Views from Palazzo Ducale Venezia

Bocca di Leone

Bocca di Leone (Lion's mouth) is a 'complaint box', embedded in the wall of Doge's palace in Venice. The citizens of Venice had the possibility to submit written complaints in secret. In cases that the security of the Republic was endangered, the complaints were forwarded for further investigation to the State Inquisitors or the much dreaded Council of Ten. There were many 'complaint boxes' in the city of Venice, especially around the Doge's Palace. Nowadays, the only two boxes can be seen in Doge's Palace (the one pictured below) and the church Santa Maria della Visitazione.

Bocca di Leone in Doge's Palace in Venice. The inscription reads: "Secret denunciations against anyone who will conceal favors and services or will collude to hide the true revenue from them."

Murano, Venezia

The clock tower in the center of Murano, Venezia.

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco, Venezia /  St Mark's Square, Venice

View of the Piazzetta with the two granite columns carrying the symbols of the patron saints of Venice - the Lion of Venice (symbol of Saint Mark) and Saint Theodore (the patron of the city before St Mark).

Isola San Michele Venezia

Isola San Michele - Venice's island of the dead.

L'isola di San Michele - Isola dei Morti di Venezia. Il cimitero sull'isola di San Michele visto da Murano.

The cemetery on the isle of San Michele seen from Murano.

Murano Glass

Murano, Italy: the art of Venetian glassmaking.

If you are staying in Venice for a couple of days, make sure to visit the small island of Murano. Murano lies in the Venetian lagoon, about 1.5 km (or 0.9 miles) north of Venice. The island is extremely easy to reach from Venice by vaporetto, Italian for waterbus.

In the late 13th century, the Venetian Republic moved glassmaking to the island of Murano in order to prevent fires and the destruction of buildings (mostly wooden at the time) in the city of Venice. Murano quickly gained its reputation as a center of glassmaking. To the present day, Murano is associated with Venetian glass and tourists can visit a demonstration in one of Murano's glassfactories.

Murano, Venezia 2014.