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VENICE, Italy
Population 287,940
Hotels for Officers
BAUER-GRÜNWALD, S. Moise 1440, tel. 22-199, rooms lire 30 to 40, with meals lire 50 to 60. CAVALLETTO, Calle Cavalletto 1107, tel. 25-239, rooms lire 20 to 30, with meals lire 40 to 50. HOTEL LUNA, Calle Largo Ascensione, tel. 22-055, rooms lire 20 to 30, with meals lire 40 to 50. MONACO, Calle Vallaresso 1325, tel. 22-517, rooms lire 20 to 30, with meals lire 40 to 50. REGINA, Calle Traghetto 2205 (not on a canal, not near Piazza San Marco, near the church (or library) of San Barnaba), tel. 22-277, rooms lire 30 to 50, with meals lire 50 to 60.
Seamen's Homes
CATHOLIC SEAMEN'S CLUB (Apostleship of the Sea), Molo A. Marghera.
Seamen's Agencies
American Consulate. No work ashore for American seamen.
Legal Aid
The American Consulate.
Hospitals
Ospedali Civili Riuniti di Venezia, Campo SS. Giovanni & Paolo, tel. 20-347.
Venereal Disease Clinics
Port Sanitary Bureau (daily, 5:30-7 p.m.; free). Casa de Curia, Dott. Polichetti, via Miranese 36, Mestre, tel. 50-211 (2 to 6 p.m.; fee $1.25).
Physicians
Dr. Armando Cuzzi, Calle S. Zorzi 1163, tel. 25-494. Dr. Giuseppe Comirato, Calle del Ridotto 1386, tel. 24-713. Dr. Pietro Marigonda, Calle Bembo 4644, tel. 24-487. Dr. Sandro Taronma, S. Maurizio 2635, tel. 25-606.
Dentists
Dr. Umberto Saraval, Calle Mazzini 4799, tel. 25-190. Dr. Giuseppe Scarpa, Calle S. Basso 306, tel. 24-229. Gr. Giorgio Moretti, Riva del Carbon 4635, tel. 23-184. Dr. Gino Casarotto, S. Angelo 3508, tel. 24-040.
Laundries
At 184 Riva Cà di Dio and 4700 Campo S. Provolo.
Amusements
La Fenice theatre (grand opera). Goldoni theatre (plays). Malibran (moving pictures and variety shows). Moving pictures: S. Marco, Rossini, Olympia, Massimo, Italia. Football field at S. Elena. Lido bathing beach.
Points of Interest
Piazza and Cathedral of St. Mark. Palace of the Doges. Palazzo Pisani and other ancient palaces. Grand Canal. Public Gardens, laid out by Napoleon in 1807. Bridge of Sighs. Academia di Belle Arti. Churches: Frari; SS. Giovanni e Paolo; San Giorgio Maggiore; Santa Maria della Salute; Correr Museum. Casa d'Oro. Academia Picture Gallery. Rialto Bridge. Monastery of the Lazarists.
Excursions
Chjioggia, fishing village (half a day, 7 miles, lire 14). Murano, glass factories; Torcello, church; Burano, lace works (all three by launch 4 miles, about lire 30). Padua, art gallery, museum, university (rouhg trip lire 20). Maser, Giovanelli Villa (round trip lire 27). Fanzolo, Villa Capodilista (round trip lire 25).
Consulates
American Consulate General, 2508 Fondamente Duodo, S. Maria Zobenigo del Giglio, tel. 25-757. British Consulate, Campo San Luca 4590.
-- information from The Seamen's Handbook for Shore Leave, with some format changes, currency conversions, etc.. Information is current for the period 1935-1940.
1933 Map
map by ENIT, the Ente Nazionale Italiano per il Turismo;
keep in mind that Venice is between the Lido and the mainland
Travel
The nearest airport is the Aeroporto di Venezia - Lido (at the north end of the Lido); vaporetti bring passengers into Venice from there, a trip of about 5 miles. There is also a seaplane ramp at the Lido, next to the Excelsior Palace Hotel.
Ships calling at Venice normally dock at the Bacino Staz. Marittima (left side of the map), along the west or east moles.
