For some people, there has only ever been one ‘City of Romance’ Many towns are called the ‘City of Love’ – Rome, Verona and Paris, to name but three. For Sara Scarpa, however, none can match the claims of her native Venice, home to Casanova, Byron, Carnival, and countless secret little places where lovers have […]
Visiting Venice at this time of year will offer you an experience quite unlike the one you would have if you were to join the throngs of tourists in mid-summer Local woman Sara Scarpa describes the atmosphere of a Venetian winter and shares with us some secrets about what Venetians will be enjoying in their […]
The most popular soup in Venice is pasta and fagioli (pasta and beans), a hearty combination that warms body and soul during the long rainy season. Risi e bisi (rice and peas) is a simple and yet delicious duo enjoyed especially in the early spring. The local pasta of choice is bigoli, long wholewheat strands […]
The legendary cuisine of La Serenisima deserves close attention, so join Mario Matassa as he unpicks the flavours and feeling behind Venetian cooking… Venice hardly needs an introduction. One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, the Renaissance city is renowned among other things for its stunning architecture, its history, its art, its […]
The sculptural decoration on the three exposed corners of the Ducale Palace proclaims the fragility of man. Venice is a wonder which never ceases to amaze me. It often seems, when I look at old favourites, that I am viewing them for first time, so wonderful is the artistic detail and layered meaning. Saint Mark’s […]
The smuggling of the mortal remains of St Mark to Venice from Alexandria in 828 satisfied a Divine Will – according to the Venetian version of the story, anyway… When, in the 4th Century AD, St Mark the Evangelist allegedly visited the then uninhabited lagoon, an angel appeared unto him saying: “Pax tibi Marce, Evangelista […]
Phil Bremner “Despite seeing Venice in endless movies nothing really prepares you for the exquisite timeless beauty of this astonishing city.”
Since the height of its 17th-century splendour, this seductively sensuous Carnevale has lured visitors from afar. Sadie Briggs visits Venice in search of the magic behind the masks. Being swept along tall, narrow streets in an anonymous crowd of beautifully opulent revellers with music, shouting and whoops of excitement coming from every direction, can be […]
Gondolas on the Grand Canal by Sian Jones “This was taken from Rialto bridge, it shows the variety of boats using the Grand Canal, as well as the elaborate buildings. My partner and I were there in May, we had been to explore the wonderful Rialto markets. It looks like the gondolas are going to […]
Venice by Stephen Fryers “I had lived in the Ventian lagoon in the late ‘90s but had not returned to the island for well over 12 years, until a recent business trip allowed me to go back. I was lucky to have a Sunday free and the weather in December played ball with one of […]