Venice Trivia
 

You all know that there are six sestieri in Venice (that's a bit like saying there are four quarters in a dollar). The buildings are numbered from 1 to whatever the highest number in that sestiere is. I don't know exactly how it goes - maybe it goes round each block of houses, then on to the next block. But anyway, the last number in each sestiere is marked by a sign saying, for instance "Ultimo Numero del Sestier de S. Crose", except for Dorsoduro, so far as I can tell.
Here's the trivia bit. The last number in Dorsoduro is 3964, which, though unmarked, is on the opposite side of the Ponte San Rocco to the last number in San Polo. And the last number in Cannaregio is on the opposite side of the Ponte Rosso from the last number in Castello.
I bet you didn't know that!
Do you have anything equally or even more trivial about Venice to share?

Sweet! Looking for more good tidbits.

the Santa Lucia train station is a classic example of Mussolini's Fascist architecture, where like in Rome old train stations were demolished for sleek modernistic things - today in Venice this type of modern architecture (in Venice anything after the 1700s or so) would never be tolerated today here IMO.

They've been looting and robbing folks forever..and some say they still are!

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com...FQEhDQodQHXzeA

Venice Trivia Questions - like why are gondolas painted black?

That was fairly easy, Palenque. I scored 10/10 - though a couple of my answers were guesses (land mass shrinkage and the century when Carnevale began).

The size of the smallest fish allowed to be sold in both the Rialto Pescheria and in Campo Margherita is six cm.

The marble stub column in Campo Margherita was used for pounding dried fish to soften it.

Gambling outside the Church of San Stefano is verboten, and there's a canal running under the sacristy of said church.

My wife is threatening (still) to buy No 1, Santa Croce!

Oh, and the statue of the guy in Campo San Stefano is known, locally, as "el Cagalibri", aka "the Book Shitter".

Bring on the trivia, you founts of esoteric knowledge!

Nice to hear from you again, Peter. Did you get that info (el Cagalibri) from aloverofvenice.com? [That's not a criticism - almost all trivia has to come from somewhere.]

There is another 'Ponte dei Pugni' apart from the famous one, except it's not called that. (Of course. It would be confusing if two bridges had the same name, wouldn't it? There are at least six "Ponte Storto"s [Ponti Storti?]). But there are white marble 'footprints' inlaid into the centre section of the bridge, just like the Ponte dei Pugni on Rio San Barnaba. It's Ponte Santa Fosca, near the statue of Fra. Paolo Sarpi.

and Venice IS sinking - under the weight of tourism

Hi Bert,
The Cagalibri information came from “Venice is a Fish” by Tiziano Scarpa, as did another priceless bit of info.
In Venice you will see pieces of sloping stonework in most corners, or iron railings that prevent people (men, actually) from approaching into the corners. Venice is notoriously short of public conveniences, and the in-fills in the corners prevent the corners from being used for what the French are pleased to call pissoirs.

Black gondolas: Was it an act of democracy by the doge so no one could out do anyone else?n Please tell.

Thanks to technical help from Bert, I am able to bring you a link to photos of those "anti-public conveniences" you see all over. They were one of the subjects for photos on my last trip. For the trivia, what is their Italian name?

http://picasaweb.google.com/yvonne.t...62860444154562

I think the Italian name is, freely translated to English, "Little stone things let into corners so that you are forced to spend 1.50 Euro to spend a penny. This is seen as a good investment by the Municipal Authorities", or something like that!

The photographic essay is excellent.

TDudette, welcome! Yes, you are quite right. It was one of the so-called 'Sumptuary Laws', made in 1562, which decreed that, henceforth, all the woodwork was to be painted black (Companion Guide to Venice: Hugh Honour).
I agree with Peter on Yvonne's essay.
Where can you stand in Venice and see four sestieri at the same time (you are allowed to turn your head)?

How about at the top of the Campanile? Har

How about at the corner of water and Santa Maria della Salute?

Every time we have been in Venice, my husband and I have wondered about the purpose of those sloping corner stoneworks. How nice to now know! Thanks, Peter for the explanation and Yvonne for the pictures! Let's have more Venetian trivia!

I thought that they were for sitting on!

silly me.

some of them would not deter little boys or dwarfs, would they?

Do you mean the Punta della Dogana, TD? That's not a bad idea, but you can only see Dorsoduro, San Marco and Castello from there. If you move along the Grand Canal until you can glimpse San Polo, then you can no longer see Castello. The top of the Campanile was clever - I hadn't thought of that! OK, so I have to add the condition that you are (more or less) at ground level. I believe there may be another point from which you may be able to see the same four sestieri - it's at the other end of one of the lines of sight from the first point. I have to admit that I did not originate this piece of trivia - I got it from a really good Venice-inspired website.

I give up on this one Bert!