There's a rail station (Santa Lucia) on the northwestern edge of the island. The tracks cross six miles of lagoon on a bridge to the northwest, and arrive on the mainland at Mestre station, where the main line follows the Adriatic coast. In 1933 a highway bridge was opened, parallel to the rail bridge; but it's mostly for taxis, tour buses and delivery trucks, since the only streets for motor vehicles are around the docks and rail station.
Conveyances
Gondolas (propelled by oars) and vaporetti (any motor-powered boat) move through the canals. Vaporetti or gondolas exist for every purpose a vehicle might have in a "regular" city: ambulances, fire fighting, buses, freight and parcel delivery, the police, prisoner transport, hearses, refuse removal, etc.
Travel in Venezia by gondola or vaporetti is expensive, but affords grand views and the pleasure of relaxation. Porters and ganziers (retired gondoliers attending travellers at the quays) should be tipped, but tipping and alms-giving opportunities are refreshingly rare in Venezia.
There are electric trolleys on the Lido, but very few motorcars there (it's not connected to the mainland by a bridge).
Accommodations
The "hotels for officers" listed above are solid upper-middle-class establishments; all but one are fairly close to the Piazza San Marco.
In Venice itself, the de luxe hotels are:
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Hotel Danieli Royal -- lire 30 and up per night, at Castello 4196, close to Piazza San Marco. Only breakfast is provided, lire 5 (served in rooms, there is no restaurant in the hotel), but has 350 beds.
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Hotel Europa -- lire 50 and up per night, 120 beds. Located at Calle Ridotto, two short blocks from the Piazza San Marco.
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Hotel Gritti Palace -- extremely ornate and old-fashioned, with antique furnishings, damask drapes, and paintings by famous artists; on the Campo San Moise, three blocks from Piazza San Marco
De luxe hotels at the Lido include the Grand Hotel Lido (rate per night lire 35 to 65) and the Excelsior Palace (facing the Adriatic beach near the southern end of the Lido, rates per night lire 50 to 225); both of these are much larger than anything in Venice proper, and allow for more anonymous visits.
There are eight first-class hotels in Venice -- lire 20 to 90 per night; second-class hotels cost lire 10 to 40 per night; third-class hotels, lire 5 to 25 per night (and don't have restaurants); fourth-class hotels, lire 5 to 20 per night.
Also, there are casinos attached to the hotels on the Lido: for example, the Lido de Venezia, a casino next to the Excelsior Palace hotel. Casino games are mostly trente et quarante, French (single-zero) roulette, chemin de fer, boule (similar to roulette), and baccarat; whist, bridge and poker are rare, but can be accomodated. Venice is one of four places in Italy that allows casino gambling.
Expect to pay about lire 10,000 per month for long-term stays at first-class hotels, including meals, reasonable entertainment (not gambling), laundry, vaporetti, barbers/hair stylists, etc.
Short-term stays as a pension -- single bedroom, with full board -- cost about lire 30 to 40 per day.
Big, old palaces can be rented for lire 40,000 to 80,000 per month, unfurnished. If you are truly well-heeled, there are a few private islands (e.g., San Clemente) with palaces or monasteries on them.
Cuisine
Veal is the staple meat of Venetian cuisine, generally quite good but dull. The traditional Venetian meat dish is fegato alla Veneziana, fried liver and onions. The one meat which is nearly always good is prosciutto crudo, raw ham, generally eaten as a starting dish. It usually comes from Parma, and is to be relied on for its quality. It is often served with melon or figs, and if the figs be in season they are delicious, served skinned and ice cold.
Those who like soup are fortunate. It is nearly always good, especially the vegetable and fish soups -- although the calamari and seppie, squids cooked in their own juices, are not to everyone's taste.
Pasta dishes are never bad; fine fish dishes are available. The coda di rospo ("toad's tail"), while terrifying in appearance, makes a good and inexpensive dish. Mushrooms, artichokes, and other vegetables abound. The local cheese is highly regarded.
The local hot beverage is a variety of coffee, caffe espresso, very strong. Campari with soda, vermouth, and the local white wine (Soave) are recommended.
Libraries
Those seeking historic information would do well to seek entrance to the Republic Archives, now housed in the former monastery of Santa Maria Gloiosa on the Campo dei Frari. Over one thousand years of uninterrupted records are deposited here, over 12 million volumes organized by the character of their contents, on 50 miles of shelves. Notary and commercial archives, the records of religious organizations, the lore of the guilds and colleges, the logs of many ships, lists of births, marriages and deaths, records of voyages and commercial activity, contracts, legal decisions, heraldic records, etc. are found here. A good knowledge of Latin, Greek and Italian is essential.
