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Italy. I just love this country.
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The people, the places, a history
that reaches back over 2,500 years.
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From the birth of the Roman Empire,
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through the glories of
the Middle Ages,
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to the flowering of the Renaissance,
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its achievements are
just breathtaking.
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But behind its glorious facades,
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so much of that invention and
creativity still remains invisible.
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Look at that.
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I'm exploring three of my favourite
Italian cities to discover how their
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hidden treasures played their part
in the making of Italy,
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and of Western civilisation.
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I'll be working with historian
Dr Michael Scott
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to uncover the invisible layers
of Italy's past in Venice,
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in Florence and in Naples.
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You've got Nero murdering his mum...
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Using the latest
3D scanning technology,
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we'll reveal the secrets of
how these cities made Italy
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a powerhouse of the Western world.
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This time, I'm exploring the hidden
secrets of one of the world's most
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remarkable cities - Venice.
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Our scans will strip back the layers
of history to reveal how Venice's
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beauty once masked
a ruthless secret state
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and a world of excess and vice.
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The city was devoted to
erotic pleasure.
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Wahey, whoa, wahey, there we go!
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We'll see how the Venetians
battled the plague...
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Welcome to the island of
the Black Death.
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Right, we're off, OK,
back, back, back.
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..how they build their city around
money-making...
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We were the biggest traders and
marketers in the world.
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..to create one of Europe's
mightiest empires.
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The smell of power is
reeking in the air.
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And for the first time,
we'll use virtual reality.
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And see how the Venetians
turned a muddy swamp...
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I'm sinking, you can see that.
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..into this watery wonderland.
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The second leg of our journey
through invisible Italy begins at
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the airport taxi rank.
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Benvenuto a Venezia! Grazie!
How are you doing? You all right?
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Look at this beautiful boat.
Welcome, shall we take that?
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'My expert guide, Dr Michael Scott,
is travelling in style.'
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How do you do? Come on in,
welcome aboard.
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It's a hell of a way to arrive,
isn't it?
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This is the way to arrive in Venice.
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There it is, there it is, the most
famous cityscape in the world.
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Certainly one of the most unique
places in the world.
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Absolutely. I mean, unless
we've got some sort of sub-aqua kit,
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what are we going to be
looking at here?
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Well, we're certainly going to be
going underwater,
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but we're going to be also,
crucially...
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I'm just going to stop you right
there. We're going underwater,
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are we? Oh, we're going underwater,
yeah. OK. You know. But we're going
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to be exploring what it is that
makes Venice possible.
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Venice is built in 210 square miles
of shallow lagoon.
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Most of its 118 islands are just
inches above sea level.
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To get us started,
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Michael's going to show me what this
corner of north-east Italy looked
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like when the first Venetians
came here.
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We're just two miles from
the centre of the city.
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You have your feet on
the origins of Venice.
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This is Venice, this mud,
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this is what Venice
really stands on.
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Crab, big crab.
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We're in a lagoon. Yes. Protected by
a big sand bar and to sea.
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But 80% of it is this stuff - the
salt marshes that are either just
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above... I'm sinking,
you can see that.
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I am sinking. And I weigh marginally
less than a city.
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The first Venetians were Romans, who
started building here in the fifth
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century AD, when the empire was
in a state of collapse.
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This strikes me
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as a crazy place to build anything,
let alone a city.
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You have to be pretty desperate...
You do.
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..to want to make it here.
That is due to huge invasions that
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are coming in from people
like the Visigoths,
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people like Attila the Hun,
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are coming in and sweeping through
the northern Mediterranean.
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And so, in northern Italy, people
are looking for somewhere safe.
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This muddy marshland inspired the
Venetians to develop new engineering
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skills. They created one of the
finest cities on earth,
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that would inspire poets
from Byron to Shakespeare.
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I don't think you arrive anywhere
else in the world with this much
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drama all around you. Byron called
Venice the paragon of landfalls,
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and he's absolutely right.
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There's so much drama,
histrionic level of drama,
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as if a, sort of, mad genius
has come up with the idea.
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'By the ninth century,
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'while Alfred the Great was fighting
off the Vikings in England,
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'Venice was emerging as a new power
in the Mediterranean.'
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The communities living in the lagoon
had joined together to form the Most
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Serene Republic of Venice -
La Serenissima.
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CHURCH BELLS CHIME
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Michael has me up at dawn
to avoid the crowds.
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We are off to the most famous place
in Venice, the Piazza San Marco.
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What you see before you is only
possible because of a whole set of
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invisible magic tricks.
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And we're going to have to employ
some of our own magic tricks
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to make sense of this place. We're
going to have to use our scanning
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team to the utmost to be able to
produce some really good scans
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linking together the places that
we're going to be looking at
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in some detail.
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'Scanning this aquatic city is going
to be one of our team's most
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'difficult jobs yet, but it means
they get to play
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'with a whole bunch of new kit.'
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We've definitely got quite an
ambitious amount of scanning that is
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happening here in Venice. We've got
our mobile mapping team, who are
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hoping to capture the whole of
the Grand Canal.
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We've got our underwater team,
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and then we've got
the terrestrial scanning
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that we're doing for some of the
squares and churches that pepper
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their way across Venice.
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So, all of these should hopefully
kind of come together as, you know,
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a monumental map of Venice.
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Michael's taking me up to see
his favourite view of the
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Basilica di San Marco...
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Ah, here we are.
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..the cathedral
at the heart of Venice.
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Goodness me.
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I'm tempted to say, "It's a mess!"
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I mean, it's beautiful, of course
it's beautiful, very striking.
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But, if somebody built something
like that today,
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they wouldn't really
get away with it.
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They've certainly gone to, sort of,
maximise every square inch.
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The Venetians first built a basilica
here in the year 829,
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to house the bones of
the gospel writer Mark.
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Two Venetian merchants
stole his body from Alexandria
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and brought him home
to be their patron saint.
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And poor old Saint Mark wasn't the
only thing the Venetians pinched.
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The ninth century is when Venice is
really starting to come together as
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a city. And it's getting, sort of,
a sense of itself
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and it wants all the trappings.
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And then in the 11th century,
this magnum opus is consecrated.
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But then, they add to it
over the years.
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So, when Venice is, kind of, really
in full flood of... Mm. Well,
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frankly, grabbing staff, they come
and slap it on St Mark's.
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The horses that dominate
the centrepiece,
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they're nabbed from Constantinople.
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All these columns that you see
along the front,
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they're all kind of Oriental columns
from the east that they brought back
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from different parts of the world.
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Every bit of this building screams
the fact that Venice went elsewhere,
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grabbed stuff and
brought it back to Venice.
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And displays it proudly, this is
looting as proof of dominion.
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There's stolen booty
all around Venice,
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from its conquests in Greece,
Croatia and Cyprus.
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Even the symbol of St Mark,
the bronze Lion of Venice,
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was originally an ancient winged god
taken from eastern Turkey.
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'Everywhere you look in this city
reminds you just how powerful
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'and wealthy Venice became
in her heyday.'
