Secret Garden

On the lands north of Castello, vineyards used to be growns during the Middle Ages. The place had been given to the Franciscans in 1253, in order to build a church, San Francesco della Vigna. Two cloisters are to be seen in San Francesco della Vigna, the largest dating back from the 14th century. From one of them, an unseen and locked door prevents the visitor from accessing this - surprisingly vast in Venice - friars' kitchen garden.

ACTV

ACTV vaporetto riding on another chilly Venetian morning...

Colours of Night

"I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day." Vincent Van Gogh

Chilly Morning for a Lion

Some cold weather those days in Venice... But let's stay stoical in spite of this frozen coat!

Sant' Alvise

A plain architecture with a sober brick façade, for this 14th century Sant'Alvise church.

Campo San Polo

A little and brief feeling of summer on Campo San Polo...

Iron Nose

At the end of the Fondamenta dei Mori (in the Cannaregio sestiere) is the Campo dei Mori, where you can see the three statues of the three silk merchants who lived and worked there more than five centuries ago. In the corner of the house, Rioba, a famous Venetian statue, is represented with this odd iron nose...

Bacala, Porchetta and Musetto

For me it will definitely be a nice Bacala Mantecato, the famous italian cod brandade, prepared with cod, garlic and olive oil only, and that you can sample in the bars around the Pescheria market.

And Charlie Parker loves me

Silent as a willow tree
This road moves like a, a river to me
Sun goes down on Wisdom Street
Break the glass and throw away the key

Somewhere out where the fates collide
Cigarettes and candlelight
I sit here in the lone cafe
So stripped away (oh, oh)
So stripped away

Ah, huh…
Huh…huh
Oh, ah, oh, ah

Everybody knows
I'm your street corner Romeo
Everybody knows
You're my Juliet in rags
And Charlie Parker loves me

Rod Stewart - Charlie Parker Loves Me

A tomato sauce idea by Paola

Meet Paola, at the Rialto Market. She gave us a great and simple idea to fix a sauce for our pasta. Take some crude little tomatoes called "ciliegini". Put them into a blender with some garlic, basil, coarse salt and olive oil. And there you have an uncooked, cold, and so fragrant sauce to put on top of your spaghetti...

Haircut

A glance to the bygone days with maybe one of the last old times hairdresser shop in Venice...

Escape way to the Great Wide Open...

In this city full of houses, one could forget that the lagoon surrounds all, and that the see is just behind...

Istanbul Inspirations

With the start of 2010, Istanbul celebrated its new title as European Capital of Culture on Saturday, 16 January 2010, through various activities and festive celebrations held in 7 different centres of the city.

Istanbul 2010

Winter colours in Cannaregio

West of Cannaregio. A place where you'll hardly see a tourist in the streets. Quiet, silent, and like an idea of summer in the air...

Campo San Stefano

Campo San Stefano, afternoon. Not the worst place to lean back on a wall and take some time to check one's mails and give news to friends and family back home...

The link to Venice Connected

Martyrdom and Apotheosis

Forty Canvas put together were necessary to realise this dramatic trompe-l'oeil. Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Fumiani (1645-1710) spent twenty years of his life painting this masterpiece depicting The Martyrdom and Apotheosis, on the ceiling of San Pantalon (Dorsoduro).

Mirror of the city

Just one sunbeam between two clouds, and the canals go back to their mirror of the city role that enchants visitors...

Ultimo Numero

They are not really street numbers in Venice. Instead buildings are numbered by Sestieri, roughly from east to west. San Marco, for instance, begins at the Doge's Palace and ends at the Rialto bridge, where the Post Office (Fondaco dei Tedeschi) bears number 5562, the last number.

Poem Tree

On a row of trees on the Zatterre, a group of poets, maybe delighted by the misty beauty of this bank in winter, have displayed their poems to the wind to the rain and to the ramblers curiosity. Leaves of winter...

Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti

Entering Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti...

A Garden in Cannaregio

Shed no tear - O, shed no tear!
The flower will bloom another year.
Weep no more - O, weep no more!
Young buds sleep in the root's white core.
John Keats

Campo Santa Margherita

Campo Santa Margherita, north of the Dorsoduro, is one of the most animated places in the city. Venitian, mostly students, like to come here to catch some afternoon sun, and sit on a terrace for a drink, an ice-cream or a slice of pizza.

Closed Shutters

Closed shutters, on a room that maybe hasn't seen sunlight for ages... So much houses seem abandoned in Venice!

Snowy Peaks

Never far from the snowy peaks of the Italian Alps...

Morning News

A moment to read the first news of the day in a deserted early morning Piazza san Marco.