Curiosities
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Curiosities
Venice is full of curiosities, often scattered around the city in the most unlikely of places.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Runes in Venice
Who would expect to find runes in Venice? Yet, in central Venice a statue of a lion is covered in runic inscriptions
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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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The journeys of a dead saint
Seventeen centuries of adventures – the incredible post mortem journeys of Santa Lucia of Syracuse
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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