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Our first scans capture the smallest
details of the loot on St Mark's,
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and build out from there to the
grandeur of the Piazza and beyond.
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The scanners are going to create
a giant 3D model
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of the heart of Venice.
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They'll build it onto
the existing digital map.
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When complete, this will be an
accurate snapshot of this slowly
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disintegrating city.
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An invaluable tool for
archaeologists,
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engineers and conservators.
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And it'll help us reveal the
invisible secrets of Venice.
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While the scanners get on with
their epic assignment,
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I'm off to meet Michael.
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He's going to show me how the
Venetians managed to build their
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city in this muddy marsh.
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He is with a team of
underwater archaeologists
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and restorers repairing
a section of canal wall.
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Sadly, I'm not qualified to dive,
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so the intrepid professor will be
slipping into neoprene
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for both of us.
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Michael. Ah, good morning.
Good morning. Shall I hop on?
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Come on board, come on board,
welcome.
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What are you doing down here? OK.
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So, the newest member of our
presenting team is here.
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What is this, Blue Peter? So, you'll
be going down to the bottom of the
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canal, basically, just to look at
the bed, see what's there.
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And you're examining foundations,
are you?
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We're going to be looking at
some foundations.
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What's all this, "we"?
You keep saying "we".
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Well, "we", because of the wonders
of modern technology.
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Yes. You, too, are going to be able
to share in what I see down there.
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I'm so pleased to hear that,
the "we" has been worrying me.
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Not in the water... Well, the "wee"
could still be worrying you.
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We are going to take
some precautions.
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So, we are going to be spraying
medicated olive oil.
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Oh, the last defence
against the superbug, good.
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I have to admit to having been
in Venetian canals once or twice
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before, sort of, in my youth.
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Byron used to swim the Grand Canal
every morning before breakfast.
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And look what happened to him.
Yes, died aged 36 of a fever.
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So, yeah, there we are.
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Listen, good luck. I shall be right
here, I shall be gunning for you.
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Thank you.
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Well, I can tell you, I've never
been more grateful that I've not
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done a scuba diving course,
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which means I'm exempt from
going down into the canal.
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I am looking forward to this,
though.
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I'm intrigued to see what Michael's
going to find down there.
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Michael, just checking
you can hear me.
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00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:52,640
RADIO: 'I can hear you.
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00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:59,040
'I have to say, Xander, visibility
is not currently fantastic.
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'You, literally, cannot see a thing.
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00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,040
'It's incredibly disorientating.'
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The team has timed Michael's dive
at the turning of the tide.
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As the water starts
to rush out of the lagoon,
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it takes some of the silt with it.
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00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:29,080
'We're starting to get a little bit
of clarity now down here,
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00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,120
'which is really exciting.
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00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,880
So, I'm pressed up just against
the canal wall,
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00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,040
'the deep stone foundations
under the building.'
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00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:46,640
As the water clears,
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it reveals the invisible foundations
of the Venetians' amphibious city.
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'What we're looking at here is
there's some exposed tops
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00:12:57,360 --> 00:12:59,520
'of tree trunks.
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00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,840
'These ones here are
in fantastic condition.
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00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:09,560
'It's hard to believe this is wood
that is hundreds of years old.'
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00:13:09,560 --> 00:13:11,120
I can see them, I can see them.
216
00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:13,360
A bit of sediment now,
but I got a clear glimpse
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00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:14,880
just about five seconds ago.
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00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:19,960
'The early Venetians took massive
wooden trunks between one and a
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00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,720
'half, two to three metres long,
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00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:28,680
'and they pounded them into the mud
along the boundaries of the area
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'they wanted to build on.
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'Now that secured the mud and gave
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00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,520
'them the beginnings of
a strong foundation.
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00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:42,840
'But, obviously, normally, wood
would not survive and yet,
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00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:48,720
'thanks to the anaerobic conditions
deep in the mud, where there
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00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,080
'is no oxygen -
these tree trunks don't rot.'
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00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:54,400
There's just tree trunks
holding all this up.
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00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:58,320
The exterior walls of
Venice's palazzos
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00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:02,760
are supported by thousands of
tightly packed wooden piles thrust
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00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,440
into the mud of the lagoon to
shore up the city's precious land.
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00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:10,840
It's an ingenious piece of
engineering that's kept the city
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00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,480
afloat for hundreds of years.
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00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,800
But Venice is under attack
by rising sea levels.
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00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:23,200
And the 30,000 boats rushing around
Venice every day
235
00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,200
are making the problem worse.
236
00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:30,400
The wash and the underwater waves
from their propellers are destroying
237
00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,000
the canal walls and exposing
the ancient tree trunks.
238
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,880
They very quickly start to rot,
putting Venice in greater danger.
239
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:50,640
I'm leaving Michael to peel off
the neoprene to go and meet other
240
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:54,440
inhabitants of the lagoon, and
a genuine Venetian contessa.
241
00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:00,200
Happily, Enrica Rocca is also
one of Italy's favourite chefs.
242
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,640
Bite into the head and
eat the tail.
243
00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,520
'We meet in an area known as Rialto,
in one of Venice's oldest markets.'
244
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,360
We're going to buy a couple a few
ingredients and then we'll go to my
245
00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:13,400
house and we'll cook a few things.
Fantastic. So, Xander,
246
00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,840
you're going to have not only a food
lesson, but you're also going to see
247
00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,880
how food relates to history,
to the history of the Serenissima.
248
00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,120
Fantastic, to justify it,
there we are.
249
00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,040
Brilliant, history through food.
250
00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,360
Can we do history through booze
as well, I wonder?
251
00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,640
Yes, of course. Oh! Come on,
we're going to have lots of booze.
252
00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:37,000
Allora, Damiano. Mi da piacere
mezzo chilo di vongole.
253
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,680
Si. So, we're going to
get some vongole,
254
00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:42,240
We're going to make you a nice pasta
with clams.
255
00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:43,960
With the vongole of the lagoon.
256
00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,560
Wonderful. OK. And the vongole
come from the lagoon?
257
00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:51,960
From the lagoon. The lagoon was
the first source of food
258
00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:54,800
for Venice.
259
00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:58,480
Andiamo! You lead on.
260
00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:05,080
Here we go, welcome to my home.
261
00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,120
I feel like I've broken something!
262
00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,080
This is my piece of craziness.
263
00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:13,760
May I introduce you to Morella?
Nice to meet you. Piacere.
264
00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,840
And Aldo. Piacere.
265
00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,640
Piacere. Cheers. Cheers.
266
00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:22,360
So, here we have sardines. Yeah.
267
00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:26,840
We're going to make it taste
a little bit of the sea.
268
00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:32,320
And you just put some egg,
breadcrumbs, deep fry it.
269
00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,320
This is local, this is straight out
of the Adriatic. Yeah.
270
00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:40,360
Straight out of the frying pan,
more importantly. Mm-hm.
271
00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:44,600
That's delicious. Don't worry,
there's more coming. Yum, yum, yum!
