 |
|
Pigeons of Venice
ABOVE: A pigeon and friend in the Piazza San Marco before grain vendors were banned. Pigeons once rivaled cats as the traditional, if unofficial, mascots of Venice. In A Venetian Bestiary, Jan Morris wrote:
Morris added that the city fed the pigeons for many years until an insurance company took on the job as an advertising gimmick in the 1950s. Each day, a company employee would strew corn about St. Mark's Square until the birds descended en masse:
In Venice: A Literary Companion, Ian Littlewood explained the origins of the Piazza San Marco's pigeon colony:
Next page: Fines for feeding
|
The premier travel-planning site
Too many bridges, too little time? Venice for Cruisers: 
Need a car in Europe? Auto Europe guarantees the lowest rental rates for standard cars, sports cars, SUVs, luxury cars, chauffered sedans, and RVs. Its Web site also has driving information for 38 countries. If you live outside the EU, a tax-free Renault or Peugeot tourist lease can be cheaper than renting. Minimum driver age is 18, there' s no upper age limit, and rates include insurance. See: Short-term car leasing. Our blogs:
| |||||
|
| Europe for Visitors - Home | Site Information |
|
"According
to tradition, it was from the gallery [of the Basilica] where we are standing that the
original pigeons were released on Palm Sunday, weighted by pieces of paper tied to their
legs. Most of them ended up on the dinner table as part of the Doge's Easter largesse to
the populace, but the rugged survivors were felt to have earned St. Mark's protection. So
year by year a few more pigeons found refuge among the domes on the basilica. They have
since grown more numerous, and the enthusiasm of most tourists for the birds is
short-lived, but as the average visitor now spends less than twenty-four hours in the
city they still have plenty of friends."
