caffè macchiato: Espresso “marked” with a splash of milk, in a small cup. Latte macchiato: Layers

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most Pisa-Cinque Terre connections. A private train company called Italo runs fast trains on major routes in Italy. Italo is focused on two corridors: Venice-Padua-Bologna-Florence-Rome and Turin-Milan-Bologna-Florence-Rome-Naples. Their high-speed trains have fewer departures than Trenitalia, but they do offer discounts

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by train to plenty of airports—giving you more options—including Parma, Perugia, Bologna, and Rimini (which all have budget flights available). Rome, Milan, and Venice are only a two-hour train ride away. Be aware of the potential drawbacks of flying with a discount airline: nonrefundable and nonchangeable tickets, minimal

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beyond. Our Italy tours include “the best of” in 17 days, Village Italy in 14 days, South Italy in 13 days, Sicily in 11 days, Venice-Florence-Rome in 10 days, the Heart of Italy in 9 days, a My Way: Italy “unguided” tour in 13 days, and a week-long

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/608-4217. Books: Rick Steves Florence & Tuscany 2017 is one of many books in my series on European travel, which includes country guidebooks, city guidebooks (Venice, Rome, Paris, London, etc.), Snapshot guidebooks (excerpted chapters from my country guides), Pocket guidebooks (full-color little books on big cities, including Florence), “Best

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Insurance details Guidebooks & maps Notepad & pen Journal Toiletries Kit * * * Basics: soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, sunscreen, brush/comb, etc. Medicines & vitamins First-aid kit Glasses/contacts/sunglasses Sewing kit Packet of tissues (for WC) Earplugs Electronics * * * Mobile phone Camera & related gear Tablet/ebook reader/media player Laptop & flash drive Headphones

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–247 Madonna of the People: 237 Madonna of the Rosary (Vasari): 208 Madonna with Child and St. John the Baptist (Raphael): 248 Madonna with the Glass Eyes: 159 Madonna with the Long Neck (Parmigianino): 126 Maestà (Duccio): 384, 385–386 Maestà (Martini): 368 Magi Chapel (Medici-Riccardi Palace): 196–197

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