HIDDEN TREASURES

Anecdotes and Curiosities about Venice and other cities in Veneto: history, secrets and legends

Discover a different side of this wonderful Italian region

Hidden Treasures is a weekly column on venetoinside.com dedicated to those who wish to learn about legends, secrets and mysteries of the lesser-known sights of Venice as well as off-the-beaten track locations, amusing anecdotes related to the other main cities - Verona, Vicenza, Padova, Treviso and Belluno – and the picturesque towns of our region.

Our stories aim to accompany you in the discovery of the most interesting aspects of Venice and Veneto related to history and folklore, mysterious places and famous works of art, monuments and ancient traditions! We will reveal the hidden treasures of Venice that make up the most mysterious and fascinating character of the city as well as the mysteries of the lagoon and original tales, all based on a foundation of historical fact, without forgetting the intriguing anecdotes on the other pearls of Veneto, such as Treviso, Verona, Vicenza, Padua and Belluno, picturesque villages, the awe-inspiring Dolomites, Lake Garda... Week after week we will disclose the most captivating secrets of our land combining art, culture, tradition, mystery and legend!

Hidden Treasures is a true tourist guide to the secrets and mysteries of Venice and Veneto ... Make yourself comfortable! Exciting reading awaits you with stories and legends never told before which will excite your curiosity and encourage you to visit the places you will learn about...

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Highlights

What happened on May 1 in Venice

According to the Venetian Liturgical Calendar, today’s Saints are Sts. Philip and James, Apostles and Saint Scholastica, of whom there were two churches, now demolished, in Castello. The Church of Sts. Philip and James had the Doge's Juspatronato. The Doge went to the Church of the Virgins in Castello (on which he had the Juspatronato) to obtain the "Porziuncola" (indulgence of Boniface IX) and received from the Abbess a bouquet of flowers with a gold handle and garnished with Venetian lace, then continued to the Church of St. Daniel. - May 1, 1797: after eventually positioning his regiments close to the lagoon, General Napoleon Bonaparte draws up a declaration of war against the Venetian Republic from Palmanova, a Manifesto with 15 indictments, which ends as follows: 'the General in Command orders the various divisional generals to treat the Venetian troops as enemies, and to tear down the Lion of St Mark in all the cities of the mainland'; the General does not send any document to the other party, as he has not yet received a mandate to that effect from the Directory. - May 1, 1874: writer Nicolò Tommaseo dies at 72, almost blind; born in Sebenico and a graduate from Padua University, he supported the Venetian cause while thinking of it within the framework of a federative relationship with other regions in Italy; imprisoned in 1848 together with Daniele Manin, he spent the hours in prison with serenity translating the Gospels. Released by popular acclaim on March 17, 1848, he joins the provisional government as Minister of Education; during the siege of Venice he supports the need for defense at all costs against Austria, but votes against any hypothesis of annexation to the Kingdom of Italy. With the fall of Venice, excluded from the amnesty, he sets out for exile in Corfu. - May 1, 1954: on Labor Day, Patriarch Angelo Roncalli blesses the new church of Cristo Lavoratore in Ca' Emiliani, the working-class district of Venice, the first in Italy with this dedication. Taken from 'Almanacco di Venezia -1600 anni ab Urbe còndita' by Andrea Gersich and Edoardo Rubini Venice, 1st May 2021