272
00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:48,120
'By the 13th century,
273
00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:52,200
'Venetian merchants were exploring
far beyond the lagoon.
274
00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:54,560
'They returned with fabulous tales
275
00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:57,040
'and even more fabulous
things to eat.'
276
00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:01,600
The most famous was Marco Polo,
who explored as far as China.
277
00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,120
Go, on the table, very strong, go.
278
00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:06,920
No. More, stronger, stronger!
279
00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,880
That's it. Now you've opened it.
280
00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:12,160
So, we started off with
our lovely sardines,
281
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,160
which are very much locally sourced.
282
00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:18,920
We have now moved into things that
have been inspired by stuff from far
283
00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:23,520
afield. Spaghetti, which we think of
as just, couldn't be more Italian,
284
00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:25,440
doesn't really originate from Italy.
285
00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,880
Pasta comes from Marco Polo,
from the east, from China.
286
00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:33,240
Risotto, which we think of as
quintessentially Italian also...
287
00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,520
Doesn't originate...
..doesn't originate in Italy.
288
00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,320
What's happening here?
289
00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:42,000
Basically, we have influences coming
from everywhere, that transform
290
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,160
themselves in what is today...
291
00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:46,720
Venetian tradition.
292
00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:48,520
But that I think is the key thing,
isn't it?
293
00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:50,320
You made it your own.
294
00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:52,480
You've, sort of, appropriated
things...
295
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:57,240
Yes, absolutely. And turned them
into heartfelt Venetian dishes.
296
00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:01,800
Absolutely. We were the biggest
traders and marketers in the world.
297
00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:03,800
Phew.
298
00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,480
Smell. Mm. Because this
comes from the east.
299
00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:15,640
'Venice grew rich by cornering the
European market in exotic foods and
300
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:17,920
'spices from Asia.'
301
00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,040
It's gloriously salty.
302
00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,480
Exactly. Delicious black pepper
as well.
303
00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:26,920
At the time of the foundation of
civilisations
304
00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,600
was salt, pepper, saffron, spices.
305
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,920
So, all these things, it turns out,
have come from as well.
306
00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,720
They're not really Italian at all,
but they've been brought here,
307
00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,680
they've been appropriated,
like so many other things.
308
00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,120
And this is the great thing,
the chutzpah of the Venetians,
309
00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:46,960
they've been hallmarked as
quintessentially Venetian,
310
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:48,480
quintessentially Italian.
311
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,120
And that's how they've been sold
to the rest of the world.
312
00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:53,400
Just brilliant.
And delicious.
313
00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:11,640
After last night's gastronomic
history lesson,
314
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,760
Michael is taking me to explore
the city's canals.
315
00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,200
I'm starting to see how everything
in medieval Venice
316
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,120
was geared towards buying,
selling and making money.
317
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,920
'As Venice's
international trade expanded,
318
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:32,440
'the commercial area of Rialto
became more and more important.
319
00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,480
'It's connected to the political
centre, San Marco,
320
00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,680
'by one of Venice's
most visited landmarks.'
321
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:45,200
We're coming to the oldest bridge
across the Grand Canal, at Rialto.
322
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,800
So, this is something like this
sixth Rialto Bridge, which,
323
00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:52,440
they nailed it in the 16th century.
324
00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,680
Yeah, baby. With this extraordinary
structure,
325
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,440
which the people at the time didn't
believe could possibly work,
326
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,240
because it has no central support.
327
00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,960
This was the genius invention of
somebody called,
328
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:04,600
if you can believe it,
329
00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,760
Antonio di Ponte,
Antonio the Bridge Man.
330
00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,360
He was Antonio Smith before
he built this, I imagine, wasn't he?
331
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,320
The brilliance of
da Ponte's engineering
332
00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,560
is completely hidden from view.
333
00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:22,360
The elegant arch directs all the
weight of the bridge onto massive
334
00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:25,280
stone foundations on either side of
the canal.
335
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,280
And buried beneath them, more of
those preserved tree trunks,
336
00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:32,520
6,000 of them under each bank.
337
00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,480
The design is strong enough to
support the weight of an entire
338
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:42,960
street of shops.
339
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,040
Those wily merchants wasted
no opportunity to make money.
340
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,720
The scanning team is right behind us
on the Grand Canal.
341
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,560
To create a perfect digital
reproduction of this watery city,
342
00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:01,280
the team has enlisted Federico,
a local scanning specialist.
343
00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,200
Our scanner is quite static,
you know,
344
00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,880
if you knock the tripod,
you ruin the scan.
345
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,760
Here we are on a boat.
346
00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,840
How does that work, how are you
getting straight data and not wibbly
347
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:16,040
wobbly data? Yeah, we have
two informations,
348
00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:19,760
one with the GNSS position,
the global position,
349
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:24,640
plus, inside of the system we have
a gyroscope and accelerometer
350
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,360
and we know exactly
what is the position
351
00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:29,520
and the angle of the equipment.
352
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,080
The specially adapted scanner
is going to work its magic
353
00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:37,040
along the entire length
of the Grand Canal.
354
00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:40,560
The data will form the backbone of
our 3D model of the city.
355
00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,040
This waterway has been bringing the
riches of the world flooding into
356
00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,560
the markets of Rialto since
Venice's earliest days.
357
00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:53,240
So, coming to Rialto today,
358
00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,120
being surrounded by people from
all over the world,
359
00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:59,000
it's just like Venice
would have been in its heyday.
360
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,120
From the 10th-11th centuries,
361
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:04,680
Venice is getting trade concessions
with the East.
362
00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,800
By the 12th and 13th centuries,
363
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:08,880
it is the major power
trading with the East.
364
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,600
And from these, can I just
quickly ask, what's coming in?
365
00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,080
Luxury things, silks, spices?
366
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,920
Absolutely. But everything
from humdrum wheat
367
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,760
and food supplies to gems,
to dyes, to silks, to fabrics.
368
00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:23,880
They talked about the way
merchandise in this period
369
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,080
was flowing into Venice
like water from a fountain.
370
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:31,480
I mean, it's just this continual
rush of people and things.
371
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,800
This was the first place
you could write a cheque,
372
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,480
as a result of the needs of
all the people trading.
373
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:38,320
Of course, of course.
374
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,720
There's something in the blood,
there's something in the water,
375
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,560
that makes these people
incredible innovators,
376
00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,760
incredible entrepreneurs,
incredible businessmen.
377
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:03,120
The 3D scan of the Grand Canal shows
how prosperous merchants packed
378
00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,480
their grand palazzos and warehouses
along every inch of the waterway.
379
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,120
The shadowy outlines of boats
rushing past our scanners
380
00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:17,360
are ghostly reminders of
centuries of commerce
381
00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:20,480
that flowed along Venice's
trading superhighway.
382
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,400
Michael's taking me
down a side canal,
383
00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,040
to a place that was home to
a group of immigrants
384
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,760
vital to Venice's
commercial success.
385
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:42,480
What we are looking for here
is a doorway...
