Tonight for the Night of the Shooting Stars aka Notte di San Lorenzo (Night of San Lorenzo – the night where dreams come true in Italian folklore), there’s a special event at the oasis of Ca’ Roman.
Free entry but visits must be booked in advance through this site.
Apart from the usual islands tour – Murano, Burano, Torcello – there’s one small island you might want to visit. It’s San Lazzaro degli Armeni, a stone’s throw from Lido. There’s a vaporetto – number 20 – leaving each day from San Zaccaria at 3.10 p.m. in coincidence with the guided tours held by the Meckitarist monks.
In the 15th century the place was a leper colony, hence the name Lazzaro, the patron saint of lepers. The hospital was moved in the 16th century and the island was abandoned. It became Armenian in 1717. The monastery was and remains an important centre for Armenian culture. Lord Byron studied in the library, helping the monks to prepare the first English-Armenian dictionary. The ancient library contains 150,000 volumes, beautiful illuminated manuscripts, oriental artefacts and an Egyptian mummy (450-430 BC) attributed to Namenkhet Amun, a priest at the Amon Temple in Karnak.
For those visiting the Venice Biennale there’s a special discount on the entrance ticket for the show Armenity. More info here.
Don’t forget to ask for Vartanush (literally sweet rose), a special jam made from rose petal around May.
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What are you waiting for?
For more info, please contact me here: cbvenicebyvenice@gmail.com
A campo (field) is a square. The only piazza is Piazza San Marco.
A campiello or a campazzo is a small square.
Rio is a canal.
Rio terà is a canal that has been filled in. You can easily detect this by the different disposition of the pavement slabs.
Piscina is a pool or turning basin that has been filled in to become a square.
Calle is the name of a street.
Ruga is an important street, usually lined with shops.
Fondamenta and Riva define a wide street running along a canal.
Ramo (branch) is a short street or an extension of another street with the same name.
A salizzada indicates a paved street (once rare).
A sottoportego is an arcade or arched passage under a building.
This is an ideal walk if you enjoy the sun and want to admire the cityscape. Leave the piazza behind you and cross the bridge parallel to the bridge of sighs which used to link Palazzo Ducale to the ancient prison – Giacomo Casanova managed to escape from the Piombi prison thanks to a rope and a boat – and stroll along the fondamenta of Riva degli Schiavoni.
On your left-hand side a succession of hotels, the Danieli Excelsior, location of a famous James Bond scene (From Russia with love, Casino Royale), the equestrian sculpture in bronze by Ettore Ferrari dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II just in front of Hotel Londra Palace, a few meters ahead the small palace where the writer Henry James lived, a bridge on rio dei Greci and its leaning bell-tower, and the Chiesa of Santa Maria della Pietà, known to be the site that hosted Antonio Vivaldi’s school of music.
For those interested in the life and works of the red priest, it is worth a visit San Giovanni in Bragora in campo Bandiera e Moro, the church where he was baptised.
Back to the fondamenta after crossing a wide bridge, on your left-hand side the Arsenale. The word derives from the Arabic darsina’a meaning “house of industry”, where the ships saw the light of day, and where Venetians built their fleets.
The ancient corderie (where ropes were made) were re-furbished as the site of one of the two locations of the Venice Biennale, the other one is in the island of Sant’Elena, Giardini. A green oasis in the lagoon.
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What are you waiting for?
For more info please contact me here: cbvenicebyvenice@gmail.com