Venice is a city of palaces, bridges and bell towers. The history of this mosaic filled sea port unfolds as you walk and wander and wonder. Before the pandemic, Venice was listed as a city attracting so many visitors it was on the ‘over tourism’ list.

Today, it’s refreshingly uncrowded and welcoming (as all of Italy) visitors who are fully vaccinated or officially Covid-free from recent testing.

Venetian history puts current pandemic into perspective.

On a few of our tours through Venice the guides shared a morbid history of pandemics as well. So many plagues plagued Venice over the centuries that the term “quarantine” was legendarily coined here referring to the 14 days sailors or other visitors had to wait it out before being deemed disease free. The decorative masks of Venice reflect that history as well with the infamous ‘plague doctor’ mask still available at kiosks and tiny shops down winding lanes. Venice experienced 22 outbreaks of plague between 1361 and 1528. Specifically, the plagues were of three types: bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic.

I was morbidly fascinated by this disease history and felt it put our current pandemic of Covid-19 in perspective as today we have the means to protect ourselves through vaccination, medical mask wearing and social distancing. Italians are so adult about medical mask wearing, keeping them on their arms to be ready to put on when entering a shop, restaurant or crowded outdoor market.

Back to the Fun Stuff! You Better Love Bridges!

I think I remember that there are over 400 bridges in Venice, so get ready to walk up and down a lot. The pretty canals are the roadways to get around the city by boat and that includes delivering the mail, garbage pick up, ambulance rides, police cruisers and all of the movements of commerce and social life.

I was fascinated to observe the nuances of everyday life in Venice. Garbage and recycling pick up days are coded by the kind of materials collected on various days of the week.

Metal plates fixed at the bottom of doorways are an attempt to keep rising water from entering homes. It’s still a problem during rainy seasons or when tides are seasonal higher than normal. Venetians have an APP on their phones to help keep track of the tidal swells. Some days you have to put boots on to walk around in the sloshy water. On days of very high tides and water levels, it’s like a snow day. No one goes anywhere because the water is too deep.

Behind the Scenes: Another perk of being on Uniworld Boutique River Cruises

One of the best reasons (besides the gorgeous staterooms, foods, wines and ship board views) to sail with a small luxury cruise lines such as Uniworld, is that excursions are complimentary and can provide private access to places you would probably never be able to organize on your own.

One of our first evenings in Venice, we were led into the St. Mark’s Basilica for an after-hours, for our eyes only, behind the scenes escorted tour. The Basilico di San Marco is a cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese with a history that stretches back to the 9th Century A.D.

If you’re mad about tiles, terrazzo and mosaic, this is your dream land. There is enough mosaic in St. Mark’s Basilica to cover one and half football fields. And they’re mostly done in gold, which glitters and shines and emanates a heavenly light as the sun’s rays flood in at sunset. And that is exactly when we were there.

VENICE BEFORE & AFTER: 2017 and NOW

Me in the same place. 2017

Now for a little game of BEFORE & AFTER: Above is a shot of me taken near the Rialto Market where you’ll find a number of cute little outdoor trattorias to enjoy an Aperol Spritz or two.

Here is the same place in July 2021.