Ghosts of Venice

Venetian Ghosts: all revealed in a great book by Venetian writer Alberto Toso Fei.

When I first bought the book Venetian Legends and Ghost Stories by Alberto Toso Fei (to help me prepare my Food and Ghost tour of Venice) I thought it would be the usual invented and over-tragic list of ghost and horror tales. Instead, to my surprise, it turned out to be a very interesting book, suspended between legends and real life stories, which opened a new perspective on my knowledge of Venice. By dividing the book into four chapters, each one following an itinerary along the Sestrieri of Venice, it revealed to me new interesting parts of Venice which I did not know existed.

Here is a summary of just a couple of the most interesting tales contained in the book.

The drowned man holding his wife’s head

The place is near Rialto, on the Campiello del Remer. The year is 1598. A young nobleman called Loredan falls in love and marries Elena, the niece of the current Doge Marino. The problem is that he is very very jealous and he has a very fiery character. One evening the Doge Marino is walking around Rialto and hears the cries of a woman. He then sees her fleeing in Campiello del Remer and following in pursuit he sees a man with a sword. Running after the two people in the Campiello he then recognises his niece and her husband. He then puts himself in front of the woman to stop the husband who wants to kill her. The husband tells him the wife has been unfaithful and she deserves to die for this. She denies the accusation and tells her uncle the husband is just madly jealous. While she is saying this, the husband says he is sorry and he will accept any decision by the doge. Whilst the Doge puts away his sword, the husband jumps in front of the wife and cuts her head off. The doge is taken aback by the brute attack and he takes his sword out again. The husband goes to his knees and ask forgiveness and he says he will accept any decision by the Doge. The Doge then tells him that he will have to take the body of his wife on his shoulders and travel on foot to Rome and ask for the Pope pardon. Loredan leaves for Rome, travels with his wife body on his shoulders for months and finally arrives in Rome where the pope refuses to see him. Distraught he returns to Venice and throws himself in the Canal Grande in the same point where he has killed his wife. Sometime you can still see his body emerging from the canal holding his wife’s head.

The dead woman’s shawl

November 1919. WWI has just finished, poverty is spreading in Venice and the weather is extremely cold. It is snowing and the private doctor of the Patriarch of Venice, Doctor Salvatici, is aboard the private gondola of the patriarch.  As the boat goes by, the doctor hears a cry: Help, help!. He can just about see a young girl, wrapped in a shawl, all wet under the snow. The girl begs the doctor to go to her house and check her mother who is really ill. The man is a bit surprised that the girl knows he is a doctor, but takes his bag and follows her to the entrance of a courtyard. He goes though the door of the house and finds an old woman, sick with pneumonia. He recognise her, she used to be his servant. He helps her with some medicine and then compliments her for the presence of spirit of his daughter, who ventured in the cold looking for help. At this the woman looks at him and says: but my daughter died over a month ago.  In  that wardrobe there are still her clothes. And right there the doctor sees the young girl shawl.  It was completely dry!

These are two examples of the tales which are included in the book of Alberto Toso Fei. From this book I have now organised my Food and Ghost Tour of Venice, where, while we eat in some of the oldest Venetian osterie, I will tell you more of the stories and legends narrated by Alberto Toso Fei.

While munching away on some fantastic and delicious cicchetti and tasting some nice Prosecco wine, you will discover some amazing and incredible stories about the Serenissima.  We will visit three of the best Osterie in Venice, where we will taste their delicious food and their special wines: Osteria Vecia Carbonera, Osteria Anticolo Dolo and Osteria La Patatina. And while you are eating your way through the typical Venetian food cicchetti, I will tell you some ghost and horror stories about the people who used to live in Venice. This is a nice, friendly and relaxed tour, just like if you were visiting Venice with a friend.

To book your tour just contact me on info@monicacesarato.com or book direct through http://ww.faronhof.com together with your accomodation in Venice.

“Venetian Legends and Ghost Stories”, by Alberto Toso Fei, Edizioni Elzeviro, 2002.

