Ella's Adventures Blog

The island that used to be bigger than Venice

Here's the Torcello fact that still catches me out. Long before Venice was Venice, Torcello was the real power in the lagoon, a thriving city of up to twenty thousand...

The island that used to be bigger than Venice

Here's the Torcello fact that still catches me out. Long before Venice was Venice, Torcello was the real power in the lagoon, a thriving city of up to twenty thousand...

The island Venice exiled its own craftsmen

Here's the Murano story that changed how I look at all that beautiful glass. In 1291, Venice ordered every glass furnace moved out to the island, officially because the furnaces...

The island Venice exiled its own craftsmen

Here's the Murano story that changed how I look at all that beautiful glass. In 1291, Venice ordered every glass furnace moved out to the island, officially because the furnaces...

The rainbow houses that were never about the ph...

I always assumed Burano's famously colourful houses were purely decorative, the sort of thing that exists because it photographs well and tourists like it. The real reason is far more...

The rainbow houses that were never about the ph...

I always assumed Burano's famously colourful houses were purely decorative, the sort of thing that exists because it photographs well and tourists like it. The real reason is far more...

The tower that fell down and rebuilt brick by b...

Here's the Piazza San Marco story. On the morning of 14 July 1902, the bell tower that had stood over the square for nine hundred years simply collapsed, straight down,...

The tower that fell down and rebuilt brick by b...

Here's the Piazza San Marco story. On the morning of 14 July 1902, the bell tower that had stood over the square for nine hundred years simply collapsed, straight down,...

The mask that was mandatory, not festive

Here's the bit about Venetian masks that surprised me most. The bauta, the striking white mask with the sharp, squared jaw that lets you eat and talk without ever revealing...

The mask that was mandatory, not festive

Here's the bit about Venetian masks that surprised me most. The bauta, the striking white mask with the sharp, squared jaw that lets you eat and talk without ever revealing...

Black by law, not by style

Here's something I didn't know until I started painting one. Every gondola in Venice is black, and it isn't fashion, it's a four hundred and sixty year old law that...

Black by law, not by style

Here's something I didn't know until I started painting one. Every gondola in Venice is black, and it isn't fashion, it's a four hundred and sixty year old law that...