386
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,520
..to another world.
387
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,000
Which is here.
388
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:50,600
Here it is. Aha.
389
00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,560
What we've walked into
is the ghetto,
390
00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:55,080
the Jewish ghetto of Venice,
391
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,360
the first ghetto in the world.
392
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,520
'In the 16th century,
Jews suffered widespread
393
00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:03,360
'persecution across Europe.
394
00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:05,680
'Venice was relatively tolerant.
395
00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:07,800
'Jews were allowed to settle here,
396
00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:10,160
'but they still faced
severe restrictions.'
397
00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:17,160
From 1516 onwards, the Venetians
demanded that if you were Jewish,
398
00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,840
you had to live in
the Jewish ghetto.
399
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:26,000
As a word, it gained negative
reputation, but it didn't begin like
400
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,720
that. Before it was used
as a ghetto,
401
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,600
it was the area of foundries,
smiths.
402
00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,520
And the word in Venetian
for that is "gheto."
403
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:38,720
Gheto? Gheto. Jews were prohibited
from marrying Christians
404
00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,120
and could only work in
a few designated trades -
405
00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:46,320
services the city most needed,
like medicine and moneylending.
406
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,080
In the Middle Ages, Christians were
forbidden to charge interest.
407
00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:53,800
So, the Jews came in very useful.
408
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:58,120
The Venetians borrowed their money,
but many also resented them for it.
409
00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:02,000
The ghetto was a way to appease
Christian mistrust.
410
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,680
The doors were locked at night and
guarded by Christian soldiers,
411
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:07,720
so they were... Contained?
412
00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:10,240
Contained. Yeah,
but on the other hand,
413
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,800
they're highly valued members
of Venetian society.
414
00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:15,560
They're moneylenders.
415
00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,480
They were absolutely fundamental
to making Venice work
416
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,080
as such a rich environment.
417
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:29,720
This tiny enclave was soon
home to around 3,000 Jews,
418
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,480
arriving from all over the world.
419
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,520
'Professor Shaul Bassi is going to
show me one of their synagogues.
420
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,440
'They're hidden away behind plain
exteriors at the top of the ghetto's
421
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,080
'overcrowded blocks.'
422
00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:53,880
It's incredible. Welcome to
the German Synagogue,
423
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:55,520
the Schola Tedescha.
424
00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,200
The German Synagogue.
425
00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:01,400
This is probably 1528 or 29,
so 12 years into the existence
426
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:02,880
of the ghetto.
427
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:07,160
The oldest and also the sign that
the Jews at that point felt stable
428
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:09,000
enough to create a place of worship.
429
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,280
This was where they were going to
stay? Yes.
430
00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,960
Shaul became fascinated by the
history of the ghetto while studying
431
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,160
Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice
and its Jewish villain,
432
00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,360
the moneylender Shylock.
433
00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:23,880
This would have been
Shylock's synagogue.
434
00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:27,720
Since moneylending was
a prerogative of the German Jews,
435
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:31,280
if Shylock had been real person,
436
00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,000
he would have probably
prayed in this place.
437
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,400
In this synagogue. Yeah.
438
00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,360
The Jews weren't allowed to be
architects or builders,
439
00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:44,040
so they had to employ Christians
to construct their synagogues.
440
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:47,280
And they weren't allowed to buy
land, so they had to carve them out
441
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,880
of the existing buildings.
442
00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,400
All the buildings in the ghetto were
not the palazzos of the aristocrats,
443
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:56,840
they were actually poor housing
that was made available
444
00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:58,440
to the first Jews.
445
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,680
And then later, when the community
was probably more prosperous,
446
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:07,680
they added all the gilding and this
wonderful elliptical women's gallery
447
00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:13,280
that is a kind of imitation of
a typical Venetian theatre. Mm.
448
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,520
So, again, one can think of the
ghetto as a place of separation,
449
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:20,000
but can also very much think of it
as a place of encounter,
450
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:21,520
dialogue and exchange.
451
00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:26,600
The scanners are stitching together
data from teams across the city to
452
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,640
create their colossal 3D model.
453
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:31,960
I'm off to see their
work in progress.
454
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,520
Oh, Matt, time for
a few more treats.
455
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,840
What have you got for me today? OK.
OK, so, here we are in Venice.
456
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:44,880
We're going to start today
with the Ghetto Nuovo.
457
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:51,040
We have the canals bounding
this area on all sides. Mm.
458
00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:52,800
And as a result of that,
459
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,280
the buildings in here are
incredibly tall. Look at that, yeah.
460
00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,480
They've ended up creating their
synagogues in these really quite
461
00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:04,840
unique, quite...quite hidden away
and quite strange places.
462
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:06,760
And the upper floors.
463
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:11,800
Nestled in between facades,
in these strange shapes.
464
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:15,160
Extraordinary, isn't it?
So, we have the German one here.
465
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,760
And, actually, let's take you back
to street level here.
466
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,960
Up the passageway here, there is
another interior lurking.
467
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:25,880
This is the Levantine Synagogue.
468
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,800
The Levantines got a rather more
foursquare space to deal with.
469
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,400
They did, but it's still, you know,
quite a traditional apartment plot,
470
00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:37,120
really. Complete with,
at the rear here,
471
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:42,080
just this little garden space.
Yeah. It feels very domestic.
472
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:45,960
Let's pop you inside. You know,
we just have this normal front door,
473
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,560
bit of a staircase...
Yeah. And then, suddenly,
474
00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,440
we're inside this incredible
chandeliered space.
475
00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:56,240
Oh, but it's beautiful, though.
476
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,400
It's an extraordinary privilege,
isn't it, with this technology,
477
00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,920
to be able to go in? I mean, we look
from the street level and you see
478
00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:06,640
these tenements,
people rammed into this tiny area
479
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,520
that they were allowed.
And yet,
480
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,080
here are the special spaces where
they were allowed to be themselves.
481
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,440
And these rooms of extraordinary
opulence. Mm-hm.
482
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,200
Yeah, these little jewels,
kind of hidden behind the facade,
483
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:22,760
not given any dominance
from outside. Yeah.
484
00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,160
Suddenly, there's this one space
where they can, like you say,
485
00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,520
be themselves and celebrate.
486
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:32,840
This is an enormously valuable tool
for just so many reasons.
487
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,600
We're building up this incredibly
extensive map of the city,
488
00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:40,800
inside and out, from the water, from
the streets, from inside buildings.
489
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:45,040
And we're handing that over to
a team of international researchers
490
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,680
and it's helping inform
their knowledge of
491
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:49,200
the history of the city,
492
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:51,320
but also helping them
plan for the future.
493
00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:55,720
Since medieval times,
494
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:59,560
Venice has absorbed the influences
of a fabulous melting pot of
495
00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:01,680
cultures from all over the world.
496
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,240
When Charles Dickens
saw Venice, he said,
497
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,280
"Opium could not have fashioned
such a place." And he's right,
498
00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:12,320
it does have this otherworldly,
hallucinatory quality.