Another useful source of information is the ancient Biblioteca Marciana (St. Mark's Library); it was opened in 1560, and moved to the Doge's Palace from 1811 to 1904; in 1904 it was moved again to the former mint, the Zecca, probably the sturdiest building in the city. It contains many archives brought from the collapsing Byzantine Empire.
Media
Newspapers carry a modest amount of world news, official reports on goings-on within Italy, lots of news about sports of all types, and columns about the activities of the military and Blackshirt organizations. Censorship of newspapers and radio programs is very strict. The main newspaper in Venice is Il Gazzettino Illustrato.
There is only one radio broadcasting system within the country, the E.I.A.R., and a subscription and license are required to own a radio receiver.
Communications
On the average, one telephone call in ten is monitored by the police -- and they are always monitored when placed to or from locations where subversives or foreigners are known to be (first-class hotels, for instance). Of course, not every secret policeman knows any foreign languages, and recording technology is in its infancy.
The general post office, along the Rialto at Fondaco Tedeschi, is also the main telephone and telegraph office.
Government
The existing city government (the mayor and council) was abolished in 1924, and a governor (the Podestà) has been appointed since then by the national government. From 1930 to 1938, this was Mario Alverà; the podestà's office is at Ca' Loredan, on the Canal Grande, near the Rialto Bridge.
Note that officially dates are given in the Fascist Era (e.g., 1933 AD = Anno XI).
Policing
The central police station -- the Questura Centrale -- is at S. Lorenzo 505; the "urban" police headquarters is at Palazzo Municipale Loredan. There are ten local police stations, including one on the Lido (on Viale Dardanelli). The jail -- Carceri Giudiziarie -- is at Giudecca.
All persons must carry an identity card outside of their home -- for foreigners, this would be your passport.
The national police are the PS, or Pubblica Sicurezza. The laws regarding sedition and subversion are entirely arbitrary; as little as the wearing of a red carnation or "injury to the good name or prestige of Italy" can result in an arrest.
The "usual" secret police agency is OVRA, equivalent to the Gestapo; the leader is Arturo Bocchini. The "First Zone" of OVRA covers northern Italy, and is headed by Inspector Francesco Nudi from 1927 to 1937. If there's an agent watching your hotel, or looking into your hotel room while you are out, or reading your mail, or listening to the telephone, they're probably from the OVRA. Given the size of the OVRA, the actual skills and intellect of a typical agent are rather low-grade. Daily reports from each police post and unit are submitted to the headquarters, and many are ready by Bocchini -- he's sort of the J. Edgar Hoover of Fascism. Bocchini in turn has a daily meeting with Mussolini.
Keep in mind that there are all sorts of special police organizations, with narrower areas of jurisdiction, or with only brief existences -- a fascist state is a shifting, treacherous thing! And of course, like many less repressive European nations, many commercial establishments are required to report activities to the police: all lodgings send daily reports, doctors report many diagnoses, brothels cooperate with the police, etc.
The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (MVSN, better known as the squadristi or Blackshirts, with old Roman-style ranks) are another set of thugs in uniform, with 450,000 members in 1935 (although only 20,000 were in permanent service). The Blackshirts show up for the big political rallies, act as informers and "bulk-up" the OVRA and PS when numbers are needed.
Other police agencies:
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the Arma dei Carabinieri, perceived as being loyal to the Crown rather than to Fascism. Distinctive uniforms with bicorn hats.
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the Guardia di Finanza, in charge of customs and taxes
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the Polizia Coloniale, which operated from 1936 onwards in the overseas territories, with a reputation for being well-trained and effective troops.
Communists, liberals, intellectuals, labor leaders, Freemasons, anti-Fascists, anarchists and "socially dangerous persons" are especially the focus of the OVRA and the Blackshirts. A common punishment is exile, usually to the islands of Lampedusa, Lipari or Ustica.
Currency
Five- and ten-lira coins are often counterfeited. There are 50, 100, 500 and 1000 lira notes; since about 1930 the 500 and 1000 lira notes, and gold in coin or bullion form, may not be taken out of the country without a permit from the government. There are lots of rules attempting to get gold into the Government's hands -- including iron wedding rings.
