Visiting the Doge's Palace in Veince

The Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) in Venice

One of Italy's grandest and most historical town halls, Vence's Palazzo Ducal (Doges or Ducal Palace) is a massive Gothic-Renaissance building built in 1309, and rebuilt after a 1577 fire. The public halls of the Doge's Palace are heavily decorated with canvases and frescoes by Venice's greatest artists: there are several works by Veronese and Tintoretto.

Getting to the Square:

The San Marks sign posted route turning left from the train station, walks you through the tourist maze and will take about 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on the crowds and how much you get distracted by the shops. If you cross over the stone bridge to San Simone, the green domed church in front of the station, follow the signs to the Accademia then to San Marks, a much nicer walk and you see many of the quite canals and cala Venice is know for.  You can also take the water bus (vaporetto) down the Gran Canal and start your adventure from the square, (this entering the city from the sea is the classic way to enter the city). 

Palazzo Ducale

To understand Venice and the unique place it holds in history, you should visit the Doge'd Place in San Marco. There are audio guides available at the main ticket counter that leads you through the multiple rooms.  There is also the "Secret Itinerary" Tour, if you wish to pay a the price but I do not think it is a must.  If you are a scholar of the history, yes you get a few more glimpses into the Republic's Myth but as a visitor you are not getting your money's worth.

The Palazzo once was the Doge's residence and the highest seat of power in the Republic, it was a symbol of power and put on display the richness and splendor of the State.

Out the back of the building, you cross over the famous, enclosed Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri), named by romantic-era writers who imagined condemned prisoners letting out a lament as they crossed and got their final glimpse of Venice and her lagoon through the tiny windows in the center. The cells on the other side preserve the scrawls and graffiti of ancient prisoners.

The Bridge of Sighs crosses the Rio di Palazzo, so for the full effect you need to see it from the outside. Best vantage point: stand on the next bridge down the canal, a wide ponte crossing the Rio di Palazzo along the Riva degli Schiavoni. (it could be called the "Bridge of Tourists Looking at the Bridge of Sighs.")

Getting voted off the island

Any Venetian citizen could accuse someone of misdeeds by writing the denunciation down and slipping it through specially placed "Lion's Mouth" slots in the Palazzo Ducale's walls. While this activity sounds like prime breeding ground for backstabbing, it was a highly regulated procedure. All accusations had to be signed and witnessed, and if they proved merely to be slanderous and not actionable, the would-be denounced was in serious legal trouble of his own.

The real governing of the Venetian Republic was not done here in plain sight. True power was wielded in a network of low-ceilings, wooden-plank corridors and tiny offices wrapped around this public palace like a clandestine cocoon, the entrances hidden behind secret doors set into all those fancy oil paintings and carved woodwork of the public rooms. Here private secretaries kept records and compiled accusations made against people both lowly and high-placed.

The only way to see this inner sanctum, is to take the· 90-minute "Secret Itineraries" tour.  The "Secret Itineraries" tour will show you where the Council of Ten met to decide the fate of the Republic, the inquisition room, and the "plumbio" the lead lined prison cells where your guide will probably tell you about Casanova's famous escape.

After the tour, you are free to to tour the rest of the palace's public rooms on your own.

Who was the doge?

The Palazzo Ducale is Venice's ducal palace, and in old Venetian dialect, the duke was called the doge or doxe, after the Latin dux, a military leader (which is what dukes originally were; the title of "duke" was the feudal equivalent to "army general.") In Venice, the doge was the head of state, but acted in essence as the highest-level servant of the Republic.

A doge was elevated from among the aristocracy, was almost always of an extremely advanced age (they served for life, but no one wanted a Doge to have power for too long), and was chosen through a process filed with so much chance and round-robins of elimination as to be thoroughly fair and random.

The doge was paid a ridiculously enormous salary so that no outside force could afford to bribe him, and his every move was supervised. The system worked surprisingly well. From the first doge elected in AD 700 until Napoleon deposed the last one in 1797, only twice was the office betrayed by traitors or major corruption.