Tags: alberto toso fei, cicchetti, fantasmi, Ghosts, legends, osteria, spirits, tour, venetian, venezia, venice

Valentine’s Day: The origins

San Valentino: Origins of Valentine’s day

The Origins

Starting from 4th century BC the Romans had the tradition of celebrating the god Lupercus with a ritual which was repeated every year: all those who believed in the god had to put their name inside an urn. The names of the men and the women would then be mixed careful and drawn randomly. Couples would then be formed, who would live together as married couples for one all year, just as lovers, until the new year would come,  when some more couples would be formed by repeating the ritual.
This tradition was seen as a good thing by the Catholic church who decided to put an end to this by nominating a proper Saint for Lovers.
So, instead of adoring the god “Lupercus”, the church decided to appoint a bishop who had been martyred 200 years before and who is now famously known as   San Valentino
San Valentino was born in Terni in the year 175 ac . He is the patron saint of Terni in Umbria, the patron saint of love and of all those people who are in love. Saint Valentine dedicated all his life to the Christian community living in the small town of Terni near Rome, where there were many persecutions against Christians. He was consecrated bishop of Terni in 197 BC by Pope San Feliciano. He is nowadays considered the patron of lovers because the legend says that he was the first to celebrate the union between a pagan roman legionnaire and a young Christian woman.  A roman centurion named Sabino fell in love with Serapia, a young girl from Terni. He went to her parents to ask the permission to marry her, but they refused since they were Christians. Serapia, who was in love with him, asked him to go to Saint Valentine for help. Sabino went to Saint Valentine and was baptised, but right then Serapia got ill with TB. The days passed and the girl did not improve. So Valentine was called. Sabino prayed the saint to help her, because he could not live without her. Valentine prayed to the Lord and both young lovers died and lived together for eternity.  Saint Valentine. was martyred because he celebrated the union between the two lovers. He was beheaded on 14th February 273 by emperor Aureliano for not having suspended the blessing on the two lovers (whilst he had been pardoned by the previous emperor).

It was pope Gelasio I to establish Valentine’s day celebration from  496 D.C on the day of his martyr. The remains of the saint are in the basilica of Terni, in Umbria.
Another legend says that one day Saint Valentine, hearing two young lovers fighting, when towards them holding a splendid rose in his hand. The saint talk to them, gave them the rose and whispered words of reconciliation, to stop them fighting. He asked them to both hold with their hands the rose and to pray that their love would last forever. A little while after the two lovers went back to Saint Valentine. To celebrate their marriage on the 14th February.

That is why we celebrate Saint Valentine on 14th February and we give roses to each other. 

In Italy Valentine’s day is celebrated like the rest of the world, but we are not so mad in sending out cards. We prefer to celebrate the day going out with the person we love for a candle lit dinner and giving that person an original or symbolic present. Sometime it can be only a red rose, sometimes people go mad and it can be a nice diamond ring.

This year Valentine’s day coincides with the Carnival. Therefore in Venice it will be a double celebration on the 14th: The last Sunday of Carnival and Saint Valentine.
So it will not be strange to see people in their customs going around with roses and kissing in the gondolas or the little calles.

Good to know also that a celebration which started in Italy over a 1000 years ago is now celebrated worldwide!

If you want to visit Venice you can stay at http.://www.faronhof.com

Tags: 14 Febbraio, 14th February, amore, Carnival, gifts, love, lovers, Romans, roses, San Valentino, Terni, Umbria, Valentine's day, venice

Venice Carnival: bring back the old days!

Ah, here it is again, like every winter, the eternal question: shall I dress up or not for the Venice Carnival?

Today a collegue and twitter friend @casinadirosa  ( www.casinadirosa.it ) asked me if I had anything written down on the Venice Carnival.  As I said no, that  I didn’t and that I had to get something prepared,  I started thinking of the days when I was young and free and pretty much into dressing up for the Venice Carnival. We are talking 80’s (so you can see I am pretty old), booming years here in Italy.

In those days the Carnevale di Venezia, as we locals call it, was the event of the year together with the Redentore and the Capodanno (New year’s eve). The Carnival meant hours spent on preparing the right costum, frittelle ( o fritoe as they are called in Venetian – small fried dumplings) and galani (fried sweet thin pastry layers)  in buckets, an endless spin of parties to attend to. I come from the Venetian countryside and to take part in the Venice Carnival meant lots of fun, lots of cold, lots of food (not necessarily in that order). We had our local Carnival celebration too in all of our countryside towns, but the main event wss in Venice.

