Este. For me, the name has always had a mythical ring to it. The House of Este (Casa d’Este) can be counted among the best-known Italian dynasties. Ercole I d’Este (1431-1505) was one of the foremost patrons of art in fifteenth century Italy and his Renaissance court was the most…
The Colli Euganei are quite a sight. The Veneto is mostly flat as Holland, but here we suddenly find gently rolling and lush green hills. The Euganean Hills are the result of volcanic activity more than 40 million years ago. Beautiful villages and towns can be found here, among them…
The picturesque town of Monselice has a lot in store for casual tourists and seasoned travellers alike. The ruins of an old fortress (Mastio) on top of a hill, beautiful villas, lovely streets, many interesting religious buildings and good food. Moreover, the town has excellent rail connections to cities like…
The island of Murano has been famous for its glassmaking industry for over 700 years. In 1291, the government of Venice ordered all glassmakers in the city to move their foundries to Murano. The official reason was that this move was necessary to protect the city against fires (making glass…
A church is a place where people can find shelter. In July 2017, my better half and I found shelter in the church of Santi Maria e Donato on the island of Murano in the Venetian lagoon. The previous sentence can be taken quite literally: there was a violent rainstorm…
Why, someone might ask, would anyone want a church on Torcello to be right next to the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta? This is a fair question, a question that I myself have asked as well. Unfortunately, none of my travel guides could tell me why the lovely and elegant…
When discussing the early history of Venice, we should always keep in mind that settlement in the Rialto archipelago – now the nucleus of Venice – did not start in earnest until the early ninth century. Before that time, the Venetians were scattered across the lagoon and lived on various…