Katharine Hepburn blamed a lifelong eye infection on Venice because, while shooting "Summertime" there, she took a comic backwards fall into a Venetian canal with her eyes wide open. In the movie, the canal was portrayed as the Grand Canal, but I believe it may be the waters that front the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (but don't take that one to the bank).

TD, just for you, it's on the Ponte de l'Olio over the Rio Fondaco dei Tedeschi, from where you can see San Polo, San Marco, Cannaregio and Castello. I think that, from the point of San Polo that you can see from the bridge, you may be able to see Castello, as well as San Polo, San Marco and Cannaregio, but I'll need to check it out.

Zeppole, the canal certainly wasn't portrayed as the Grand Canal - it's only a few metres wide. It was the Rio San Barnaba, next to Campo San Barnaba where she fell in. If you see the film, what happened to the two men who were walking towards the canal right behind her, just before she fell in? In the next shot, from the other side of the canal, they have disappeared! The story of her eye infection has a wide currency, but according to http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?s...ategory=Notes: "Reports from modern sources conflict as to the story that Hepburn contracted a serious, lifelong eye infection due to the famous sequence in which she falls into a canal. Some sources state that the sequence required at least two takes, and that despite adding chlorine and protective tarping to the water, Hepburn's eyes were infected, while others dismiss the story as apocryphal, stating that Hepburn often swam in the canals at night after shooting." But then there's this from the ever-reliable wiki: "In one scene, the character of Jane Hudson falls into a canal when she steps backward while photographing the church in San Barnaba di Venezia. Leading lady Katharine Hepburn, concerned about her health, was disinclined to do the stunt herself, but Lean felt it would be obvious if he replaced her with a double. He filled the water with a disinfectant that caused it to foam, which added to Hepburn's reluctance, then required her to film the scene four times until he was satisfied with the results. That night, Hepburn's eyes began to itch and tear. She eventually was diagnosed with a rare form of conjunctivitis that plagued her for the remainder of her life. [3]" Elsewhere, I read that KH refused a double because she "didn't stand straight enough" [as if that would matter in a shot of her falling into the canal]. Also, that it was because she failed to close her eyes that they were infected - I cannot see that making a difference, as she had to open them as she swam in the canal to the steps, so water would have gone into her eyes anyway. Wiki says she was filming the church, but she wasn't - she was filming the 'antique shop' where she had seen the red goblet.

Canova was honourary President of the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.

Canova’s heart rests in the monument to him in the Frari, most of his body at Possagno, and his right hand is somehwere in the Academia.

One of Venice's Doges died in Constantinople, present-day Istanbul. Already in his 90's, in 1204 he diverted the armies of the Fourth Crusade to an assault on the commercially-competitive Christian city of Constantinople. Venice got the better part of the spoils, including the four bronze horses that were transported from the Hippodrome to adorn Basilica San Marco. Dandolo died in 1205 and was buried in Ayasofya in Constantinople. After the Ottoman conquest of that city in 1453, his tomb was opened and his bones thrown to the dogs.

bert,

I chose my words pretty carefully. I said Hepburn blamed the infection on the canal -- not that the canal was responsible, and that the canal she feel into was portrayed as the Grand Canal -- which is how it has been interpreted (try a Google search) even though, I agree with you, the canal seen in the movie is far too small.

peter,

The monument in the Frari was designed by Canova for Titian -- who outlived Canova.

Small oddity in the Frari - just to the right of the monument with the four huge Moors, there is a small bomb mounted on the wall. Fell on the Frari in 1917 or 1918, and failed to explode.
I did not realise that Constantinople was a Christian city at the time of the Fourth Crusade. I'm reading Runciman's 1952 History of the Crusades right now (the First Crusade has just finished with Volume 1, about 1102 AD.)

THanks, Bert. Get out the Venice map!

Zeppole, I wasn't saying that you were wrong, just that there seems to be some debate about whether it was the scene in the film that was the cause or whether it was her own out-of-hours swimming for pleasure. Either way, it seems as though it's not a good idea to get canal water in you eyes.
But I've seen that part of the film and I don't see how anyone can say that David Lean (or anyone else) is portraying the Rio San Barnaba as the Grand Canal. The name of the canal is not mentioned in the film. I haven't Googled it yet, but maybe it's just a tale that has been retold many times and the only canal in Venice that everybody has heard of is the Grand Canal, so that gets the credit (or blame). Like the (fictional) Pensione Fiorini is often said to be the (real) Pensione Accademia, but it's not.

Peter, I knew about the heart and body of Canova, but not about the hand, or the connection with Philadelphia. I'd like to know if the tomb in the Frari and the Tempio in Possagno are 'to scale', I mean in the same ratio as an average heart to an average body. The Tempio must be one of the largest mausoleums to the memory of one man.

