Venice’s origins are shrouded in mystery, and there are many mythical tales that allude to the city’s past.
In the year 302 B.C., Spartan pirates, commanded by the son of the King of Sparta, Cleomenes II, entered the lagoon and reached the mouth of the river by following a deep and winding canal. But after the Spartans disembarked onto the mainland, they were attacked by the population and were forced to flee.
For the victors, the success was also a taste of revenge since they claimed to be descendants of the Enetoi (or Venetoi) of Paphlagonia, who were allies of the Trojans in the Homeric war against the Greeks, and were said to have taken refuge in the area around the lagoon after suffering defeat at the hands of the Spartans.
The deep canal, the rivus altus, was none other than what is known today as the Grand Canal: Venice’s main waterway renowned for its enchanting beauty. The shapes and colours of the buildings looking onto it cast their reflections in the water, creating colourful whirls which blend together as though on the palette of a painter. Moreover, Venice’s palazzi, the palaces belonging to the Republic’s most powerful families, speak to us of the lives of the prominent figures that once lived or stayed in them.
So let us embark on this magnificent route together, allowing ourselves to be rocked gently by the waves. Settled comfortably into a taxi and sipping a glass of prosecco, we shall admire the city’s architectural beauties as we ponder the political intrigue, the romantic adventures and the gossip of a past age.