499
00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:15,440
But I'm getting a picture of
something much more determined,
500
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:20,400
much more driven, a sense of a city
pushed onwards, constantly,
501
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:22,280
by its entrepreneurial spirit.
502
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,800
The merchants shaped the politics of
the Venetian Republic.
503
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,760
The head of state
was known as the Doge.
504
00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:40,440
His formal residence on
St Mark's Square
505
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,840
was built during
Venice's golden age.
506
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,600
It was begun in the 14th century
507
00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,240
and completed over
the next 200 years.
508
00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:53,440
This is the grand staircase of
entrance to the Doge's Palace,
509
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:59,360
and the smell of power
is reeking in the air.
510
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,280
It is just extraordinary.
511
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,480
I mean, one doesn't really know
where to look.
512
00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,640
Every tiny part of it
is so exquisite.
513
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:11,520
So, as you walk up this grand,
monumental staircase,
514
00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:18,040
you're greeted by Poseidon, god of
the sea, and by Aries, god of war.
515
00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:20,480
And then as you head through
the portico,
516
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,800
you walk under the lion of
St Mark of Venice, the winged lion.
517
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:27,120
The message you're being given
is unmistakable.
518
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,640
It's clear, isn't it? But this is
a palace not really for a king,
519
00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:32,080
the Doge wasn't really a king,
520
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,040
because Venice had
a very complex system
521
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:38,880
in which no-one person was
trusted with absolute power.
522
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:41,400
And it's more than a palace,
it's the government building,
523
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:43,120
it's the military HQ.
524
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:50,040
Our scans uncover the labyrinthine
internal structure of the palace.
525
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:54,000
It reflects the Venetian Republic's
complex political structure that
526
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:55,760
evolved over the centuries.
527
00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:01,480
This is the room where Venetian
leaders gathered to elect the Doge.
528
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,560
He would then hold the position
for life.
529
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:07,640
Then there are grand halls,
for overlapping
530
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,280
and competing bureaucracies,
diluting his power.
531
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:13,440
There's the Senate,
532
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:15,880
the College,
533
00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:17,440
the Council of Ten.
534
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:24,800
The members of these bodies and the
Doge himself were all drawn from the
535
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:26,560
most important assembly of all.
536
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:30,680
So, welcome, Xander,
537
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:35,160
to the chamber of the Great Council
of the Venetian Republic.
538
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:38,640
This is just astonishing.
539
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:42,240
53 metres long and 25 metres wide,
540
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,400
it is the largest room
in the Doge's Palace.
541
00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:48,560
This is Venice.
542
00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:51,040
This is the scale and magnificence
543
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,800
and the beauty with which Venice
does things.
544
00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:07,320
You can tell where the big cheese is
sitting. Yeah.
545
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:09,240
The Doge is right there.
546
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:13,120
Now, who would be occupying this
space?
547
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:16,840
The Great Council. Now that is
members of every patrician
548
00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:20,080
and aristocratic family in Venice
over the age of 25.
549
00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,120
So, we're talking
a large number of people,
550
00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:26,440
somewhere between
1,200 and 2,000 people.
551
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:30,960
And these guys see themselves as the
absolute bedrock of the Venetian
552
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:34,640
Republic. Right. It's their job to
look after the laws,
553
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:38,960
make sure stuff stays on track,
not allow him, the Doge,
554
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:40,520
to get away with too much.
555
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,160
I was just thinking as you were
saying that,
556
00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,600
the guy sitting in a throne up there
their isn't really sitting that
557
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,360
comfortably. Look along
the top line around the walls.
558
00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:55,160
These are portraits of
the first 76 Doges,
559
00:33:55,160 --> 00:34:00,600
but if he ever over there in his
seat got a little bit lippy,
560
00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:02,720
see this guy here?
561
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,000
The black curtain.
562
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,880
The Doge who tried
563
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,200
to take too much power.
564
00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:13,520
In ancient Rome. we would call this
"damnatio memoriae,"
565
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:15,920
you're dammed from memory,
you're obliterated.
566
00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,400
But in a way that preserves
the memory forever.
567
00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:21,320
So, that is in
the corner of the eye.
568
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:25,280
Absolutely. You know, the Doge is
the chief magistrate of the Republic
569
00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:28,040
of Venice, but it's not
a hereditary position.
570
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:29,440
It's not like a kingship.
571
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:32,640
It's worth remembering, they can't
meet the foreign ambassador on their
572
00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:34,120
own, they have to be shepherded.
573
00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:39,880
There is a very strict chain,
if you like, kept on the Doge.
574
00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,680
It's a very unusual
and unstable position.
575
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:53,280
'The Venetian system the government
seems absurdly complex,
576
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,200
'as if designed to obscure
where the real power lay.'
577
00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:03,120
But every aristocrat in this room
was also a merchant and so whether
578
00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:05,160
making laws for fighting wars,
579
00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:09,120
the Venetians' priority was to
protect and increase their wealth.
580
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:23,360
'Venice conquered territory as far
away as Cyprus and the Crimea and
581
00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:24,920
'defended her trade routes -
582
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,240
'from the Black Sea to Gibraltar
and beyond.
583
00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:33,800
The secret of her naval success was
hidden in a city within the city,
584
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:36,800
behind 4km of eight
metre-high walls -
585
00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:38,600
the Arsenale.
586
00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:49,560
This enormous shipyard is still
a navy base to this day.
587
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,120
By the beginning of
the 16th century,
588
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:04,680
they'd built a fleet of over
3,000 ships.
589
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,840
The English navy, under the first
Tudor king,
590
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:11,880
Henry VII, had just five.
591
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:18,240
This is where Venice becomes
a global superpower.
592
00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:20,520
This is how
they protect their trade.
593
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:22,880
This is how they keep
dominion at sea.
594
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:28,880
The Venetians invented the world's
first production line here.
595
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:30,960
There were over 100 separate areas
596
00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:34,480
to produce all the different
components needed to make a ship.
597
00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:40,080
Expert craftsmen churned out
anchors, ropes, oars and masts,
598
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:41,600
all in standard sizes.
599
00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,960
Once the hull of a ship was
watertight, they floated it around
600
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,920
the complex and added the parts
straight out of the factory.
601
00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:56,320
This was industrial production
on a scale not seen anywhere else
602
00:36:56,320 --> 00:37:00,120
in the world for another 500 years.
603
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:04,160
At its height, 16,000 people
lived and worked here
604
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,840
and the Arsenale area
took up one tenth of Venice.
605
00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:17,360
And just absolutely extraordinary
to think how far ahead they were.
606
00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:21,160
Three ships a day
are being turned out here.
607
00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:22,920
I mean...
608
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:26,880
It's just mind-boggling.
609
00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:37,560
The Venetians celebrate their
mastery of the sea every year on the
610
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:41,000
Feast of the Ascension,
Festa della Sensa.