The first memories of attending the Carnival go back to the beginning of the 70’s (I must have been around 6-7 years old). It was the period when in Italy cars had to travel on alternate number plates due to the world oil crisis. My dad had the great idea of dressing me up as an Arab Sheikh (turban and all), to colour my skin dark, to draw a beard on my little angel face (yes, I was pretty as a child) and to give me a little car to drag around : it was his way of being ironic and partecipating into the Carnival spirit (by the way, I have never seen my dad dressing up, even though he loved to prepare my costums). As we walked around the calli (the little venetian streets) people kept turning around and making funny comments: How is it going, Sheikh, run out of petrol, have we?   My dad loved it: that was the point of it all – to draw attention, to have the most unusual custom or mask. In the old days you would not even dream of taking part to the Carnival without a custom.That was the spirit: DRESSING UP.  It did not matter how expensive or cheap your custom was, it had to be strange, unusual, funny, ironic, original.  People used to spend months preparing their customs, using old clothes, using their mother tayloring skills, spending hours in thinking up the craziest customs ever.  There used to be those fancy and beautiful Venetian customs you still see today, but that was only in San Marco Square and usually they used to be prepared by people living in Venice.   The Carnival was everywhere in Venice, every Campo or Calle was full of people drinking, eating, dancing, singing, just having a good time. It was not a Carnival for the tourist, it was the locals’ Carnival.  People used to organise themselves in groups and  prepare customs with a theme: you would see hordes of tribespeople (dressed in black top and black tights with a little straw skirt and a bone in their hair), doctors and nurses, Egyptians, Romans etc.  Lots of men used to wear women clothes and viceversa.  The old and the young, the grand-ma and the grandchild, everyone used to dress up.  The rule of the game: PARTY-PARTY-PARTY.

In the 80’s all schools in Venice on shrove Thursday and shrove Tuesday will stay closed or open  half day, so the students could dress up and go around the city all day long. People from the music school of Venice will walk around with their instruments (violin, guitar and flute) and just put up improvised little shows in all the little Campi around the city. You talked to everyone, you danced with everyone, you sang with everyone: a bit like Woodstock! The only downfall was that the calli were too tight and many times there used to be little traffic jams and it was very hard to go through (and a bit dangerous, stampedes are easily set off). Also the day after shrove Tuesday, the aftermath to be cleaned off was incredible. But hey! That was Carnival.

Carnival was a people’s event, it was the way people could forget for a while about the bad things happening around (let’s not forget the 70’s and the 80’s were the years of Red Brigades (the worst terrorists ever in Italy). Then in 1988-1989 the local new major decided that the Carnival had to be an elite event, that all the dancing and singing, drinking and eating was degrading for the city (obviously it was not bringing enough money) and it decided that people were not allowed to go and sit in the middle of San Marco and sing with guitars, that people were not allowed to dance and eat all over the Campi’s. It was a very bad image of Venice! If you wanted to party you had to do it inside the Palazzi. Therefore slowly but surely  the local countryside people stopped partecipating at the Carnival, they stopped preparing the customs and looking forward to see one of the most amazing events ever.

The Carnival became something that was not meant to be: an event for the rich! So here there are all the beautiful but please-do-not-touch-me customs with their elaborate designs, that take years to prepare but are in a way so superficial (by the way lately they are not even worn by Venetians, bu by tourists who rent the costums from rental agencies).

In the last few years, with the new sindaco Cacciari, it looks like the city administration is trying to bring back the spirit of the Carnival of the old days, when not only the tourists took part in this event, but all people from the surrounding towns. It was such a shock for me in 2000 (just back from living in the UK for 12 years) when I went to the Carnival with my nice vampire homemade outfit (all family dressed the same) and find out that people were staring at us not because of the nice outfit, but because it was only us been dressed up! Even small kids did not wear Carnival costums and if they did they were expensive shop bought ones. What a dissapointment!

This year I have been asked by some real Venetian born friends to take part to shrove Tuesday in Venice. only one rule: you must dress up.  As they told me this my spirit lifted, a broad grin appeared on my face and somehow I was back in 1986 (the best Carnival ever for me) and the answer to the question was: YES, I SHALL DRESS UP FOR CARNIVAL THIS YEAR!

If you want to spend some time in Venice during Carnival : B&b Faronhof

Tags: calle, calli, campo, Carnevale, Carnival, costume, Custom, frittelle, galani, maschera, mask, San marco, Shrove Tuesday, venetian, venezia, venice

Short language breaks In Venice

Always wanted to learn Italian, but don’t have the time? Always wanted to visit Venice and live like an Italian for a while?

Well this is the course for you.

You can take part in a short week-end language course in the outskirts of Venice, on the Riviera del Brenta in my own house.

You can learn the basic of Italian or improve your existing level, live with a real Italian family (mine),  share your meals with us and experience the Italian way of life, away from the tourist trails and all for a short while.

