The writings on this site are split into several categories, but they’re all listed here together, chronologically, newest first.
The categories are articles, blog posts, lists and translations from various sources.
Almost everything is cross-referenced by names of persons and institutions, by location, and even by bibliography. There is also a glossary of Venetian terms with references.
The podcast and newsletter are on the Venetian Stories website.
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Carnival in Venice
The Venetian Carnival was celebrated for centuries, until the end of the Republic. The modern carnival is only superficially similar.
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Sestiere San Polo
The Sestiere San Polo is in central Venice, around the upper bend and central part of the Grand Canal.
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Sestiere Santa Croce
The Sestiere Santa Croce is in the central western part of Venice, along the upper bend of the Grand Canal. Today, the Tronchetto, the cruiser terminals and the Maritime station are parts of Santa Croce. They are, however, modern constructions reclaimed from the lagoon. The name Santa Croce The name means the Holy Cross, and…
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The testament of Marco Polo
We don’t know the exact date of the death of Marco Polo, but his last will and testament is dated January 9th, 1323 M.V.
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Ca’ Dario
The Ca’ Dario on the Grand Canal in Venice has lately acquired a bad reputation, but it is almost guaranteed ghost-less.
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Sestiere Cannaregio
The Sestiere Cannaregio is the second largest of the six, extending from the railroad station to the Rialto. It covers almost half of the northern part of Venice.
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Sestiere Dorsoduro
The Sestiere Dorsoduro is the southernmost part of Venice along the Giudecca canal.
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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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Bad air will get you sick
Bad air was believed to be a major cause of sickness in the past, based on Aristotle’s idea of miasma as the cause of disease.