Giuseppe Tassini (1827-1899)
Giuseppe Tassini (1827–1899) was a Venetian scholar and prolific writer on Venetian history, in particular the Curiosità Veneziane.
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The game of Pallone
The “Game of Pallone” was the quintessential ball game in the Republic of Venice and elsewhere, but it wasn’t really like any modern game.
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The game of Calcio
The Venetians played ball games of various kinds. The game of Calcio is the one sounds most modern, but it wasn’t exactly like it’s played today. Far from it, in fact.
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Carboneri — transporters and sellers of charcoal — Zompini — Arti #8
“Carboneri” (transporters and sellers of coal and charcoal) from “Arti che vanno per via” (1785) by Getano Zompini, translated by René Seindal.
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When you could hang for wearing a fake beard
A spate of killings in the 1100s in Venice by assassins wearing false full beards, led a ban under capital punishment for wearing fake full beards.
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Ghetto – A Venetian word
The now almost extinct Venetian language was once widely spoken around Europe, and some Venetian words have survived.
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Venice rhymes with Wine
Wine is all over in Venice, and always has been
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The Blue Door
In Venice, near Santa Maria Formosa, there’s a blueish green door everybody photographs.
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Odd names in Venice – what were they thinking?
Big Eyes, Honest Women and the Love of Friends. There are some odd place names in Venice, which pose many questions with few answers.
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List of fires in Venice
Fires were a very real preoccupation of the Venetians, and there have been many fires in Venice over the centuries
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Curiosità Veneziane by Giuseppe Tassini
Curiosità Veneziane by Giuseppe Tassini is the go-to book for information on Venetian placenames and a treasure trove of curious historical titbits.