The Carnival of Venice is fast approaching. Here is a list of just some of the numerous events which will take place this year from 4th February 2012 till 21st February 2012. For the full official calendar visit: Carnevale di Venezia 2012 Saturday 4th February Grand toast at the wine fountain: Piazzetta San Marco Venetians [...]
Venice: beautiful, unique but expensive. So what’s the best way to sample all the variety of Venetian cuisine without breaking the bank? Simple: go on a Bacaro Tour of the city! Try the famous Venetian cicchetti (little snacks similar to Spanish Tapas) in the Osterie (also called Bacari), typical Venetian inns where often [...]
Why is Venice the city of the Masks? First of all let’s define what is a Maschera (mask): in the Venetian culture the term “maschera” refers to “putting on a beard and mustache” and “maschera” was also the nickname given to women who disguised themselves as men and men who disguised themselves as women. Soon the [...]
Italy is by far one of the best places to visit because of its beautiful buildings and extravagant tourist attractions. There are dozens of places to visit in this outstanding country, but there are only a few that truly make the trip worthwhile. People everywhere flock to this part of Europe everyday, and all [...]
Noventa Padovana is just a few miles down the road from Padua and it is in fact the connection point between the city and the famous Riviera del Brenta, an area characterized by beautiful villas, built between the sixteenth and the eighteenth century by the noble Venetian families, witness to the power of [...]
The “Altane” are structures located above the rooftops of Venice characterizing the architecture of the city, a sort of wooden terraces supported by pillars. If you have the opportunity to stand on a church tower or rooftop of a building, or if you just look up while walking through the calli of Venice, for sure [...]
Next Thursday, on 17th March 2011, Italy celebrates its 150 Anniversary as a united country. This is happening in the middle of a very difficult political and economical crisis. You would have thought that this anniversary would have been the occasion to put all this behind and start fresh. But I am not [...]
I remember last year around this time complaining because the Carnival of Venice had changed and was not anymore as I remembered it, see my post Venice Carnival: bring back the old days! Well, this year I am much much happier. Even though the Venice Carnival is still a major setting for people [...]
When I found out my dear friend Cariya Bremen, artist, chef, and globetrotter (meant in the nicest possible way,i.e. she has lived all over the world!), was attending one the most famous events in the world Il Ballo del Doge during the Venice Carnival, I could not believe my luck: finally I would get to [...]
Here comes another beautiful memory of Venice, this time from my dear friend Karen who owns a lovely holiday house in Umbria, Vecchia Casa. I hope she will find some time soon to come over to see me so we can then go around Venice enjoying some bacari. Magical, mysterious, wonderful Venice! My body & [...]
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, a treasure in the middle of the Serenissima. One of the biggest complex of buildings in Venice is composed by the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. This massive building complex, commonly called Frari, dominates the area of San Polo with its essential Gothic forms and the [...]
Venetian Frittelle Marathon!!! I have been writing about the Venice Carnival, its history, the masks and about typical Carnival cakes so much, that in the end I kind of worked out a massive craving for the all lot. So last Friday, with the help of an American gourmet connoisseur friend who lives in Venice, [...]
IL VOLO DELL’ANGELO – THE FLIGHT OF THE ANGEL Sunday, February 27, 12:00 in Piazza San Marco HISTORY OF THE EVENT Image via Wikipedia The Carnival 2001 marked a return to the tradition of eighteenth-century carnivals re-staging, after centuries, the Angel’s Flight, as it used to be at the times of the Republic of [...]
FEAST OF MARIE Major event on the calendar of the Venice Carnival! Image via Wikipedia On Saturday, February 26, starting from 14:00 from San Pietro di Castello, arrival in Piazza San Marco at about 16.00 On Tuesday, March 8, from 15:30 departure of the water procession from San Giacomo dell’Orio and arrival at 17.00 in [...]
Image via Wikipedia You cannot mention the Carnival of Venice without talking about all the shows and the theatres.The theatre season in Venice was the richest in Europe, thanks to the many theatres in town, often owned by noble families. Venice was one of the few cities in Europe to own a substantial number of [...]
Venetian History on the use of masks Masks are the quintessential icon of the Venice Carnival, but since when the Venetian have been using masks to disguise themselves?Let’s find out!In order to limit the relentless moral decline of Venice, Venice on several occasions has legislated on Carnival and has regulated the use of masks and [...]
