Knowing Venice

 

Knowing Venice


We can learn, explore, discover the secrets of Venice, through a different perspective from that of a normal traveler.
There are some curiosity that makes Venice a city even more mysterious and fascinating


The winged lion above the gateway of Arsenale holds a book without the traditional worlds PAX TIBI MARCE (pace to you Mark) unsuitable in this military venezia bienale 086context.Outside the gate, four lions keep guard. The larger one bear runic inscriptions on its side,hacked there in the 11 century by Norse mercenaries.The lion came from the greek island of Delos.The others were looted from Athens in 1687.

Tintoreto’s masterpiece “Paradise” in the doge’s palace is the largest oilpainting in the world.

The most common surname in Venice and Pellestrina is Vianello (which derives from the Latin Vivianus “alive”). Follows the surname Scarpa (shoe).The surname  characteristic of Burano is Dei Rossi (the red), of the Murano is Toso (shear) while the most common ones in Chioggia and Sottomarina are Boscolo (allusion to the forest) and Tiozzo. The most common diminutives in Venice are Bepi (Joseph), Tony (Anthony) and Nane (John). The names typical of Venice are Marco (Mark),Alvise, Nicholas and James.

The first description of the glasses was in Venice, in 1284, and it was in  the “Chaptolare”, the status of art of” Cristalleri”, in which is textually write that “oglarios” were to be made of good crystal and not of glass.

The narrowest street in Venice is called “Calletta Varisco” which is located on a side near Campo San Canciano:is only 53 cm wide!

An  regulament of the health approved in 1897  , sets the rules for buildings and their maintenance,and includes an obligation to build canals to channel the waste water.
SCHEOMoney in Venice are called “Schei”, this term comes from from the inscription “Scheidenmunze” the coin used at the time of the Habsburg rule in Venice .The Venetians shortened the name for convenience. Another synonym for money in Venice before
the euro was “Franks”, thie legacy of the Napoleonic era.

The circulation waterway in Venice is regulated as in the mainland by appropriate signs (one-way, prohibition of access, etc..).

In 1300, the laws of Venice predicted :the tutella of the child worker; the separation between the interest of the doctors and pharmacists and even a public health service, and a set of rules in the justice regolations and the public stability.

In Venice, the woman cold and stiff called mercilessly with the term “Maria de tola” (wooden plank women). Seems that the term “Marionette” (puppets) is derived from small puppets for children called “Marie Wood” (or “Marion” when were larger),  inspired by venezian nickname “Marie de tola”.

The squares in Venice are called “Campi”, in fact, were originally used as allotments. The fields in front of churches were often used as cemeteries.

The characters of Lancelot Gobbo and his father, old Gobbo, in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice could have been inspired by the traditional symbol of the Rialto or the Gobbo di Rialto.

Most of the “lions” (the winged symbol of Venice) was destroyed by Napoleon’s troops in 1797, the ones we see now are almost all ,copies similar to the originals.

The word “ciao”(hello) has Venetian origins. In ancient times people used  to greet in this way: “suo sciavo”which means “your servant,at your orders, your slave.” So, from time to time the greeting became  first “s-ciao” and then “ciao”.

venezia bienale 080The organization inside the Arsenale shipyard was at the forefront, with different specialist departments quality control of materials standardization of many stages of production and even the first line of assemblage of the history .That allowed to build up three ships per day, which guaranteed to Venice a true record.

 

The name Ghetto had Venetian origins and derives from the foundries in that area who throwing or blended metals (from the Venezian verb “getare = sharpen the metal with the gaiter”, or with the lead dioxide), for manufacturing and supplying the Arsenal cannons.
For getto to Ghetto , the world change because of,the first Jews who lived there had come from Germany and pronounced it with the “g” as guttural “ghermania.”

The “Campanile of San Marco ” 98.6 meters is the highest tower of the city. On its summit stands a golden angel whose swivel wings point of the direction of the wind at that altitude. On the August 21, 1609 Galileo Galilei showed the telescope ,from bell tower to the Lordship of Venice .

The phrase “Beviamo un ombra = Let’s drink a shadow” ( a glass of wine), comes from the fact that the wine was kept in the shaddow places to be cool (the basements were few) and then consumed in Piazza S. Marco, in the shade of the umbrella and at the great bell tower shadow. From the belfry,starts, at noon on the first Sunday of the carnival, the flight of the angel, giving the official start to the biggest event in the city.

 

 

 

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