Seeing as old gorgeous George has just got hitched in La Serenissima, I thought I might pop along too. A few pictures here of a previous visit, where I was documenting the lesser, unseen side of Venice. We all know what the media like to portray: the beauty of it all. But there is another side.

Hideous amounts of tourists is the biggest downside.
But then there is the practical side to think of too.
How do you get all that food and drink onto the islands of Venezia? Answer: by boat, of course. Here is the good ship Barbara hard at work on the morning run:

Of course, in the old days, the drinking water for the city was via a series of wells dug deep into the basin – if they weren’t polluted then, they certainly are now, and they’re sadly all covered over. No more gossiping over the water-gathering…

Sometimes, deep in the hearts of the Museums, you come across something that raises your eyebrows more than just a little. Here, for instance, in a display case full of torture instruments – such as a genuine portable thumb-screw (used), or a studded collar (with the studs on the inside for maximum effect), or even the chastity belt. Now you’ve probably heard of the hoary old story about the knight who went away on Crusade, entrusting the key to his wife’s belt to his good friend…. no such friendship here. This is a serious “don’t fuck with me” belt, both from the front or from the rear. Unpleasant for all concerned, especially for the poor wife, who may have had to spend months locked up in this devilish contraption.

Yes, George, Venice has a dark heart… It is somewhat ironic that you choose to marry your human rights sweetheart here, where the Moors and the Turks – and the Venetians – were routinely tortured…

Lastly, of course, in a land where the rubbish truck is a physical impossibility, spare a thought for the poor serfs who have to clear away the refuse of 50,000 tourists per day in the summer months – all of it by hand…

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