Encyclopedia

Some trace the nomenclature of this bridge back to the existence, in seventeenth-century Venice, of the Dalla Vecchia family but this version is not confirmed, as no member of the family has lived or owned houses or businesses in Ruga Vecchia. The…

The Crooked bridges are all those crossings not built perpendicular to the banks. At the time of the Serenissima, transport by boat and water was privileged and the connections between pedestrian areas by bridges were considerably lower than today.…

The project conceived by Vincenzo Scamozzi involved the extension of the St Mark’s library (from which it takes some design guidelines) in order to create new offices for the procurators of San Marco. Work began in 1582, after the demolition of some…

The Procuratie Vecchie acted both as the offices and residence of the nine Procurators of St Mark, the second highest position of the Republic. The complex starts from Torre dell’Orologio (the Clock Tower, made from some old buildings demolished in…

In Venice, all goods were unloaded and placed on the scales in San Biagio di Castello. However, due to the large turnout, the space became insufficient and from 1414 two customs offices were used, built specifically for the need: one for goods…

Giovanni Querini Stampalia's main legacy is his large collection of books which form the core of the library's heritage. This also includes the ancient documents that compose the correspondence of Cardinal Angelo Maria Querini, the historic tenant…

In a city like Venice, which lives on the water and where the boat is the most normal way to use, it is natural that water races take place there. It is presumed that the first rowing races were friendly competitions between the gardeners of the…

The new doge was elected while he was podestà in Fermo, an important strategic point on a hill about 50 km south of Ancona. Upon hearing the news of his election, he arrived in Venice by sea towards the end of February, swore the Doge's Promission,…

Family from the village of Rezzonico, now the municipality of San Siro, in the province of Como and located on the lake of the same name. The genealogical branch separated around 1550 from the noble Della Torre di Rezzonico. The two brothers Carlo…

The Jacur family, a wealthy Paduan Jewish banker family, revolutionized the town planning of the city of Salzano and introduced an industrial activity of considerable importance for the population: the spinning mill. Moisè Vita Jacur (1797-1877)…

Marco Antonio (or Marcantonio) Sabellico, whose real name was Marc'Antonio Coccia (or Coccio), was born in Vicovaro, in the province of Rome, around the year 1436, probably into a wealthy family. He was an all-round scholar and humanist: a poet, man…

San Giorgio Maggiore owes its name to a church built in 790. So called to distinguish it from another island in the lagoon, San Giorgio in Alga, for a long time it was the site of agri-food activities and then, in 982, it was sold by the doge Tribmo…