The exchange rates are:
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value of currency unit in U.S. dollars for the stated year
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|---|
|
country
|
name
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1921
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1933
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1934
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1935
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1939
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|---|
|
Britain
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pound sterling
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$3.85
|
$3.50
|
$5.04
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$8.24
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$4.40
|
|
Italy
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lira
|
$0.04
|
$0.05
|
$0.08
|
$0.09
|
$0.05
|
History
The history of the Jewel of the Adriatic begins in 809 A.D., when the Carolingian king Pepin (son of Charlemagne), having defeated the German Lombards and forced them to recognize Frankish suzerainty, began a campaign to conquer the city of Malamocco, on the inland edge of the lagoons at the mouth of the River Po. The inhabitants of Malamocco fled to a group of islands, the Rivo Alto. Pepin's fleet, attempting to follow them, was destroyed, and the city of Venezia was founded, standing on more than one hundred islands.
In 829, the Venetian Grand Council sent a group of merchant adventurers to Alexandria, where they stole the body of Saint Mark and brought it back to Venezia as the city's patron saint.
Beginning in the 13th Century, Venezia achieved naval superiority over Verona, and gained a commanding position in trade with the Levant, Greece, and the East. The Republic became a strictly autocratic affair, with an increasingly powerless Doge elected for life. The city became the sophisticated and splendid capital of a commercial empire. The corrupting influence of immense riches led to the shameful conquest of Constantinople in 1202 by Crusaders in debt to Venetian merchants.
After the Turkish War ended in 1718 as a loss to the Ottoman Empire, Venezia began a long decline, although her citizens maintained their brilliant traditions, artistic temperament, unique customs and particular dialect. The Venetian Republic was extinguished by Napoleon in 1797; after the First Empire fell, Venezia was assigned to the Kingdom of Austria. At that time, the Golden Book (listing all members of the Grand Council) had grown to 1,218 names; most of the great families were living in idleness and poverty.
The Resorgimento in 1849 re-established the Republic for seventeen months under Daniele Manin, until the Austrians reconquered the city. Manin, a grandson of the last Doge, Ludovico (reigned 1789-1797), died in exile in 1857. The Austrians continued to dominate the north of Italy until 1866, when, defeated by Prussia in the north, and by Mazzini and Garibaldi in Italy, they withdrew. Venezia is now firmly part of the Kingdom of Italy.
Description
Venice lies at the very head of the Adriatic Sea, 2 miles from the mainland of Italy in the Laguna Veneta, a salt-water lagoon 25 miles long and up to 9 miles wide, which is separated from the sea by three narrow sandy islands (lidi, sing. lido). It is a city of incomparable attraction with its unique network of canals and its beautiful palaces and churches. An air of picturesque decay has led artists of many lands to establish studios here.
About one hundred canals, 118 islands, and 400 bridges define Venice cartographically. Some 15,000 houses, built on piles, form a close-packed huddle of narrow streets and lanes, often no more than five feet wide. There is only one piazza, St. Mark's Square; smaller squares are called campo or campiello. The quays or embankments are called riva or fondamenta.
Venice's industry is confined to crafts such as glass blowing, lace making, and boat building (mostly at the old Arsenal). It is also an important seaport. A railroad bridge was constructed in 1841 by the Austrians, destroyed during the Resorgimento, and rebuilt in 1846. In 1933 a new bridge for automobiles was opened, the Ponte Littorio; the few roads are all near the main docks and the railway station.
The city is of course famous for its canals, and various gondolas, vaporetti (steam launches), dustbarges, ambulance boats, merchants delivery boats, fire-fighting boats, funerary craft, and private vessels ply the waters. The Grand Canal is two miles long, about 200 feet wide, and 15 feet deep; other canals have greatly reduced dimensions.
Numerous small islands in the lagoon, while not part of Venice proper, are integral to her history. San Michele, for example, is the cemetery island for the city; Murano is the centre of the glass-making industry; and Chioggia is a busy fishing port.
Important events in the Venetian calendar include the Festa del Redentore and its famous boat-bridge to a Palladian church (third Saturday in July); the Gondola Race (first Sunday in September); and the famous Carneval, which runs from mid-February to Easter.
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