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Venice and its rivers Rivers connecting south and north with Venice, explain why this city was built. Still nowadays, even considering how much geographical surroundings of Venice have changed [...]

The plague was a constant problem for Venice in the ancient times. A city devoted to trading could not simply reject foreign ships reaching the city for fear they would bring diseases, otherwise [...]

Gelato is one of those words tourists do not need any translation for. Actually, if I say “ice cream”, some give me a suspicious look as if I am proposing them something which is not truly [...]

Coffee trade in Venice reached its climax in the middle of the 18th century.  Nearly 28 million cups of coffee per year would be drunk in Venice and its territories in the Stato da Terra in [...]

Venetian gardens are unexpectedly quite a few. At least five hundred. In Venice, gardens are not so easy to spot, though. Most visitors, after spending a few days in Venice, get the feeling they [...]

Vittore Carpaccio’s paintings in Venice are well known to the English speaking world still because of John Ruskin’s and Henry James’ praising words. Do you remember? Ruskin used expressions such [...]

Makeup in Venice: the concept of female beauty in 18th century nobility Who would be considered a beautiful woman in the 18th century Venice? It is a real joy to observe the paintings by Pietro [...]

Winter in Venice: pros and cons for a visit Winter in Venice is a special time for several reasons. First of all, the city is quiet(er than normally). Nowadays most tourists choose to visit the [...]

Contemporary architecture in Venice is not a chimera Contemporary architecture in Venice can be found pretty much everywhere, even in St. Mark’s square —see the Olivetti Showroom (link to my post [...]

Holy relics and disbelief Holy relics create curiosity and even when disbelief prevails, wouldn’t you still feel like checking as St. Thomas did? At the Accademia Galleries in Venice you can [...]