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Venice

Bringing an Italian Vampire Back to Life (With a Brick in Her Mouth!)

Bringing an Italian Vampire Back to Life (With a Brick in Her Mouth!)

A woman who lived in 16th century Italy was buried in a most unusual fashion. Originally excavated in a mass grave of medieval plague victims several years ago, the woman’s skull was found with a...
A ghost island, representational. Source: Bernadett / Adobe Stock

The Haunted Plague Island of Poveglia: A Dark and Twisted Past

There are a lot of ghost stories from history, but have you heard of the haunted island of Poveglia? Poveglia is a small island located between Venice and Lido in the Venetian Lagoon, Italy, and is...
A sample of Codex Leicester by Leonardo da Vinci. Source: Public Domain

Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester: A Masterpiece of Science and Art

Have you ever wanted to explore the mind of one of history's greatest polymaths? The Codex Leicester gives history experts and art gurus alike the opportunity to do so. This famous book is a treasure...
The buildings of Venice appear to float above the water, begging the question “how was Venice built?” Source: muratart / Adobe Stock

Architecture of the Floating (Or Sinking) City: How Was Venice Built?

The romantic city of Venice is known by many names, including the floating city, the city of canals and even the Queen of the Adriatic. This city of water was built on dozens of tiny islands located...
This painting, from circa 1675 by Joseph Heinz the Younger, shows a wild Venetian bridge war on the famous Ponte dei pugni bridge. Source: Joseph Heintz the Younger / CC BY-SA 4.0

Venetian Bridge Wars: The ‘Fighting Spirit’ of Renaissance Venice

For generations of Venetians, “guerra di canne” or “war with sticks” was a celebrated tradition. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, Venice was divided into many different...
A drawing of a flayed corpse, the fate of Marco Antonio Bragadin at Famagusta in 1571. Source: Wellcome Images / CC BY 4.0

Marco Antonio Bragadin Was Flayed and his Skin Kept as a Trophy

Tales of massacres, sieges and sadistic executions are common throughout history. Nevertheless, the brutal flaying of Marco Antonio Bragadin, the Venetian commander of Famagusta, and the fall of...

The World Only Knows About Marco Polo Because of His Ghostwriter Prison Cell Mate

Marco Polo may be a household name, but few know that his famous literary masterpiece, The Travels of Marco Polo , was not only written while he was in prison, but was penned by somebody else. Marco...
The famous mosaic of Marco Polo displayed in the Palazzo Doria-Tursi, Italy, a man we now know more about with the latest evidence of a likely-earlier daughter by him in Venice.		Source: Salviati / Public domain

Unknown Estranged Daughter of Marco Polo Revealed In Venetian Will

The Venetian merchant, explorer, and traveler, Marco Polo, is one of history’s most revered names, and his travels through Asia along the Silk Road at the end of the 13th century are documented in...
The Doge’s Palace in Saint Mark’s Square, Venice. Source: Mapics / Adobe Stock.

The Republic of Venice, The Greatest Jewel of the Mediterranean?

To visit Venice is a dream of every passionate traveler. The city, crisscrossed with channels and marvelous relics of art and culture, is one of Italy’s most sought-after tourist destinations. But...
‘Doge Pietro Loredan Beseeching the Virgin’ (detail). Source: Public Domain

The Doges of Venice: Venetian Rulers for More than a Millennium

The Doge of Venice was the highest office in the Republic of Venice. This office existed for about a millennium, from the 8th century AD till the 18th century. The title of this office traces its...
Perast, Montenegro. Source: Givaga /Adobe Stock

A Tiny Town with an Enormous History: Perast, The Pearl of Boka

Montenegro’s illustrious Bay of Kotor is a maritime region filled with unique places that boast a long and far-reaching history. Amongst the numerous historic cities that dot the bay’s shores, Perast...
Submerged Settlements On Roman Road Discovered In Venice Lagoon

Submerged Settlements And Roman Road Discovered Under Venice Waters

An underwater sonar mapping project by archaeologists in Italy has determined that the bottom of the Venetian Lagoon was once dry land. The team of researchers have confirmed that an ancient Roman...
The Zeno Map And Travels Of the 14th-Century Venetian Zeno Brothers

The Zeno Map And Travels Of the 14th-Century Venetian Zeno Brothers

A century before Columbus , at the zenith of Venice's splendour, two brothers, Nicolò and Antonio Zeno embarked an extraordinary journey to the far north following Viking trade routes on the shores...
The Piraeus Lion of Venice: Runes and Roaming from Greece to Italy

The Piraeus Lion of Venice: Runes and Roaming from Greece to Italy

Some ancient artifacts travel from where they were first made to become symbols of other foreign lands. This is certainly the story of the Piraeus Lion. The Piraeus Lion is a marble lion displayed in...
Rasiglia: Medieval Italian Village of Streams

Rasiglia: Medieval Village of Streams is Italy’s ‘Little Venice’

Rasiglia is a small village located in the province of Perugia, in the central Italian region of Umbria. The village, which traces its history all the way back to the Middle Ages, is known also as...
Views of the two sculpted faces of the Star-Shield Block in Venice: identified as part of a 3rd century BC Greek tomb by Eugenio Polito in 1998.            Source: Andrew Chugg

Has the Location of Alexander the Great’s Tomb Finally Been Identified?

The mysterious location of the tomb of Alexander the Great might finally have been confirmed. Alexander the Great was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 336–323 BC and after...
An ancient Anatolian sword discovered in the cabinet of the Mekhitarist Monastery. Source: Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

5,000 Year-Old Anatolian Sword Was Discovered On Venetian Island

In 2020, a historian discovered one of the oldest Anatolian swords in existence, in a monastery’s cabinet of ancient curiosities. San Lazzaro degli Armeni, or Saint Lazarus Island, is a small islet...
Upcycling Ancient Beauty – How Precious Stones, Monuments, and Jewels Have Been Re-Used

Upcycling Ancient Beauty – How Precious Stones, Monuments, and Jewels Have Been Re-Used

Sculptures, monuments, jewels, and even floors of churches and palaces… Impressive artifacts, outstanding pieces of art, and treasures which could satisfy even the most demanding person... Many of...
This piece of glass, a footed bowl, was blown about 1500 in Venice and enameled in the late 19th century in France.

Expert Reveals Top Secret Venetian Glassblowing Techniques from the Renaissance

Throughout history, some artists, craftsmen and chefs have carefully protected and concealed knowledge about their processes or recipes. One such art was glass-blowing in Venice, where the process...
Gentile Bellini: Procession in St. Mark’s Square (1496). Gallerie dell’Accademia – Venice.

Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana: A Treasure Trove of Ancient Manuscripts

The main public square of the Italian city of Venice is the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). Around this square are some of the most recognizable buildings in Venice. The most famous of these...
Marco Polo travelling, Miniature from the Book "The Travels of Marco Polo"

The Life and Adventures of Marco Polo

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, a stately pleasure-dome decree…" Thus begins one of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s three great poems, the unfinished “ Kubla Khan” . According to the poet, this poem was...