611
00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:52,360
It dates back to 1177, where
the Pope gave the Doge a ring,
612
00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:57,240
a ring that was to symbolise the
wedding between Venice and the sea
613
00:37:57,240 --> 00:37:59,400
and as part of the
Festa della Sensa,
614
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:04,400
they would go to the lagoon entrance
and throw that ring into the sea.
615
00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:06,800
Now, lots of people get married
in Venice,
616
00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:09,800
George and Amal Clooney
most recently in 2014,
617
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:14,120
but I bet none of them had the sort
of wedding ceremony that is intended
618
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,000
here at the Festa della Sensa,
619
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,560
because this is not
a marriage of equals.
620
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:23,440
The sea and the dominions that
Venice control had no option to say
621
00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:27,960
yes or no. This was a marriage
in which the wife, the sea,
622
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:30,760
was to obey her husband, Venice.
623
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:41,560
This festival is now passing Italy's
modern naval military college.
624
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:45,520
And there they are, saluting.
625
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:48,120
Italy's modern naval power,
626
00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:53,280
saluting the symbol of Venice's
ancient maritime supremacy.
627
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:00,440
The city's religious leader,
the Patriarch,
628
00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:03,400
would bless the wedding ring and
give it to the Doge.
629
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:08,560
Today, the mayor of Venice
takes the Doge's place.
630
00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:14,800
HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
631
00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:24,480
CHEERING
632
00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:26,640
HORNS BLARE
633
00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:33,840
While Michael's enjoying
the Venetian wedding party,
634
00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:37,520
he's sending me on a mystery tour
two miles across the lagoon.
635
00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:46,320
We've come to this island here.
636
00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:50,000
It has the appearance of a sort of
penal colony with these high barred
637
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,200
windows and...
638
00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:59,600
I'm going to say not very
decorative structures on it.
639
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:03,720
But I guess all will be revealed
to me when we dock.
640
00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:06,400
I'm not quite sure
where we are docking.
641
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:09,000
Hi!
642
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:16,120
Ciao! Ciao.
643
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:18,080
Welcome to the Island
of Black Death.
644
00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:19,520
Right, we're off, OK.
645
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:22,000
Back, back, back.
I'm joking, I'm joking.
646
00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:27,160
The Island of Black Death. Well,
listen, that explains everything.
647
00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:28,720
Yeah, please.
648
00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:31,280
Alexander, very nice to meet you.
Martino Rizzi.
649
00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:34,200
Ciao, how do you do?
650
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:36,800
Goodness me.
651
00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:40,120
All those ships bringing exotic
luxuries from the East
652
00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:43,600
were also carrying rats and with
them exotic diseases,
653
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:45,360
like the plague.
654
00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:49,560
Victims would suffer painful
swelling and bleeding.
655
00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:54,840
Their bodies started decomposing
before they were even dead.
656
00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:58,000
In one outbreak, over half the
population of the city
657
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,240
was wiped out.
658
00:41:00,240 --> 00:41:03,360
The Venetians came up with
a radical solution.
659
00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:06,760
From 1361 until 1528,
660
00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:11,560
we registered 22 different
outbreaks. 22.
661
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:17,120
And that's why, after a while, they
decided to make the first isolation
662
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:18,880
hospital in history.
663
00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:23,400
Created in 1423 by the Republic of
Venice.
664
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:27,040
And they chose this little island,
it's very small.
665
00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:33,560
Anyone showing symptoms of the
plaque was immediately removed
666
00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:35,880
from the city
and rowed out to this island.
667
00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:43,360
Even today, this feels like a
desolate place.
668
00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:46,360
Very few Venetians
set foot on the island.
669
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:49,000
You soon notice there aren't even
any birds singing.
670
00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:57,040
'Doctor Rizzi and his team have been
excavating graves and restoring
671
00:41:57,040 --> 00:42:00,360
'buildings here for over 15 years.'
672
00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:03,680
There was obviously no cure for it
but did some people survive,
673
00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:05,560
or was it...? Very, very few.
674
00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:08,640
Believe me, we walk on mass graves.
675
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:10,880
WHISPERS: Oh, Lord.
676
00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:14,360
During their work, the
archaeologists found over 1,000
677
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:17,960
crates of human bones under
one collapsed wall alone.
678
00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:24,880
Please, take a look inside.
679
00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:28,240
How effective was it
in controlling the plague?
680
00:42:28,240 --> 00:42:29,840
Very.
681
00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:37,040
Here, in the island,
682
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:41,080
the people arriving could get
two things that were very important.
683
00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:42,400
The last rites.
684
00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:44,600
Right, so there were priests here?
685
00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:50,960
Yes. And the second thing was
basic food, basic assistance.
686
00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:53,960
Right. Almost no medicines. Yeah.
687
00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:59,280
God, it goes on and on.
Please, yes, on and on.
688
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:01,920
It's just... Hall after hall.
689
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:06,320
And by night, it's not the happiest
place to visit.
690
00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:07,920
I can easily believe that.
691
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:10,000
How many people do you think
died here?
692
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,600
It's impossible to know.
693
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:14,880
Tens of thousands, minimum.
694
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:16,920
This was a hell on earth.
A hell is exactly it.
695
00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:21,480
That's exactly it. This is the image
I have of this island.
696
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:23,840
From here, you can see
how big it is.
697
00:43:23,840 --> 00:43:26,160
Really, you can get lost.
698
00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:28,320
Look how big.
699
00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:31,000
Oh, my Lord. Oh, my Lord!
700
00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:52,200
It's just overwhelming
to think of the sheer number
701
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:55,560
of untold tragic stories that
702
00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:59,920
must have worked out
their sorry ends here.
703
00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:04,320
But tempting though it is to wallow
in the tragedy of it,
704
00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:06,880
there's also something brilliant
about this.
705
00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:11,160
Yes, it was vile to bring people
over here,
706
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:15,640
but it contained the plague
and it must have saved
707
00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:18,280
further hundreds of thousands
of lives.
708
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:24,400
Half a century later,
709
00:44:24,400 --> 00:44:27,840
Venice took the idea of isolation
one stage further.
710
00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:31,680
Michael's exploring an island
four miles away,
711
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:33,920
by the entrance to the lagoon.
712
00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:41,320
From 1468, all ships arriving in
Venice were required to stay here
713
00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:44,640
for 40 days
before entering the city.
714
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:49,760
Our word quarantine comes from the
Venetian practice of making their
715
00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:53,000
traders stay on this island
for 40 days.
716
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:55,240
"Quaranta," that's our quarantine.
717
00:44:56,680 --> 00:45:00,280
The incoming goods were also
unloaded off the ships into this
718
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:04,400
massive warehouse
in the centre of the island.
719
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:07,040
Here, they were disinfected
with vinegar,
720
00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:09,120
boiling water and smoking herbs.
721
00:45:11,520 --> 00:45:15,280
This building was built and paid for
by the Venetian state,
722
00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:18,480
because if Venice
couldn't keep its trade going,
723
00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:23,800
if Venice couldn't ensure that
this artery continued to flow,
724
00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:26,720
Venice itself was dead.
