Pelicans in Venice

It's difficult to find a photo of pelicans in Venice, but I know they're there. In fact, take a look at this Byzantine Mosaic of Noah inviting pelicans into the ark from St. Mark's in Venice, Italy:

While his family waits to go aboard, Noah helps the animals to enter the Ark. Byzantine mosaic. 13th c.

There are two types of pelicans in Italy.

The Great White Pelican:

And the Dalmation Pelican:

In my book, Marco Polo, it was the very large Dalmation Pelican that stole the cucumber from the Polos on their journey to Acre. Pelicans don't eat cucumbers. He mistook the cucumber for a fish, their main source of food.

The Dalmation Pelican is the largest of the pelicans and one of the largest living bird species. It grows up to six feet in length and has a wingspan of nine to twelve feet! It is the heaviest of the flying birds and can weigh up to 25 pounds.

Pelicans are ornery and compete with humans for fish. As a result, they aren't well-liked by some fishermen.

Here's a neat video of a Great White Pelican that's the mascot of Mikinos, Greece. It will give you an idea of how large these birds are.

And here are some Dalmation Pelicans chasing a boat:

 

What would you do if a Pelican stole your fish?

What'a a muda?

When Marco Polo lived in Venice, he watched every spring as a convoy of ships, called a muda, left Venice in the spring and came back in autumn.

I wonder, did his mother wait in autumn for the return of his father, Niccolo, before she died?

I wonder, did Marco Polo run to the Grand Canal each autumn to see if his father would come home?

Venetian Ships, Source: Baldwin Project

This convoy brought merchants, goods, knowledge, ideas and culture to Venice. Marco Polo's life must have been full of new and fascinating discoveries as a young boy. It's no wonder he had a taste for adventure when so much of it kissed the shores of his hometown each year.

Marco Polo's Doge, Lorenzo Tiepolo

 

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?

Marco Polo's golden ticket: the paiza

When Marco Polo's father and uncle returned to Venice after a fifteen-year adventure in the east, they brought with them a very important item called a paiza.

A Gerege in Mongolian script.

 The paiza was a tablet of authority that enabled nobles of Mongolia to travel safely through the land and access goods and services from people they met as they traveled. While Marco Polo traveled, if anyone saw the "golden ticket" they obeyed its authority immediately. If they didn't, they risked punishment by Kublai Khan.

Official pass with Mongolian inscription in 'Phags-pa script reading "By the power of eternal heaven, [this is] an order of the Emperor. Whoever does not show respect [to the bearer] will be guilty of an offence."

A nightwatchman's pass of the Mongol empire, with inscriptions in Persian (left), Mongolian in 'Phags-pa script (centre), and Uyghur (right). The Mongolian inscription reads "Announcement: Beware of evil-doers".

We don't know what Marco Polo's paiza looked like. But the above are some examples of such "tickets."

It would be cool to have one today, wouldn't it? You could show it to someone running a restaurant and they would have to give you what you ordered.

All for free.

Gondolas and Gondoliers

The Grand Canal of Venice

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?