Things to Consider when visiting Venice

• Planning your day: Touring the public areas takes about 45 minutes—maybe an hour to 75 minutes if you stop to read all the informative plaques. The Secret Itineraries tour takes roughly 75 minutes (after which you'll likely want to wander the public spaces for another 30 minutes or so).
• The standard admission ticket to the Doge's Palace actually covers four museums on the square its name is: "I Musei di Piazza San Marco" so you might as well use it to pop into at least the Museo Civico Correr, though if you're pressed for time, go ahead and skip the less interesting Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Archaeological Museum) and Sale Monumentali della Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (fresco-ed, monumental rooms of the Marciana Library).
• If,  you are planning to also visit the Ca' Rezzonico and at least two of the other sights; like the Ca’ Pesaro or the Glass Museum on Murano: go ahead and buy the Venice Museum Pass; it'll save you money.
• Visit after 1pm—and buy your ticket ahead of time at Venice Connected—and you can get an Afternoon Ticket at a slight discount.

Italian Cooking You Will Not Find In Italy

Having had the pleasure to eat great food, prepared by many excellent American Chefs, that is considered Italian Cooking in the US, I thought I would list a few dishes you will not find on the menu of most Italian resturants (many a few in the major tourist areas, that cater specifically to American tourist). 

Spaghetti with meatballs 

A good can of spaghetti and meatballs or spaghetto's were part of my childhood, and Disney's scene in Lady and the Tramp at Luigi's, but they do not exist in Italy.  

Italian-American tradition has fuelled the mythology of this combination as a dish at the base of Italian cuisine, but it is not: there is a sauce with meatballs (but it’s not eaten with spaghetti) and sometimes small meatballs can found  in lasagnas, but, categorically, no Italian family will welcome you with spaghetti with meatballs for Sunday lunch.

Spaghetti Bolognese
 

Same as above. The Bolognese sauce – or rather, ragù alla bolognese – is a typical sauce of the city of Bologna, made with tomato sauce and minced meat, and to say that it is cooked slowly for hours. A secondary think for the purist: no Italian would eat the ragù with any type of pasta that was not tagliatelle or pappardelle or cappelletti. At the most, short pasta tubes or strozzapreti. 

Fettuccine Alfredo 

This really is the funniest story of an Italian dish that doesn’t exist in Italy. One of the most popular condiments in the world has the merit of being virtually unknown in Italy and suffice it to say that there is not even a Wikipedia page dedicated to it in Italian. In the English version, however, the story of the fettuccine "invented" by Alfredo Di Lelio, a Roman restaurateur in Via della Scrofa.

In Italy seasoning the pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese is allowed: if you have stomach pain, if you are in hospital, if your fridge is empty or if there’s also sage and you're eating tortellini.

Pepperoni Pizza 

If you go to out to eat in Italy and ask for a Pepperoni Pizza you will get a pizza with peppers, because the word Pepperoni in Italian sounds almost the same as the word “peperoni” (peppers). In Italy there is no type of salame called pepperoni. If you want pepperoni pizza ask for it with salame picanti, alla diavola (devilled).

Marinara Sauce 

What’s commonly called marinara sauce in the states in Italy is the generic tomato sauce that is the base for pizza, pasta, etc., but without garlic or onion or herbs that are not fresh basil. The only marinara  I have come across in Italy is the Pizza Marinara, originally from Naples, topped with tomato, garlic, oregano and olive oil, NO MOZZARELLA. (Note: For Italian cooking it is taboo to use oregano in tomato sauce).

Neapolitan sauce 

No one in Italy knows what Neapolitan sauce is. In Italy there may be different variants that depend on regional or family traditions (with or without garlic, with or without onions, with or without carrots, with a pinch of sugar to counter acidity, etc.) but tomato sauce is and is called simply "salsa" or "sugo" depending on whether you're north or south of Rome.

Garlic Bread 

An Italian restaurant will ever serve you garlic bread nor will you find in any bakery: try instead asking for a bruschetta as an appetiser topped with fresh chopped tomatoes, or bruschetta rubbed with garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

Carbonara 

Kathy at Chef on Bike web site has ruled that if your chef prepares you a carbonara with pancetta (bacon) instead of guanciale (cheek lard) you should leave her. Italian's would add: if your chef prepares you a carbonara with cream, leave him.  If your chef prepares you a carbonara with garlic, leave him.  If your chef prepares you a carbonara with yoghurt, leave him. If your chef prepares you a carbonara with parsley, leave him.  If then your chef prepares you a carbonara with onions, leave him.  And all this even if he’s called Jamie Oliver. And if your chef buys a jar of ready-to-use carbonara sauce, it would be better to just head over to McDonalds.

