You know about the museums and galleries.  You've been surfing off the lido.  And, the secret gardens of Venice are no longer a secret from you.  But, did you know about the rice paddies of Verona?  That pink flamingos migrate through the northern lagoon?  That living souls were bought and sold in exchange for Murano glass?  

Many people who read this blog are seasoned visitors to Venice.  You know a lot about her history, her treasures and her environment.  And, above all you know that no matter how much we learn there's always more to know.  On this short list, there may be something you did not yet know about Venice...

More than 20,000 birds visit Venice, and the almost 70,000 hectars of nature preserves in the Venetian lagoon, every year. These preserves include the barene – the muds flats within the lagoon – as well as the sand dunes at Alberoni and San Nicolo on the Lido, Ca'Roman on Pellestrina, and a swath of coastline near Chioggia.  

For the past two years, a flock of flamingos – Yes, pink ones! - has migrated through the northern lagoon each spring. There are sandpipers on the barene whose curved beaks are longer than the birds are tall. There are infinite varieties of ducks. On Sant'Erasmo, in addition to the expected farm birds, I have spotted wild ring-necked red pheasants, and colorful wild parakeets, while on the southern end of the Lido lives a flock of gregarious peacocks who don't seam to feel any need to limit themselves to staying on the farm.  

Of course birds such as sea gulls and pigeons can be hard to ignore in the center of Venice, especially when they engage in shenanigans like stealing sandwiches right out of people's hands. But, on the brighter side, it is not at all unusual to catch sight of a yellow-footed egret posing gracefully on the corner of an embarcadero. And, low-flying cormorants make a silly spectacle when they stand around airing their feathers atop the pilings in the lagoon. One day last summer a bird even flew into my living room, had a peck at the potted plants and, gratefully, flitted just as easily back out again.

"Trade beads" are probably the most globally seen Murano glass beads. Yet, very few people realize that they're Venetian. Even fewer truly grasp the historical and cultural significance of these particular beads. These days, they seem to be associated with virtually every culture except European cultures. Nevertheless, they originally came from Murano where, for hundreds of years, they were produced by the ton and shipped off on long voyages throughout the world.

​From the 16th to the 20th centuries Murano glass beads were traded as currency between the merchants of the Venetian republic and, particularly, the people's of West Africa who placed a much higher value on decorative objects than they did on European currency. So highly valued were these beads that they were used to pay for the purchase of human beings, earning them the ominous name "slave beads". 

While there certainly can not be a larger human impact of beads beyond their use as currency in the purchase of slaves, there were other significant impacts of the popularity of Murano glass beads that bear mentioning. For example, when the merchant sailors sailed off to parts unknown with their ships laden down with beads, their hard currency remained in Venice contributing significantly to the wealth of the Republic. Meanwhile, the impiraresse of Venice – the women workers whose job it was to string the billions of tiny seed beads produced on Murano for the luxury market – are known to have formed a labor union and gone on strike for better pay in the late 1800's, long before the labor movement began in Europe.

Rice has been cultivated in the Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont since the mid-1400's. Today, Italy is the largest rice cultivator in Europe. The vast majority of rice cultivated in the humid valleys of northern Italy is short grain rice – including the famous Arborio and the Vialone Nano IGP rice cultivated near Verona.  

Long considered a precious commodity, dishes made with rice, risottos, have a special place in both Venetian history and the Venetian diet. The beloved risi e bisi, a risotto of rice and peas, was historically served to the Doge in celebration of the feast day of San Marco, the patron saint of Venice. Risotto with eel is a traditional part of a Venetian Christmas Eve dinner. And, risotto di go is a gourmet specialty risotto, local to the Venetian island of Burano, made with “giozzo” - tiny fish caught in the lagoon - and the Veneto's Vialone Nano rice. Naturally, risottos change with the season as local chefs pair the rice with seasonal vegetables and freshly caught fish.  This week, it seems we're all having asparagus risotto!

Well prepared pasta is delicious of course, but you won't have tasted Venice before you've tasted a carefully prepared risotto.

Whenever I see that a door to one of the document archives of Venice has been left open, I can't resist peeking my head in. The Republic of Venice was the home to the first trade union in Europe. It was the birthplace of modern accounting. And, of particular interest to me, and perhaps to all of us who can never seem to find the right charger for our mobile phones, somewhere inside those archives lies the first ever patent statute along with the records of the 2,000 patents that were issued by the Republic of Venice in the first 14 years that the statute went into effect. Those were the years from 1474 until 1488. Could the Venetian Senate have imagined, when they enacted that law hundreds of years ago that it would come to be adopted almost globally - Almost verbatim too! - and impact the daily lives of billions of people?

