VENICE – ITALY: THE COMPLETE TRAVEL GUIDE
VENICE! ST MARK’S SQUARE! THE VERY HEART OF THE OLD TOWN! FROM HERE STARTS OUR JOURNEY AROUN VENICE! LET’S BEGIN FROM THE ST. MARK’S BASILICA, ASTONISHING CHURCH THAT HAS BEEN OVERLOOKING THE SQUARE FOR ALMOST 1.000 YEARS. IT IS GOLD-PLATED AND HAS BEAUTIFUL MOSAICS THAT TELL THE STORY OF THE CITY. FROM THE TERRACE OF THE MUSEUM OF THE BASILICA OF VENICE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING VIEW OVER ST. MARK’S SQUARE AND THE DOGE’S PALACE, ONE OF THE BEST MUSEUMS IN VENICE WHERE YOU CAN ADMIRE GREAT PIECES OF ART AND THE STUNNING ROOMS OF ONE OF THE LANDMARKS OF VENICE! FROM THE PRISONS OF THE PALACE A NARROW HALLWAY LEADS TO THE WELL-KNOWN BRIDGE OF SIGHS, WHOSE NAME REFERS TO THE SIGH OF THE PRISONERS LOOKING OUT AT THE VENETIAN LAGOON FOR THE LAST TIME BEFORE THEY WENT TO JAIL.
ST. MARK’S BELL TOWER, ONE OF THE TALLEST IN ITALY! AN ICON OF VENICE YOU CANNOT MISS! FROM UP THERE THE PANORAMA OF THE CITY AND THE LAGOON IS AMAZING!
CICCHETTI: IF YOU FEEL LIKE GOING OFF THE USUAL TOURIST BEATEN PATHS TO DISCOVER THE REAL VENICE YOU’LL GET TO SEE THAT A CICCHETTO IS A GREAT WAY TO TRY SOMETHING NEW AND UNUSUAL, WITH A GOOD GLASS OF WINE CHEAPLY! CICCHETTI ARE NIBBLES YOU CAN EAT WITHOUT CUTLERY, PAIRED WITH A GOOD GLASS OF WINE
USUALLY THE SELECTION OF CICCHETTI IN A BAR IS LIMITED, BECAUSE THEY BUY WHAT’S FRESH FROM THE VENICE MARKET THAT DAY, MOSTLY LOCAL FOOD LIKE SALTED CODFISH, SARDINES, MUSKY OCTOPUS, BUT ALSO VEGETABLES, CURED MEATS, CHEESES, EGGS…
THEY CAN BE HOT DISHES, COLD DISHES, FRIED, SERVED WITH POLENTA OR BREAD BUT ALWAYS SEASONAL INGREDIENTS!
THE NAME CICCHETTO COMES FROM THE LATIN “CICCUS”, THAT MEANS “LITTLE/SMALL AMOUNT” INDEED A CICCHETTO IS A SMALL BITE… MID-MORNING – YOU’RE HUNGRY, BEFORE LUNCH OR DINNER AS AN APERITIF, TO ACCOMPANY A GOOD GLASS OF WINE, INDEED CICCHETTI BECAME POPULAR AS A QUICK MEAL BUT ALSO AS A WAY TO SOAK UP THE GLASS OF WINE, IN VENICE CALLED “OMBRA!” THAT MEANS “SHADE!”
BUT WHY IS A GLASS OF WINE CALLED SHADE? BECAUSE THE ST MARK’S BELL TOWER IS THE TALLEST BUILDING IN ST MARK’S SQUARE, AND SO UNDER THE “CAMPANILE” THERE WAS THE LARGEST SHADE WHERE IN THE PAST THE WINE SELLERS (CALLED “BACARI”) WERE USED TO SET UP THEIR STALLS TO KEEP THE WINE COOL, SO IT BECAME POPULAR AMONG VENETIANS TO SAY “LET’S GO GET A SHADE” – “LET’S HAVE A GLASS OF WINE.”
WHILE NOWADAYS A BACARO IS A SMALL PLACE WITH A FEW SEATS WHERE YOU CAN GET A GLASS OF WINE AND A CICCHETTO YOU CAN ENJOY AT THE TABLE OR STANDING, AND SINCE A BACARO IS USUALLY A SMALL PLACE THE PARTY OFTEN MOVES OUT TO THE VENETIAN STREETS AND CANALS.
THOUSANDS OF VISITORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD POUR OUT TO ATTEND THE CARNIVAL OF VENICE, A GIGANTIC FEAST RUNNING OVER A THOUSAND YEARS THROUGH THE STREETS AND THE SQUARES OF VENICE, WITH MANY SHOWS, CARNIVAL MASKS AND ANY KIND OF EVENT AND PERFORMANCE AT ANY TIME! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY DURING THE CARNIVAL CELEBRATION A YOUNG ATHLETE FROM TURKEY WALKED ALONG A ROPE STRETCHED FROM A DOCKED BOAT TO THE ST. MARK’S BELL TOWER. THE CROWD WAS IN ECSTASY! AND FROM THAT MOMENT ON THE SHOW OF THE TIGHTROPE WALKER IS A MUST OF EVERY CARNIVAL EDITION! NOWADAYS THE TIGHTROPE WALKERS HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY CELEBRITIES FASTENED TO A CABLE THAT RUNS FROM THE BELL TOWER TO ST. MARK’S SQUARE. THIS IS CALLED “THE EAGLE FLIGHT”! PEOPLE SWARM ST. MARK’S SQUARE AND THE SURROUNDING STREETS! EVERYONE WANTS TO ATTEND THE CARNIVAL PARADE! A HUGE CLOTH REPRESENTING A WINGED LION, THE ICON OF VENICE, IS FLAPPED OVER THE SQUARE. THE CITY LITERALLY BLOWS UP! THEATRICAL PIECES ON THE STREETS! CONCERTS! IT’S A HUGE MOVEABLE FEAST! AND THE CELEBRATION GOES ON BEYOND THE SUNSET WITH PRIVATE PARTIES AND MASKED BALLS!
VENICE HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST REFINED CITIES IN EUROPE FOR CENTURIES, WITH A STRONG INFLUENCE ON ART. DURING THE 17TH CENTURY VENICE WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT CITY IN THE WORLD FROM AN ARTISTIC PERSPECTIVE. HERE A SCHOOL OF PAINTERS WAS BORN, I CAN CALL IT “THE GENRE OF LANDSCAPE”.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF PAINTING THE LANDSCAPE IS THE CRUCIAL ELEMENT OF A PAINTING AND FROM THAT MOMENT ON THE LANDSCAPE HAS A KEY ROLE IN PAINTING, AND THEREFORE THE PAINTERS STARTED TO TRAVEL TO DISCOVER MORE INTERESTING LANDSCAPES. A JOURNEY STARTED TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE, AND THE TREND OF THE GRAND TOUR BEGAN TO SPREAD. THE GRAND TOUR WAS THE JOURNEY THAT FROM THE 17TH CENTURY ON EVERY EUROPEAN REACH DESCENDANT HAD TO DO IN ORDER TO COMPLETE HIS EDUCATION AND IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED A MAN, AND THE WORD “TOURISM” COMES FROM THE GRAND TOUR AND VENICE WAS – OF COURSE – A CRUCIAL STOP-OVER ON THE GRAND TOUR.
HERE IS A LIST OF THE BEST BACARI IN VENICE WHERE YOU CAN GET GOOD CICCHETTI AND WINE:
https://www.cantinaschiavi.com/
https://cantinadospade.com/en/
https://www.facebook.com/allavedova/
https://www.dalucaefred.com/
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