725
00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:31,160
The Venetians conquered
the Black Death,
726
00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:33,720
but they couldn't fight
the tide of history.
727
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:39,960
In the Elizabethan age,
new competition from English,
728
00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:41,880
Dutch and Spanish traders,
729
00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:45,360
piracy and wars with the Turks
all started to cut into the Venetian
730
00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:47,400
merchants' bottom line.
731
00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:56,800
But the Venetians still had
one thing left to sell.
732
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,240
The city itself.
733
00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:07,480
Venice's wealth had paid for
the world's greatest architects,
734
00:46:07,480 --> 00:46:10,120
painters and musicians.
735
00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:15,480
For the super-rich, this was now
an essential place to see in the
736
00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:18,640
aristocratic gap year
known as the Grand Tour.
737
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:28,880
Tony Perrottet has written about the
seedier side of the Grand Tour.
738
00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:32,560
So, Tony, you look around and you
see that Venice is just a massive
739
00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:36,080
tourist trap. They have cruise ships
the size of small market towns
740
00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:39,520
arriving, but I suppose 250 years
ago with the Grand Tour,
741
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:41,920
it was similar even then.
Absolutely,
742
00:46:41,920 --> 00:46:44,680
it was a great tourist destination
in the 18th century,
743
00:46:44,680 --> 00:46:46,720
but people came for a different
reason.
744
00:46:46,720 --> 00:46:48,840
It was the sin city of Europe.
Really?
745
00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:52,000
So, sex, gambling, sensuality.
746
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:53,800
The city was devoted to
erotic pleasure.
747
00:46:53,800 --> 00:46:57,040
There were beautiful casinos
all over the city.
748
00:46:57,040 --> 00:47:02,000
The Florian here was once
one of the great sights for
749
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:05,200
the romantically inclined, because
women were allowed to be served,
750
00:47:05,200 --> 00:47:07,040
which was quite unique
in Venice at this time.
751
00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:08,600
And there was a brothel upstairs.
752
00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:10,320
No! Here? Yeah.
753
00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:13,120
They keep that quiet.
Now it's very glamorous.
754
00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:15,240
Look at it with its posh
string quartet playing.
755
00:47:15,240 --> 00:47:17,320
Very straight. Butter wouldn't melt.
756
00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:19,040
It's a facade.
757
00:47:19,040 --> 00:47:21,640
There's other places in Venice
that are even more
758
00:47:21,640 --> 00:47:23,960
appealing these days.
We can go and have a look at one.
759
00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:26,000
Excellent!
760
00:47:26,000 --> 00:47:30,400
Tony is an expert on one of Venice's
most notorious playboys,
761
00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:32,320
Giacomo Casanova.
762
00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:37,680
Casanova was a writer, musician,
all-round intellectual,
763
00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:39,640
and a notorious gambler.
764
00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:42,960
But he's become best known for
his exploits in the bedroom.
765
00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:47,480
I hope this isn't going to get me
into trouble at home.
766
00:47:48,600 --> 00:47:51,840
And here we are, this is
one of the original casinos,
767
00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:55,040
that Casanova would have visited,
for sure.
768
00:47:55,040 --> 00:47:57,680
This is it. So, this is
an 18th century...?
769
00:47:57,680 --> 00:48:00,200
Yeah.
..Venetian Casino.
770
00:48:00,200 --> 00:48:04,080
This is exciting. Yeah, one of the
great gambling houses of Europe.
771
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:07,800
Wow, think how many fortunes were
made and lost in here through these
772
00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:10,920
doors. Look at this.
773
00:48:10,920 --> 00:48:14,680
A real sense of luxury and
decadence.
774
00:48:14,680 --> 00:48:17,240
It would have been filled with
gambling tables here.
775
00:48:17,240 --> 00:48:19,440
Beautiful. It's terribly elegant,
isn't it?
776
00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:23,520
Everything was exquisite, beautiful
food going by, great wines.
777
00:48:23,520 --> 00:48:26,360
Gorgeous women, of course.
I see, yes.
778
00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:29,120
And certainly quite a lot of,
779
00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:31,680
quite a lot of dalliance
going on in here as well.
780
00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:35,880
Yes. Venice had around 100,000
people in the late 18th century,
781
00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:38,200
of whom 12,000 were prostitutes,
782
00:48:38,200 --> 00:48:42,960
which is 12% of the entire
population. Extraordinary.
783
00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:45,480
Now the Venetian courtesans were
very famous, weren't they?
784
00:48:45,480 --> 00:48:48,840
Oh, yeah. It was legendary, because
they were extremely well educated,
785
00:48:48,840 --> 00:48:51,960
they could speak many managers,
play musical instruments.
786
00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:55,080
The courtesans used always
extraordinary fashion tricks,
787
00:48:55,080 --> 00:48:57,960
they would soak their hair in
urine,
788
00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:00,760
which would give it a sort of
reddish golden glow.
789
00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:04,520
They would put raw veal on their
cheeks to improve the complexion.
790
00:49:04,520 --> 00:49:07,960
And they would dress fantastically
with these beautiful plunging
791
00:49:07,960 --> 00:49:12,280
bodices and these quite amazing
platform shoes.
792
00:49:12,280 --> 00:49:14,680
What size shoe are you?
Want going to try one on?
793
00:49:14,680 --> 00:49:16,240
Yeah, absolutely.
794
00:49:16,240 --> 00:49:19,400
I mean, if these fit,
I'll be walking out in these,
795
00:49:19,400 --> 00:49:23,000
I should think.
They're more like a circus outfits.
796
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:25,320
They have something of the circus
about them.
797
00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:28,480
There we go, I think you're fitting
into these.
798
00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:29,760
These become me.
799
00:49:29,760 --> 00:49:31,560
Oh, look, and on, there we go.
800
00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:34,000
We've got a strap there,
maybe back here. Oh!
801
00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:37,160
Very fetching. It looks suspiciously
like I've been wearing these before,
802
00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:39,640
doesn't it, Tony?
803
00:49:39,640 --> 00:49:42,000
It's almost too beautiful.
804
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:44,320
I can hardly tear my eyes away.
805
00:49:46,880 --> 00:49:49,600
Doing a great job there.
You might have to give me...
806
00:49:49,600 --> 00:49:51,200
Oh, no, I need no help at all.
807
00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:54,920
There we go. Look at that. Now if
you could just imagine yourself
808
00:49:54,920 --> 00:49:56,840
as a ravishing Venetian...
809
00:49:56,840 --> 00:49:59,160
What do you mean, "imagine myself,"
thank you very much.
810
00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:00,920
This is...
811
00:50:00,920 --> 00:50:03,760
Wahey, whoa! Wahey, there we go.
812
00:50:03,760 --> 00:50:05,560
There we go. I think that's...
813
00:50:06,600 --> 00:50:08,800
..enough of this folie de grandeur.
814
00:50:10,280 --> 00:50:12,760
I love my ankles as they are.
815
00:50:12,760 --> 00:50:17,080
Casanova had over 100 casinos to
choose from in the city.
