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The doge was the supreme ruler, or duke of Venice. Lorenzo Tiepolo was the doge when Marco Polo lived there.
Tiepolo died in Venice in 1275 and was buried with his father in the church of San Zanipolo.
The doge of Venice lived in a beautiful palace on the grand canal. Today it is a museum.
Doge Palace, Venice
Doge Palace, Venice
But when Marco Polo was alive, this particular palace did not exist. One facade of the palace faced the Piazzeta of St. Mark's Square, and the other side overlooked St. Mark's Basin. You can still see a few traces of the old palace in the floor level floor and wall base.
The palace of the doge in Venice
How it may have looked in Polo's day
When you get to Venice, be sure to visit the palace and send me pictures! I'd love to see what it's like inside, wouldn't you?
Gnocchi today is usually made with potatoes. If you haven't tried it, you should. It's absolutely delicious in many different types of dishes. Click on the picture above for a great recipe.
But Gnocchi in the Middle Ages during Marco Polo's lifetime was made differently, with wheat, flour and cheese, sort of like a light dumpling:
"Frammento di un libro di cucina del sec. XIV,
14th Century
Take some fresh cheese and mash it, then take some
flour and mix with egg yolks as in making migliacci. Put a pot full
of water on the fire and, when it begins to boil, put the mixture on
a dish and drop it into the pot with a ladle. And when they are
cooked, place them on dishes and sprinkle with plenty of grated
cheese."
Sounds scrumptious!
Excuse me while I go pick some tomatoes for sauce! NOM!
Rixi e bixi (also known as risi e bisi) is a traditional Venetian dish. And it's so simple: rice with pancetta and peas.
Who knew such a simple dish could be so delicious?
Okay, so there's also cheese and you can add other things to make it your own like garlic, shallots, onions, etc. You have to love the Italians for combining two carbs in one dish. Yummy peas and rice? Yes please! But what is pancetta?
Pancetta (Wikimedia Commons)
Basically it's an Italian bacon made of pork belly, salt cured and seasoned with pepper and other spices.
In Italian the Grand Canal is called the Canal Grande. In Venetian it is Canalasso. At one end of the canal is a lagoon, and at the other end is the Saint Mark Basin. The canal makes a large reverse S-shape through the central parts of Venice. Below is a picture of Venice taken from space in 2001.
Venice, 2001 (Wikimedia Commons)
There are more than 170 buildings lining the banks of the Grand Canal. Many date from the time of Marco Polo. Wealthy Venetian families liked showing off their prosperity through the palazzos they built. The bigger and fancier the design of the palazzo, the richer they were thought to be.
There are also churches along the canal including the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute:
Santa Maria della Salute (Wikimedia Commons)
Along the Canal, buildings combining the warehouse and the merchant's residence, were popular. These are called "fondaco" houses.
The Fondaco dei Tedeschi (Wikimedia Commons)
Fondaco dei Turchi (Wikimedia Commons)
The "porch" or "portico" covers the dock of the warehouse to keep the cargo from the weather. Storerooms are inside of the house and at the other side there is usually a courtyard. Or the courtyard can be in the middle.
In Marco Polo's time, the only bridge that crossed the Grand Canal was the Rialto Bridge. But now there are three more bridges: the Ponte degli Scalzi:
Ponte degli Scalzi (Wikimedia Commons)
the Ponte dell'Accademia:
Ponte dell'Accademia (Wikimedia Commons)
and the Ponte della Costituzione, that connects the train station to Piazzale Roma, one of the few places in Venice where buses and cars can enter. In all other areas of Venice people must ride in a boat to get around!
Ponte della Costituzione (Wikimedia Commons)
In Marco Polo's time, there weren't as many buildings as there are today, so he could probably run along the edge of the canal in certain places. But as you can see by some of these pictures, he may not have been able to run along the edge at all without going onto the covered porch of a warehouse.
Grand Canal, Venice (Wikimedia Commons)
Grand Canal, Venice (Wikimedia Commons)
I think it would be fun to ride in a boat to get to the store or to church. How would you like to go everywhere in your town by boat?
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