Italian wedding soup 

Here we are: it is tradition in Campania at Christmas or Easter to make a soup with green vegetables and meat, especially pork. But don’t try to ask for it out of season or in a restaurant in Rome or Venice, they’ll give you a terrible look. And above all, if you really must, order it in Italian, that is Minestra Maritata, which is the translation in Italian/Neapolitan for wedding soup or, better, married soup.

Pasta with chicken


Chicken is not a condiment. Pasta is not a side dish. End of discussion.

Chicken or veal parmigiana 

Parmigiana is made with eggplant, tomato, caciocavallo cheese, basil. No chicken or veal. At best, in some parts of Italy, they alternate with layers of eggplant with ham or beaten eggs, just to make it even more digestible.

Pesto 

Pesto is only used to dress pasta (especially spaghetti or trofie – for the purists only, trenette), gnocchi and make lasagna with béchamel sauce. And the only really Ligurian addition that you can make is to put a potato cut into cubes and greens beans into boiling water and cook them together with the spaghetti. Be wary of those who use it to dress salads, bruschetta, chicken or anything else.  

Italian dressing 

Salad is dressed with: extra virgin olive oil, salt and vinegar, or extra virgin olive oil, salt and balsamic vinegar, or extra virgin olive oil, salt and lemon. Any other dressing is not Italian.

Parmesan 

Don’t use it to top the pizza that you have ordered in the restaurant (the pizza maker has already taken care of your pizza) and above all, never use it on fish-based pasta dishes.

Phone Usage on Vacation

phones and holidays can be a nightmare (iphone+holidays=holiday nightmare)

Even my friends will agree, as I tell them often enough, that I love my iphone.  But what I definitely don’t love is the shock of opening the bill when arriving home from Italy. I should know better – as I am aware that roaming charges are outrageous at around $7.00 a minute – and that is even if someone is calling you! But…there are always times when I have forgotten to turn my phone off and receive a call in the middle of the night, you know those calls…the local charity wanting to sell more raffle tickets. Even when I try to get them off the phone quickly, but politely, the call might have cost me $20 – ouch!

In addition to this, the iphone (and others) has a ‘fetch data’ function, which is great at home as all of your emails etc., are ‘pushed’ to your phone enabling you to check your mail in the coffee shop. This function overseas is a recipe for disaster – data charges can be huge.   Here are some great tips for avoiding a heart attack when opening your post holiday phone bill……


Do you really need to be available to all and sundry on holidays? If not, maybe you need an Italian sim card (or any other country’s card):

To use an Italian sim card:

1. Make sure your phone is unblocked – before you leave for holidays ask your provider how this can be done, usually over the phone
2. When in Italy buy a sim card at a phone dealer i.e., Wind, Tim – you will need your passport to verify your identity
3. Insert your new sim card
4. Text close friends and family, give them your new Italian number and let them know that they will be charged  international rates if they call
5. You’re set.

If you need to be available on your own number, and want to keep using your phone, but  to avoid nasty surprises when you arrive home:

1. Turn off 3G – this function allows your phone to work much faster allowing more data to download
2. Turn off ‘Data Roaming’ – this will stop email etc., being sent to your phone (you can always check this at the hotel or an internet cafe)
3. Use text to communicate with family and friends, this is much cheaper but still around $1.00 a text
4. Use the hotel’s computer if you need to surf the web
5. Of course, if you are in a wifi zone you will still be able to connect with the internet.

The way to turn off ‘Data Roaming” and ’3G’:

• click ‘settings’
• click ‘general’
• click ‘network’
• click ‘Enable 3G’ and ‘Data Roaming’ Put these in the Off position
• You’re set

SCUBA ITALY 5 Great Wreck Dives

Italy is a great place to SCUBA dive during your vacation,  What it lacks in coral reef and tropical fish, Italy makes up with some great wreck dives and the after diving food and wine.  Here are 5 great wreck dives you should not miss.

SS Bengasi

Lying in deep water near the island of Cavoli, close to the coastal resort of Villasimius in south-eastern Sardinia is the SS Bengasi, an Italian steamship that was sunk by a British submarine, HMS Truant, on May 6, 1941. The SS Bengasi was carrying a shipment of glasses, bottles and other glass products and is famous among divers for its unusual consignment. At a depth of some 90 metres it is a technically demanding dive site and only for the very experienced.