A week-end course runs Friday till Sunday (student guests must arrive on Friday morning and  leave Monday morning). Lessons are held for  4 hours a day (Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday morning). On the Saturday afternoon a 3 hour tour of Venice will take place. Sunday afternoon is free.

The stay includes full board in our family in a double room with ensuite bathroom, 12 hours Italian language course, a 3 hour Tour of Venice. It does not include flight, airport/train station pick up and drop off (this can be arranged for a fee of euro 15.00 each way), the cost of bus/vaporetto transport in Venice, any extra taken outside of the house.

The short break is for a minimum of  2 people sharing a double room with private bathroom, and a maximum of 4 people in two double rooms with private bathroom.  The cost is euro 300.00 per person full board.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any further information info@monicacesarato.com   

Tags: break, family, italian, language, learn, short, stay, tour, venice, week-end

A Venetian who has never been on a boat?

Yes, I admit it: I am Venetian and I never been on a rowing boat in my whole life!

First of all I would like to clarify something: the term Venetian does not apply only to people who are born and live in Venice itself, but also to all of those people who live in the province of Venice, which is a quite extensive area on dry land. So, since I come from that area, more precisely from Oriago di Mira, a countryside village situated along the River Brenta, I actually never had the occasion, in my 40 years of age, of travelling on a rowing boat. That is until last sunday…….when an American turned Venetian friend offered to my family and I to experience the Serenissima on her rowing boat called Sandalo Buraneo.

Well I waited 40 years, but believe me it was well worth it! At first, I must say, I was a bit afraid: the boarding wasn’t exactly promising. The boat kept rolling left to right and I suddenly remembered I wasn’t a good swimmer at all (Hey, I am a countryside girl!!!).

Our friends Nan and Amelia and the BOAT!

Thankfully my friends Nan and Amelia told me to sit right on the floor of the boat and that helped a lot. The rolling isn’t so bad when you are sitting compared to when you are standing.  My 12 year old son was as terrified as I was and kept holding on to his dad, like his life depended on that!  At first Nan and Amelia skillfully rowed, Venetian style (that is standing up on the boat), through the small canals of Venice and once I got the rolling rythm I actually started to enjoy the view. Don’t get me wrong, It was not my first time in Venice, I went to school for 5 years there, I go back many times during the year both for work or just visiting, but I never actually seen it at water level! So It was like seeing this city for the first time. It’s amazing what you miss when you dash through the crowds trying to avoid the tourists or when you travel on the vaporetto all squashed by people.

Then the girls decided it was time to go on the Gran Canal.

Ponte di Rialto on the Canal Grande

Well I can honestely say that it has been an hair -raising experience: between the excessive waves caused by the motor boats and the dangereous ones caused by the vaporetto, we passed from a very pleasant ride to a very scary one.

The Canal Grande

The girls were amazing, they kept control of the boat in such a way that made us scream : Girl Power!!!!  Motor boats, vaporettos, gondolas…… all were passing within a few inches from us making us rolling incredibly.  Still, this did not deminish the emotion which is given by been on the Canal Grande. There is no view in the world like this!

The Canal Grande from a side canal

The sun was just about to go down, the light was reflecting on the water, the waves kept breaking against our boat. I might be a local, but I never get tired of Venice!

Our friend Rene (who runs a kayack tour of Venice http://www.venicekayak.com/ and who was on the boat with us) took over from Amelia in the front rowing post and together with Nan guided us out of the Canal Grande into some small side canals, which in Venetian are call Rii (Rio in the singular).

The sun shining on Venice

I have to say this has been the most enjoyable part. We slowly glided through the water into this amazing scenario. The tall walls of the palaces and house surrounded us. Now I know what people feel when riding on a gondola.  By then even my son was relaxed, let go of his dad’s arm and even leaned over to touch the water. By the end of the day he was actually standing on the boat and going in and out of it with no worries at all. He even declared he would only come back to Venice if he could go back on the boat!

After nearly 2 hours ride the rowers (and not only them) were hungry so we decided to stop for a nice cicchetto (the Venetian version of spanish tapas) in Santa Maddalena and to pay a visit to Osteria Vecia Carbonera

Osteria Vecia Carbonera

.  After a nice cicchetto and a nice drink, all taken whilst sitting in the boat, we decided it was time to go back to dry land.

