Travel Articles - Venice
Venetian Life & Culture

Also see the 24 pages of links in my Venice Travel Planner.

Animals

Cats of Venice
Forget the Lion of St. Mark--Venice's real-life mascots are feline, but they're a good deal smaller and more abundant than their African cousins.

Pigeons of Venice
These birds rival cats as the unofficial mascots of Venice, but you could be fined more than €500 if you feed pigeons outside of designated areas.

Venice's Oldest Cat?
A tribute to Neno, a Venetian cat who enjoyed boating and swimming until the age of 22.

Books

Venice Master Artisans
If you buy just one coffee-table book about Venice, make it this one. The large-format, 272-page book has 210 color photos and 30 profiles of artisans who use traditional techniques to make everything from glass to footwear to metal castings. (There's even an American-born gondola maker.)

Venetian Life
In 1866, W.D. Howells wrote a lively book that could have been titled An American in Venice. It's still a great read, as we demonstrate with selected excerpts.

Venetian Life, Part 2
William Dean Howells paints a chilling portrait of "The Winter in Venice."

Venetian Life, Part 3
W.D. Howells discusses "The Ghetto and the Jews of Venice." This feature has links to Web sites about Jewish life in Venice.

Carnival

Venice Carnival - Carnevale di Venezia
In Venice during February, "Who was that masked man?' isn't a question about the Lone Ranger.

Venice Carnival Dates
Plan your trip to the Carnevale di Venezia with this calendar.

Venice Carnival Masks
Whether you're headed for Carnevale or enjoying it vicariously at home, you can learn about Venetian Carnival masks--and where to buy them in Venice.

Venetian Carnevale: The Greatest Masquerade
My review of Jon-Beau Lee's 40-minute film includes a link to a Web site with sample video clips.

History

Winged Lion of St. Mark
Q: Why does the maritime city of Venice have a lion as its mascot? A: Because the Venetian businessmen who kidnapped St. Mark stole his logo along with his bones.

Jewish Venice

Venice's Ghetto
Europe's oldest ghetto has five synagogues, a Jewish museum, and a kosher restaurant.

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