san marco Archivi - Hotel Bucintoro

Feb 04 2018

Venice Carnival – Festa Delle Marie

The Venice Carnival – Festa Delle Marie was a tipical celebration in Venice that took place every year from 9th century during Venice carnival. It has been suspended in 1379 but it came back recently as historical reenactment. The traditional “Festa Delle Marie” recalls the homage of the Duke to twelve beautiful young and humble ladies, of jewelry for their wedding. The occasion, an unique moment to admire the venitian costumes, lasted more than one day. The celebration included the couples’s blessing and the raffle of the most beautiful twelve girls of the poorest families in town. Every girl was assigned to a rich family, who had to give them clothes, jewelry and dowry in order to get married. In the following days were celebrated few civil and religious cerimonies that ended with a boats’s parade along the Grand Canal. During this parade, the “Marie” (this is the name of the twelve girls) flaunted their beauty and jewelry. Dances, banquets and parties came along with the cerimonies. Participate to this parade was considered of good omen and a joy to the men’s eyes. A lot of people, from all over the world, came to Venice to admire these girls. The celebrations could last more than a week too!

The traditional “Festa delle Marie” recalls the homage that the Duke brought every year to twelve venetian beautiful young ladies, endowing them for the wedding with jewelry.

This celebration created disorder and confusion: it happened often that these beautiful ladies, ready to get married, were courted and even raped by men from all over the world. Besides, the raffle for the “Marie” caused a lot of conflicts between the families, between the poor (in case of defeat they complained for the missing victory) and between the rich (who did not want to spend the money for the assigned girl). For this reasons, the girls were substituted by wood statues called Marione or Marie de tola (Wood Marie). They were dressed with costumes and jewelry, but they didn’t get a dowry. With this change, the celebration lost its original sense and the approval of the venitians, who reacted trying to sabotage the celebration. In 1349 the Republic issued a law in which, who were caught throwing vegetables to the Marione, would have been punished with jail. After that, the celebration lost all the prestige and 30 years later was abolished. In the last years, Bruno Tosi instituted again the Marie celebration to the Venice Carnival: it recalls the original celebration in which twelve venetian girls parade in medieval costumes in Saint Mark’s square. At the end of the parade, the most beautiful girl becomes the Maria of the year.

The historical parade starts in San Pietro di castello island, through Via Garibaldi and Riva degli Schiavoni, ending in Saint Mark’s square.

The parade, with the twelve girls, selected few weeks before, is on Saturday February 3th. The historical parade, along with historical groups in costumes as C.E.R.S, the associations Amici del Carnevale di Venezia and the Associazione Internazionale per il Carnevale di Venezia, starts from San Pietro di Castello around 2.30 pm and it will go through Via Garibaldi and Riva degli Schiavoni, reaching Saint Mark’s square around 4 pm, where Carnival will be presented officially to the public.

Ask at the reception for further information!

Dec 28 2017

San Marco district Venice

San Marco is the smaller district of the town but it contains the political and religious heart of Venice. It has always been inhabited by the nobility and, together with Rialto and San Pietro di Castello, it is part of the original nucleus in the development of Venice. It is limited north by the Grand Canal, south by Saint Mark’s basin, west by Rio del Palazzo and east by Rio de San Zulian. It borders north with Cannaregio district and east with Castello district, it is connected with San Polo district through Rialto bridge and with Dorsoduro through Accademia bridge. Administratively, the district contains San Giorgio Maggiore island too.

Saint Mark’s square, the political and religious heart of Venice.

In the origin, its name was Rivoalto, in which Rialto come from too. It was called also Civitas Rivoalti, recalling the area of its foundation. Saint Mark’s square is naturally the heart of the district: for more than 1000 years was the political, decision and judiciary center of the Republic of Venice. Here took place the most important event as the Venice Carneval, who is still alive nowadays. Saint Mark’s square is the only square of the town exposed on the maritime basin: richful of monuments and palaces, it gathers more than 15 centuries of history and art. Saint Mark’s square is the living room of the venetian citizens: the open space dedicated to host all the most importants events in the town.

San Marco district hosts several monuments like the Bell tower, the basilica and the Doge’s Palace.

Together with the “Paròn de casa“, the bell tower, who towers with its 98 meters of height in the square and all the town, you can enjoy the view of several monuments, very close together and in different styles, as the venetian stylistic instructs. You can see the Procuratie right in front of the Basilica and the Doge’s palace, venue of the juridical power of the Serenissima; the clock tower, restored in 2006; the famous bridge of sighs beyond which starts Castello district. There is also the Napoleonic wing where you can find Correr museum. Outside the square you can also find La Fenice theatre, Goldoni theatre, San Moisè church, Palazzo Grassi and the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where the basilica and the Cini foundation rise.

San Giorgio Maggiore island is part of the San Marco district too

From Hotel Bucintoro you can reach San Marco district very easily! Ask at the reception for mor information!

Oct 19 2017

Harry’s Bar Venice

Harry’s Bar is a historical public bar of Venice. It has been declared in 2001 national heritage by the Minister of Culture. It opened its doors in 1931 thanks to Giuseppe Cipriani and, as he told, the name recalls one young american student Harry Pickering who came to Venice with his aunt in the ’20 to treat his alcohol dependance. Harry was left by his aunt alone in Venice without money, after a fight. Giuseppe Cipriani, bartender at the Europa & Britannia hotel, where Harry was staying, gave 10.000 lire to this yopung man to help him to get back to the U.s. After two years, Harry came back to Venice, after he healed to his dependance, and gave to Cipriani the money he borrowed him plus 30.000 lire to open his own bar. Cipriani decided to entitle his place in “Harry’s Bar” as gesture of gratitude to Harry Pickering. The bar opened on May 13th 1931.

Arrigo Cipriani, son of Giuseppe, runs the bar since 1980.

The bar was open is a 45 mq2 place, situated near Saint Mark’s square, in Calle Vallaresso on the side of the Grand Canal, where it actually is. During that time, the bridge that today connects the street with Saint Mark’s square was not present so the bar was located in a dead end street. Cipriani thought that this thing was positive because the bar could have clients coming there only for the bar and not for fortuity.

The famous writer Ernest Hemingway, together with Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of the historical Harry’s Bar in Venice.

Cipriani’s place which was bar and restaurant, had an immediate success. It was attended the most by an intellectual and aristocratic clientele. The first (and last) guests’s book contains signatures of Rino Amato, Arturo Toscanini, Geroges Braque, Truman Capote, Charlie Chaplin, Peggy Guggenheim, Barbara Hutton, Somerset Maugham, Grégoire Hetzel, Barbara Carlotti, Mauro Gioia and Orson Wells. The bar had some issues with the fascists authorities of the time due to the clients who attended the place. The bar was seen as a meeting point of rich jews and homosexuals. With the racial laws of 1938, Cipriani was obliged to display in his bar the sign to ban the jews. He was able to fool that order, displaying that sign on the kitchen door and not on the bar door. During the 2nd world war, the bar became the canteen of sailors. After the war, it restarts its activity as usual. During the winter between 1949 and 1950, the american writer Ernest Hemingway, became a permanent client. He had his personal table and became friend of Cipriani. During that period, he was finishing to write his book “Across the river and into the trees” in which Harry’s Bar is often mentioned.

The Bellini cocktail, the speciality of Harry’s Bar.

The two most important creation, that you can taste at Harry’s are Bellini and carpaccio. You can’t miss them.

Ask at the reception to reserve your table at Harry’s!

HOTEL BUCINTORO SRL