At it's peak, the Republic of Venice encompassed not only the Veneto coast and a large swath of the mainland, but also nearly the entire eastern Adriatic shore – the Dalmatian coast where one now finds the countries of Croatia, Montenegro & Albania – plus Corfu, Crete and, infamously, Constantinople. During it's peek as a trading empire, many more coastal territories, from Northern Africa to Asia, fell under the effective control of the Republic.   

Though, these days the territory of Venice and the Veneto are more limited to the lagoon and a portion of mainland Italy, there is still plenty of Venetian territory to explore beyond the city center. The lagoon itself covers an area of 550 kilometers, while the Veneto mainland stretches from Cortina to the north, Verona to the west and Chioggia and the Po Delta to the South. As you can imagine, recreational, educational and culinary experience opportunities abound in this territory.

Why, one could even go hiking in the morning, have a risotto for lunch, do a little shopping for Murano glass beads and pop into a document archive in the afternoon before gliding off on a sunset bird-watching cruise of the lagoon. Now that sounds like an amazing day in Venice!

What's your favorite detail of Venice?  Is it the sculpture of an angel's wing on that tomb on San Michele?  The turquoise colored shutters on that orange house in Mazzorbo?  Is it the fact that no matter how much time one spends exploring there is always something new to discover?  Or are they the ever evolving but always somehow perfect to the tiniest detail artisan crafts made in the City?  … I could never answer that question!  I like almost all of it!  What I can do is offer some suggestions for both holiday gifts and local shopping that offer a special glimpse into the highly detailed world of Venice.

One can never see too much, nor can one have ever seen it all, of Venice!  And a view of venice may be even more inspiring when one is far away.  With professional photographs of Venice, you can bring Venice into your home without hanging a carnival mask on your wall.  (Though I personally do both…)

Island of San Michele 2015 Calendar byKurt Tappeiner.

If you're lucky enough to be doing your holiday shopping in Venice, you face the duel challenges of both knowing what's really Venetian and deciding what to buy.  For a few tricks re: how to tell if something has really been made in Venice, please see our previous post here.  Meanwhile,  though we can't tell you which of the many amazing handmade goods in Venice are best for your loved-ones, we can tell you this: To get the very best of what Venice has to offer, shop in Artisan Stores.  These are a few that have recently been added to OG Venice Travel Guide:

Two essential companions for your venice-bound explorers because sightseeing in Venice doesn't end at the exit from Dodge's Palace.  No.  That is where it begins!  In every nook and cranny, behind the most innocuous looking doorway and down the most humble of narrow streets there are secret signs and symbols speaking of the history of the city and telling stories of her past.  I have never had more fun sightseeing in Venice than I had exploring the "secret" city with the help of these two books:  The Secret Venice of Corto Maltese and Secret Venice.  Give these to your Venice-bound explorer!

I've been joking with my friends that, during my 28th visit to Venice, I am finally getting around to doing what most people try to do during their first visit to Venice.  Never before have I done so much sightseeing!  Naturally, I have been to most of the "major" sights at one time or another, with one friend or guide or another.  But I have never before deliberately set out to "see the sights" here in Venice.  (Yet another reason that I write a practical guide to Venice, not a historical guide!)

My excuse has been simple and very foolish:  I am saving things for "next time".  I never want to see all of Venice because as long as there is something left to learn I will always have a good reason to return.   This can be romantic if you look at it in a certain light.  But, yes, it is foolish.  Even if I set out every single day for the rest of my life to see sights here in Venice, I could never see them all.  And, even if by some miracle all of them did pass before my eyes, I would need yet another lifetime to learn the significance of each of them.
No one knows it all about Venice.

The images in this gallery are of sights that all exist within a few hundred meters of each other in the Cannareggio District.  Without stopping to gape, crossing this area would be no more than a 7 minute walk for me.  I spent more than three hours here today and I skipped things.  And, naturally, what were to me the most intriguing sights - The Moores and the Palazzo Del Cammello - were not discussed in the guide book I was using!  This necessitated a 20 minute break to research just exactly what the heck a camel is doing on the wall of Venetian Palazzo.  It really is so much easier to shrug one's shoulders and say, "He's here because we're in Venice."


(Actually he is there to symbolize the ownership of the palazzo by a trio of wealthy Moores who were turned to stone as punishment for their financial crimes against an old woman.  And, by the way, it may seem that there are actually four Moores based on the statutes you'll see in Campo Dei Mori when, in fact, no one knows just who the heck that fourth guy is supposed to be…  This is sightseeing in Venice!)


I will not endeavor to describe the history and significance of each of the sights pictured here, except to point out that they are far from limited to Christian religious symbols.  That kind of writing is best done by people who know about such things.  (And would they please, next time, not leave out the most stand-out sights in the neighborhood!)  

What I will say is this:  Though I always leave Venice with the sense of having so much more to see here, that feeling will be five times stronger than ever when I pack my bags next week.  I have have barely scratched the surface of Venice in all the years I've been coming here.  How can anyone ever think that they've seen Venice?