Spritz: the typical aperitif in Venice
The typical aperitif in Venice is the spritz, made of carbonated water, white wine, lemon peel or olive and as you prefer, bitter Campari, Cynar or Aperol.
This beverage is very common also in Hungary, (frocs), Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and also in Romania, all the territories of ex-Austro-Hungarian kingdom (1867-1918). The story tells us that the Austrians used to drink the venetian wine with water, because it was too strong for them, so the Venetians, added a bit of liquor to give to this drink a new taste.
The Austrians called it“spritz” that means injection.
The aperitif-time is from 5 p.m., but someone drink spritz in the morning before lunch. Spritz is a very strong beverage, so you take care when you drink it.
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On the 14th of December 2003 a moved and enthusiastic crowd entered again Venice’s most famous and favourite theatre: the Teatro della Fenice, finally risen up from its ashes. The building had been entirely destroyed (only the bearing walls had survived, with a huge chasm in the middle) by an arson in January 1996 and was rebuilt, in its original style, in 8 years. The tragic night of 29th January 1996 the fire-brigade tried all night to put the fire off as it risked expanding to the surrounding buildings, while a large number of Venetians, desperate and hypnotized by the flames rising high towards the sky, stood in the water raining down from the only helicopter. Unfortunately, nothing was saved (only the side-wall remained): they only managed to prevent the surrounding area from catching fire. Today’s theatre is perfectly identical to the previous one.
If you have the opportunity of visiting Venice, you do not have to miss the small but extremely equipped Museum of Oriental Art which deserves a visit in depth. We advise you to visit it with a Guide as the enormous quantity of objects cannot be understood in its completeness without a suitable explanation.
This island used to be a flourishing centre and is the place from where the Venetian civilization originated (it is here that the inhabitants of Altino took refuge to escape the barbarian invasions), but only the monumental centre has, miraculously, survived. From the landing jetty, you can reach it through a street along which there are only few houses and some restaurants, besides the characteristic Ponte del diavolo, with no parapet. You will thus reach a vast grassy area where, around the so called Throne of Attila (a stone chair probably used by tribunes when administering justice), gather St. Fosca, the cathedral, the Palazzo dell’archivio and the Palazzo del Consiglio.
In order to get in a supply of water the Venetians used wells. Not existing fresh water beds they had a clever method for getting it. On the campos where you find the well parapet you will notice that at its sides there are two or four manhole covers. From these ones the rain water was canalized into a clay cistern, thus made of a waterproof material, and filled with sand which acted as a filter. Water gathered in the central pipe placed under the well and it was ready to be pulled up with a bucket. Nonetheless the water of wells could not be sufficient for all the Venetians who, thus, had to get it brought by means of scows coming from the Brenta.
Venice is not only the Venetian symbol of Culture and Arts, but also the one of gastronomy. Venice cuisine comes from rural origins, but the trades with Far and Middle East, during the golden Age of the Repubblica have enriched the variety of its recipes. It can be said that Venice Republic played an important role for the enrichment not only in local cuisine but even in the european one, because after the fall of Byzantium, Venice became the Eastern Door. The most of european countries used to add spices in order to preserve the food, while Venice used spices to invent new dishes and new tastes. When venetian galleons come back home after a very long trip were full of salt, pepper, ginger, curcuma, candy and fresh nutmeg, galanga from India and even saffron from China: these spices unknown until that period were able to excite the fantasy of venetian cooks: in this way was born an art of cooking unique in the world.Venice acted for many centuries as “mediator of the Universe”, because it was a world market where you could find everything that was sendable in those years. The city had the trade monopoly on spices, taking advantage of western people’s desires. Venice became also the capital for sugar trading.
An extraordinary tour of the Renaissance Tower enables visitors to get a close view of the clock mechanism; it ends on terraces which afford a magnificent view of St. Mark’s Square and the whole city. The tours, with an expert guide, have to be booked in advance.
Famous all over the world for the glass-making art, Murano owes its secular prosperity to a 1291 decree that ruled that all glass factories (where fires could easily be started thus jeopardizing Venetians’ homes) would have to be moved to this island. The island, consisting of five main islets divided by a central canal known as Grand Canal, looks like Venice in miniature. The Canal is overlooked by noble palazzi that evoke the character of the island which soon became a holiday resort for the patricians of Venice. Unfortunately, little remains of the atmosphere that must have reigned in the past and Murano has been completely absorbed by the tourist industry. The narrow fondamenta are strewn with shops where you can buy glass souvenirs of any size, but if you are looking for something really original, we recommend that you go straight to the glass factories (most of them face the lagoon).
Venice rises on an archipelago of about one hundred islets of different shapes and sizes separated by numerous canals (”rio”). The main one, overlooked by the most beautiful palazzi, is called Canal Grande. This s-shaped canal splits the city into two uneven parts. The tide alone is almost enough to clean up the canals (whose water, otherwise, would stagnate). In autumn and in spring it is often responsible for the phenomenon known as “Acqua alta” (High tide): St. Mark’s square and other areas of the city are completely flooded and pedestrian footways have to be provided. 