Enrico Dandolo was the Doge who (almost unbelievably) led the assault on Constantinople at the age of 94 and being almost blind.

Well done, Venice fans - keep 'em coming!

When strolling through San Marco Square, once dubbed the World's Drawing Room i believe think of the day in 1902 when the tall slender campanile collapsed into a pile or rubble - no one hurt but the tower's keeper's cat was killed.

Wikipedia says: In July 1902, the north wall of the tower began to show signs of a dangerous crack that in the following days continued to grow. Finally, on Monday, July 14, around 9:45 am, the campanile collapsed completely, also demolishing the logetta. Remarkably, no one was killed, except for the caretaker's cat.[1] Because of the campanile's position, the resulting damage was relatively limited. Apart from the logetta, only a corner of the Biblioteca Marciana was destroyed. The piera del bando, a large porphyry column from which laws used to be read, protected the basilica itself."

That's not trivia, Palenque. :-) It's far too important an event to be considered trivial :-) What may be trivial is that the cat was named after Casanova's dog, and that the wife of the custodian of the campanile was ironing shirts when she had to leave. Ten years later, when the new Campanile was opened, six guests at the celebratory dinner wore those same shirts that had been rescued from the rubble.[Source: 'Venice', James Morris]

Now that's cool trivia, Bert! Are you from there or in love with the most serene as DH and I are???

Bert, I can't for the klife of me remember where Canova's hand comes from. It might, just might, be from The Rough Guide. In the meantime:

I’ve found the church of San’ Antonin, but it’s been de-consectrated and is closed. Morris records that, in 1819, an elephant, having escaped from a visiting managerie, took refuge in that church, and was “only despatched with a shot from a piece of ordnance”, according to contemporary records. The main doors open towards the Rio de San Agostino, no doubt allowing easy removal of the unfortunate animal. The Church is just around the corner from the Calle della Morte, not a dead end street, and probably not imortalising the death of the elephant.

cats, cats, cats galore

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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 ...
europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/cats_of_venice.htm - Cached - Similar
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Oldest Cat in Venice - Venice for Visitors
Venice Italy - Neno the 22-year-old cat. ABOVE: Neno on his favorite 500-year-old windowsill. No one can say for sure that Neno is Venice's oldest cat, ...
europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venices_oldest_cat.htm

Now bert will say that the zillions of feral and non-feral tiny straggly cats that haunt it seems practically every crook and cranny are not trivia - but oogling Venice's oldest cat, allegedly, is a trivia tidbit for sure.

Peter,
Have you been using the "Don't Look Now" or "Summertime" map of Venice (maps where you turn a corner and find yourself on the opposite side of the city)?
Sant' Antonin faces the Rio della Pietà, and behind it is the Rio di San Martino. I cannot find a 'Calle della Morta'; the nearest I can find is Calle dei Morti, but that's nowhere near Sant' Antonin.[It's in Santa Croce, near San Cassiano.]
Oh, no, Palenque - cats are good trivia. Have you heard about Nini, the cat that became an international celebrity? He, a white tom, lived at the Caffè dei Frari in the 1890s. The caffè had a visitors' book signed by a pope, a czar, a king, a queen and a prince - and Verdi. When I asked, I was told that the book had been lost. The canopy of the caffè depicts a cat, but that seems to be all that remains. The caffè is well worth a visit. I was told that the paintings inside date from about 1910.
TD, No I don't live there (wish I did!). It's just a 25-year love affair (others might call it an obsession).

I've just added three photos of the Caffè dei Frari to begin a new album (which may be a very small album) caled Bert's Venice Trivia:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/grabag...35847725453234
They were taken last September.

This might be better:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/grabag...SVeniceTrivia#
Sorry. On some forums you can edit stuff you posted yourself, but not here, it seems.

More, Bert! This is a fun forum.

And the first female gondolier in Venice' long gondola history has happened. Not trivial but trivia?

Venice's first female gondolier pushes off into uncharted waters ...
Jul 21, 2009 ... Venice's first female gondolier pushes off into uncharted waters. Giorgia Boscolo dreamed of following in her father's gondola wake since ...
http://www.latimes.com/.../la-fg-ven...,5375195.story

That looks interesting, Palenque. Unfortunately, when I clicked on the link, it said "Your client is not allowed to access the requested object." Gondoliers and gondolas would probably make a subject all on their own. I wonder how many people go for a cruise on a sandolo, not realising that it is not a gondola? According to Morris, writing ca 1960, there were 25 licensed sandoli (the rest being "outside the law"), compared with 400 gondolas. Almost every book I have that goes into detail about the gondola gives a different detail - 8, 9, or 10 types of wood used in the construction, 4, 7, or 10 coats of black paint (or lacquer), etc. The modern design was perfected by Domenico Tramontin either in the late 19th century or in 1921. Take your pick.