HMS Quail

In the Gulf of Taranto lies the HMS Quail a Q class destroyer of the Royal Navy. After striking a mine in 1944 in the Adriatic she was being towed to Malta for repairs but she capsized and sank en route. She was discovered in 2002 by an Italian diver team led by Claudia Serpieri and lies at a depth of 90 metres.



HMS Regent

Known as the HMS Regent, it is in fact, a small Italian submarine, which struck mine north of Barletta, Puglia, after a raid on an Italian convoy, all hands were killed. It lies at a depth of 30-35 metres making it accessible to any diver that has completed a deep diving course. Due to the submarine being in active service when it was sunk, divers are asked to leave everything “as it is” as the wreck was and still is a war grave.

 
Attilio Deffenu

The Italian MS Attilio Deffenu was an auxiliary cruiser who was transporting to Greece when she was torpedoed and sunk by a British submarine HMS Trasher near Brindisi in 1941. At a depth of only 30 metres the boat is in very good condition and the surrounding terrain is sandy and easy-going.

Attilio Deffenu

Milford Haven tanker

The biggest Wreck in the Mediterranean Sea, supertanker Amoco Milford haven sunk the in 1991, she was 335m-long, 52m-wide, with a maximum capacity of 230000 tonnes. On April 11, 1991, the Haven was anchored off Genova Multedo harbour: an explosion

After three days and a series of explosions, the Haven sunk on April 14. The wreck lies in perfect navigation trim on a sandy bottom at a depth of -85m, but the upper part of the structure reaches -32m: the funnel has been dismantled because it was dangerous for navigation.

USS Haven

Many of the dives listed are Advanced dives, be sure you are properly equiped and trained to do these dives. 

Verona Italy

7 Top Attractions in Verona, Italy… Beyond Romeo and Juliet

Although it’s most famous as the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Verona has much more to offer than its connections to the star-crossed lovers! In fact, there’s little evidence that anything like the Romeo and Juliet story actually took place here… but it is indisputable that you won’t be short of sights in this beautiful city, even if you ignore Juliet’s “balcony” and “tomb.” (The city’s rich culture and history, in fact, even have landed it on the World Heritage list!).

So if you’re traveling in northern Italy or heading to Venice, you simply can’t miss Verona. Located just a half hour away from Venice by train, it makes an excellent day trip!

Still not convinced? Here are 7 of our favorite sights in Verona.

Piazza delle Erbe

By day, Piazza delle Erbe is home to a market (if one that sells mostly souvenirs and trinkets); in the evening, it fills with locals and tourists sipping Campari and enjoying aperitivi at the outdoor cafes. But no matter when you’re passing through the square, look around you! With its Renaissance-era palaces and lovely central fountain, this might just be the prettiest piazza in all of Italy.

Arena of Verona

Built in the 1st century A.D., this amphitheater was Verona’s answer to Rome’s Colosseum (although actually, it predates the Colosseum by almost 50 years!). Still remarkably well preserved, today it’s home to Verona’s summer opera festival.

Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore

This beautiful church dates back to the 4th century, although most of the current building was constructed between the 10th and 12th centuries. Other churches in Verona drew much of their inspiration from its early Romanesque style. Don’t miss the bronze door, with 48 elaborately-carved panels of scenes from the Bible, dating back to the 11th century.

Castelvecchio

With seven towers, a castle keep, and four separate buildings, Verona’s 14th-century fortress, Castelvecchio, is the city’s most imposing building. Today, it’s also home to a museum of art, sculpture, coins, and other artifacts, with a collection of paintings that includes pieces by northern Italian masters Mantegna, Bellini and Pisanello.

Porta Borsari

This ancient Roman gate, which once marked the southern entrance into Verona, is a great—and beautiful—example of the way in which ancient ruins are layered into the modern city of Verona.

Duomo of Verona

Verona’s main cathedral, or Duomo, is stunning. But don’t just see it from the outside: The interior of this 12th-century church is incredibly elaborate and filled with gems, including a painting by the Italian master Titian.

Arche Scaligeri

Tombs don’t get much more elaborate than these! Just around the corner from Piazza delle Erbe, these five Gothic funerary monuments, considered some of the best examples of Gothic art, are hard to miss. They belong to members of the Scaligeri, who ruled Verona in the 13th and 14th centuries. Make sure you duck into the tiny, lovely church of Santa Maria Antica behind them.