Life, customs and ways of doing things
Life in Venice is different because Venice is different from most other cities, and therefore customs and ways of doing things differ from other places.
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Chastity hair, with horns
Anybody engaging in Venetian history have stumbled over images of women with their hair set as a couple of horns. This hair dressing fashion first appeared at some time in the second half of the 1500s, and lasted into the early 1600s. Apparently, the style remained almost exclusively Venetian for the entire period. Despite being…
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Sewage in Venice
One of the most common questions I get on my walking tours, is about sewage. Where does it go? Are the canals open sewers? What about Katharine Hepburn?
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Venice treacle
Venice treacle, or theriac, was an ancient wonder medicine, an antidote for most poisons and a cure for most ailments, including the plague.
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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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Ball games in Venice
The Venetians of yore played ball games for fun and sports. Some of these ball games were similar to modern sports, even if not excessively
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Ink and Rat Poison
Is there a connection between writing ink and rat poison, as some images from the 1700s seem to indicate?
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Daily life and customs
Venice was a buzzing city, full of people and activity, and of course, the Venetian had their particular ways of doing things in their daily lives.
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Feasts, celebrations and ceremonial
The Republic of Venice had its feasts and celebrations like any other state, except most of these traditions are now long gone and very often entirely forgotten.
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Glossary — clothing
Clothing has its own vocabulary, which often makes reading and translating old texts challenging for the uninitiated.