List of issues of the Venetian Stories Newsletter.
- The Blood of Christ
A particular Venetian Easter tradition, and a forgotten Venetian charity, and some special relics — April 2, 2026 - Courtesans
The ancient Venetians had a rather ambiguous relationship with prostitution. It was both rejected and accepted. Four prints show this ambiguity — March 4, 2026 - An almost unknown painter
The paintings of Gabriel Bella are well-known and often used, but very little is known about Gabriel Bella — February 18, 2026 - Beheading bulls
During carnival, on Fat Thursday, the Venetians executed a bull in front of the Doge’s Palace. It was beheaded by sword — February 4, 2026 - Miracle cure or snake oil?
When the English gentleman John Evelyn left Venice in 1646, after almost a year in Venice and Padua, he had more stuff than when he had arrived — January 21, 2026 - Thomas Philologus Ravennas
The statue on the façade of the San Zulian church is not of a saint. It is of a physician who got rich selling remedies for syphilis — January 7, 2026 - The Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto was a great victory for Venice and its allies, but even if Venice won a battle, it still lost the war — October 8, 2025 - Campo Santa Giustina
In Venice, even the most dull and featureless square is full of stories, if one knows where to look — September 17, 2025 - Santa Lucia
Why is the railroad station in Venice called Santa Lucia, who was she, and where’s her church? — September 3, 2025 - Road rage
Traffic has always been bad in Grand Canal in front of the Santa Lucia railroad station, and as an old engraving shows, that is nothing new — August 20, 2025 - Playing at ball
Ancient Venice had ball games, but they weren’t like the ones we play today — August 6, 2025 - The Plague Stone of Poveglia
The island of Poveglia in the Venetian lagoon is one of the most haunted in the world. This has been well-known since the early 2000s — July 23, 2025 - Jacopo Tiepolo
Doge Jacopo Tiepolo (1229–1249) left marks on Venice which we can still see today, eight centuries later — July 9, 2025 - Daughter of the Republic
Bianca Cappello was created “daughter of the Republic” because Venice didn’t have princesses — June 25, 2025 - Venetian Stories update
A short update on the recent irregularities, their causes and the plans for the future — June 11, 2025 - Elephanticide
The Church of Sant’Antonin in Castello still carries the sign of an unfortunate episode with an elephant — March 16, 2025 - A Catalogue of Courtesans
The famous courtesans of Venice were so famous somebody made a catalogue, with prices — January 29, 2025 - Giuseppe Tassini — a human giant
The “Curiosità Veneziane” is an unmatched treasure trove of titbits of Venetian history, and the result of decades spent in the archives and libraries — January 10, 2025 - The Castle of Love
In 1215, Venice and Padua fought a war for one of the silliest reasons imaginable: a brawl during a game of Castle of Love — December 22, 2024 - Nightingale Muzak
Songbirds were an important part of the shopping experience in Venice in the 1600s and 1700s — November 20, 2024 - 404 Doctor Not Found
The iconic cloaked and beaked plague doctor is often associated with Venice, but there is no documentation that the figure ever existed in Venice. — October 16, 2024 - Slavery in Venice
Slavery existed in Venice throughout the history of the republic, and the Venetian profited from the lucrative trade — September 24, 2024 - The Regata Storica and Politics
The annual Regata Storica is normally devoid of political messages, but not this year — September 3, 2024 - Clara — the star of the Carnival
Clara the Rhino was an unusual participant of the Carnival in Venice of 1751, but not the less popular for it — August 14, 2024 - An Englishman in Venice
On the Grand Tour in the 1640s, the English gentleman John Evelyn spent almost a year in Venice and Padua — July 30, 2024 - Street-food in the 1700s
Engravings of people working in the alleyways of Venice in the 1700s can tell us quite a bit about what people ate — July 11, 2024 - Why do the residents leave Venice?
A three-day agricultural fair in Venice expels the locals from all the public spaces for three weeks — June 28, 2024 - An earl, a girl and a gondola
On March 18, 1618, the Collegio received Sir Henry Wotton (1568–1639), the ambassador of the King of Great Britain to the Republic of Venice, who had a rather odd request — June 18, 2024 - Domenico Pizzamano
Domenico Pizzamano never expected to end up in prison. He was not a traitor. He had done his duty — June 4, 2024 - However, we’ll make another
In the late Venetian republic, when the doge died, they held the funeral for a statue — April 20, 2024 - The Venetian constitution
The constitution of the Republic of Venice never really existed. The Venetian nobility just made it up as they went — April 9, 2024 - Quarantine in the 1600s
Quarantine was the main method of prevention of the black plague in Venice, and the lazzaretti served that purpose — March 26, 2024 - Fornicators of Nuns
“Fornicators of Nuns” were criminals in ancient Venice, and harshly punished, but that didn’t stop nuns from having lovers — March 12, 2024 - The Legend of the Fisherman
The Legend of the Fisherman was part of the national narrative of the Venetian Republic, but it is now largely forgotten — February 18, 2024 - Venice Access Fee — Money for nothing
The “Venice Access Fee” introduced by the municipal administration will do absolutely nothing to resolve the real issues of the city — February 4, 2024 - Oranges and straw hats
Once a year — on February 2nd — the Doge of Venice received a gift of two oranges and two straw hats from the guild of the box-makers — January 25, 2024 - Happy New Year – but not yet
While we celebrate New Year on January 1st, for entire period of the Republic of Venice the Venetian state celebrated New Year on March 1st. — December 31, 2023 - A day in the Lagoon
What do you see when you go shopping for ninety kg of dog food in Venice? The Venetian Lagoon is full of overlooked small wonders — November 30, 2023 - Then and now, together
As many people still say about Venice: It’s beautiful, but I wouldn’t live there. Much the same can be said of the past — November 5, 2023 - Lazzaretto Vecchio – six centuries
On October 10th, 1423, exactly six hundred years ago, the Venetian state decided to create the first lazaret in the world — October 10, 2023 - Honest woman and loving friends
The Bridge of the Honest woman and the Love of friends Alleyway are some of the odder street names in Venice — September 20, 2023 - Nine Eleven in Venice
Nine-Eleven in Venice is the anniversary of a tornado which in 1970 killed 36 persons, mostly in a sunken water bus at Sant’Elena — September 11, 2023