Jun
16
Bookbinder Paolo Olbi, and his typesetter Beppi, may be Venice’s last great artisans, making every component of their beautiful products by hand in Paolo’s atmospheric workshop in Castello. I first stumbled across one of Paolo’s shops on Campo Santa Maria Nova by accident and was immediately smitten by the leather-bound notebooks in the window with …
Jun
14
“The most important thing to Venetians has always been money,” social historian Monica Vidoni tells us as we begin her Venetian Renaissance walking tour. It’s something we’re hearing often – even by Venetians – but it especially resonates as we stand on Campo Santi Giovani e Paolo where Venice’s riches are on display here, as …
Jun
13
Venice is an island city, built upon water, crisscrossed by canals, and surrounded by seawater, so if we wanted to get beneath the skin of the place, it made sense to get on a boat. What better way to learn about Venice and her lagoon than aboard a bragazzo, a traditional Venetian skiff, with marine …
Jun
11
There are many dishes in Venice that I could have made for our series on ‘the dish’, the quintessential plate of a place. Sarde in soar (a type of marinated ‘sweet and sour’ sardines) and spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti with clams) are just a couple of them. However, many of Venice’s traditional dishes are either …
Jun
11
‘Dalla terra alla tavola’, from earth to table – or from ‘paddock to plate’ or ‘farm to fork’ as we say in Australia – may not be a new concept in Italy, or Australia or the UK for that matter, but it’s one that has always excited us. So when Francesco, owner of Antiche Carampane, …
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