Nan and Amelia really turned this Sunday into a lovely day out and I hope that with their association they will be able to get more people to try this wonderful experience. Together with some other women rowers they have created  http://vivavogaveneta.org, , an association which is trying to get people to learn about the Venetian Traditional method of rowing, which is called Voga. By going into their website and by enrolling (for a little fee) you will help them create awareness and also help them to carry on with their project (http://vogadoc.org/the-vogadoc-project/preview-the-voga-documentary/)  which is, I quote,:

. promote, embrace and document the culture and practice of the voga alla veneta for leisure and sport

. hold tight to the true soul of Venice that it represents

. and to share them with all the world.

So, let’s all get rowing!!!!!!!

Tags: boat, CanalGrande, Gran Canal, lagoon, Rii, Rio, row, rowing, Serenissima, venetian, venezia, venice, Voga

Winter in Venice learning Italian

Like every year I will be holding Italian language homestay courses for foreign students who would like to learn Italian in an Italian environment.  You will be staying in our house, surrounded by our Italian family and friends, you will be taking part in all of our daily life activities and at the same time you will be taking daily Italian language lessons.  The courses are taylor-made to suit each student level of knowledge of the Italian language and personal requirements (business,school or leisure). The course can be of 10-15-20 hour a week lesson, at the weekend there are excursions in the beautiful area of Venice and Veneto

Tags: course, family, foreign, homestay, italian, language, learning, lessons, student, venice

Tolfa, little pearl on the Roman Hills, perfect for an archeological camp!

TOLFA

Tolfa is a little village of about  5,000 inhabitants, about 500 metres above sea level, positioned on the Roman hills, about 70 Kms from Rome. It is surrounded by unspoilt nature, pastures and woodlands. It has  important Etruscan, Roman and mediaeval archeological sites; quality artisanal products of leatherwork, ceramics, and wrought iron. Only a few kms from Civitavecchia, it is an undiscovered area by foreign tourists, but well visited by Romans and Italians in general.

Last July our 12 year old son took part to a junior archelogical camp in this lovely little village.

The base of the camp is in the old  Franciscan Friars convent on top of the hill.

Convento ex-cappuccini a Tolfa

The convent was built between 1584 and 1622 and reflects the sobriety of the order. Amongst the friars who lived in the convent, was San Crispino di Viterbo, famous for the way he took care of the locals during an epidemy.

The children slept in the friars cells and had a fantastic time fantasizing about ghost and spirits. In the convent’s garden there is an area where the children take part in workshops and lessons on the Romans and the Etruscans.

During the day the children and the archeologists who took care of them spent most of their time digging and cleaning etrurian and roman tombs.  The project is supported by the Sovrittendenza ai Beni Culturali and any findings must be catalogued and sent to Rome.

Ade, king of the Dead

On the last day they even performed a little show for all parents to see. I really believed it was an amazing experience for our son and he is determined to repeat it next year.  For any information for summer archelogical camps in Rome you can contact GAR (Gruppo Archeologico Romano) http://www.gruppoarcheologico.it/campi/campi.htm

We were lucky enough to arrive on the day in which the annual Ham fair – Sagra del Prosciutto takes part and it was amazing to see the all village closed off for the fair.  All shops were opened (even though it was sunday) and the locals set up tables and chairs along the main street and various stalls were offering free tasting of wine, ham and bread. The village was alive with music, people and lovely food smells.

Ham tree in Tolfa

In the morning we walked up to the Rocca (the little roquefort) on top of the hill, where there are the remains of an old fort and a little church.

Tags: archeological, archeologico, camp, campeggio, gar, gruppo, hills, prosciutto, roman, romano, sagra, Tolfa

Survival Italian – How to get around in Italy

Syllabus

Prerequisites

Tags: basic, beginners, course, drink, FOOD, friends, italian, iTALY, lessons, phrases, room, survival, verbs

Italian Conversation Class

A class for intermediate to advanced students of Italian where we can pratice conversational skills and techniques. We will talk about Italy, Italian food, Italian fashion and all things  Italian :  REGISTER

Tags: ADVANCED, class, CONVERSATION, FASHION, FOOD, INTERMEDIATE, italian, iTALY, STUDENTS

ITALIAN INTRODUCTORY CLASS FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

An introductory class to the Italian language for all those people who would like a taste of what it is like learning Italian! This is a one-off class, a full 12 week course will start in August.  http://edufire.com/classes/3766-italian-introductory-class-for-absolute-beginners

Tags: beginners, class, introductory, italian, language, learn