816
00:50:17,080 --> 00:50:20,560
But he would have to be
on the guest list.
817
00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:24,400
Hey, Xander, hey,
Alexander, let me in!
818
00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:26,600
Ah, Tony, how are you?
819
00:50:27,560 --> 00:50:30,360
So, as you can see
it was just like a speakeasy.
820
00:50:30,360 --> 00:50:33,320
If there was a bang on the door,
you could come in and you could look
821
00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:36,520
down and see who was there.
If it was someone, if it was the
822
00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:39,920
police, someone you didn't want to
see, someone's husband,
823
00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:42,880
there was a secret exit out the
back. So, you could see who was down
824
00:50:42,880 --> 00:50:46,480
here and just get out of there if
you needed to avoid them.
825
00:50:46,480 --> 00:50:48,880
Not today, thank you.
Not today.
826
00:50:55,240 --> 00:50:58,680
18th-century Venice wasn't all
debauchery and decadence.
827
00:51:02,360 --> 00:51:06,400
In 1755, Casanova's life of pleasure
caught up with him.
828
00:51:08,040 --> 00:51:10,720
He was arrested and
with no reason given,
829
00:51:10,720 --> 00:51:14,040
he was marched off to a room
high in the Doge's Palace,
830
00:51:14,040 --> 00:51:17,000
the torture chamber of
the Three Inquisitors.
831
00:51:19,760 --> 00:51:24,520
Like Casanova, I'm still not sure
what I've done to deserve this.
832
00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:30,320
So, Casanova was led up here
into the torture chamber,
833
00:51:30,320 --> 00:51:35,480
which is the most terrifying and
legendary place in the whole palace.
834
00:51:35,480 --> 00:51:37,960
The three inquisitors were there
and this was their
835
00:51:37,960 --> 00:51:42,040
favourite thing of the Venetian
Inquisition, "the strappado,"
836
00:51:42,040 --> 00:51:44,520
also known as, "la corda."
Just, "the rope."
837
00:51:44,520 --> 00:51:46,440
The strappado,
so how would that work?
838
00:51:46,440 --> 00:51:48,080
That in effect, that's...
Very simple.
839
00:51:48,080 --> 00:51:51,200
Yeah, you would have your arms
tied behind your back. Yes.
840
00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:53,560
And then... Facing the inquisitors.
841
00:51:53,560 --> 00:51:56,760
Someone would actually pull it up,
so you would be taken up fairly high
842
00:51:56,760 --> 00:51:59,040
and then dropped to
just above the ground.
843
00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:01,680
So, your arms would be like
wrenched up and it would often
844
00:52:01,680 --> 00:52:05,240
dislocate your shoulders. I bet.
So, screams would echo
845
00:52:05,240 --> 00:52:08,120
through the prison. And the other
prisoners were in cells up here.
846
00:52:08,120 --> 00:52:10,960
I was just wondering, so you've got
barred windows there and there are
847
00:52:10,960 --> 00:52:13,960
windows right by it. So, I would be
strung up that high, would I?
848
00:52:13,960 --> 00:52:16,480
Yeah. So, I would be screaming
in their windows.
849
00:52:16,480 --> 00:52:19,600
Casanova when he comes up, he's so
terrified he goes to the bathroom
850
00:52:19,600 --> 00:52:22,080
every 15 minutes, he records.
He's so scared.
851
00:52:22,080 --> 00:52:24,880
He still doesn't know
exactly what's going on.
852
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:26,760
Of course,
his main crime was hitting
853
00:52:26,760 --> 00:52:28,480
on the Inquisitor's girlfriend.
854
00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:32,520
I think that was a pretty serious
black mark against him.
855
00:52:32,520 --> 00:52:36,840
This is the secret state,
police state reality
856
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:38,560
of what Venice can and will do.
857
00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:40,760
And we're still in the
Doge's Palace, I mean,
858
00:52:40,760 --> 00:52:42,800
this is what I can't
get my head around.
859
00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:45,800
Venetian society by the 18th-century
was sort of rotting from the inside.
860
00:52:45,800 --> 00:52:48,600
It was all falling to bits. And
there's all this sense of secrecy,
861
00:52:48,600 --> 00:52:51,480
there's people observing you,
spies everywhere.
862
00:52:52,480 --> 00:52:55,440
Casanova was locked up
in a squalid cell,
863
00:52:55,440 --> 00:52:57,760
squeezed under the roof
just above us.
864
00:53:03,360 --> 00:53:06,600
After 15 months he made
a daring breakout.
865
00:53:07,680 --> 00:53:12,040
Accompanied by a fellow prisoner,
he dug his way out onto the roof.
866
00:53:13,600 --> 00:53:17,520
He climbed back into the palace
through a dormer window.
867
00:53:17,520 --> 00:53:21,880
He then snuck down through the maze
of rooms and corridors and walked
868
00:53:21,880 --> 00:53:26,000
brazenly out by the front door.
869
00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:30,120
Casanova and his accomplice were the
only two prisoners ever to escape
870
00:53:30,120 --> 00:53:31,760
from the palace prison.
871
00:53:34,760 --> 00:53:39,480
'The scanning team has combined
173 separate scans to build a
872
00:53:39,480 --> 00:53:43,600
'three-dimensional digital model
of the Doge's Palace.
873
00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:46,680
'Matt is going to take me on
a virtual reality tour.'
874
00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:49,560
So, Xander, with the help of
our headsets here,
875
00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:54,480
we are into Venice in a way that you
will never have seen it before. OK.
876
00:53:57,080 --> 00:54:00,440
Oh, look at that.
877
00:54:00,440 --> 00:54:02,640
Wow. Here we are in
St Mark's Square.
878
00:54:04,280 --> 00:54:08,560
There is a kind of me-sized
St Mark's Tower,
879
00:54:08,560 --> 00:54:11,040
just stood between
the two of us there.
880
00:54:11,040 --> 00:54:12,520
There we go.
881
00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:14,520
So, you're parading around like a
giant.
882
00:54:14,520 --> 00:54:17,720
Shall we take another layer of zoom
and get inside? Oh, yes, let's.
883
00:54:18,800 --> 00:54:20,520
Oh, wow!
884
00:54:20,520 --> 00:54:23,520
I know this room only too well.
885
00:54:23,520 --> 00:54:26,920
Yeah, so having seen this kind of
remove perspective
886
00:54:26,920 --> 00:54:30,160
of doll's-house world,
we are now back in one-to-one.
887
00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:33,560
Absolute real dimension.
888
00:54:33,560 --> 00:54:37,120
We're in this terrifying
torture chamber,
889
00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:41,280
but if you crouch down now and if
you just look through the floor
890
00:54:41,280 --> 00:54:46,000
here, we're actually just hovering
inches above another room.
891
00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:48,560
So, let's actually drift down now
through the floor level now
892
00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:51,720
and check out the slightly more...
It's slightly weird, isn't it?
893
00:54:51,720 --> 00:54:54,400
Whoa! We we're going up.
894
00:54:54,400 --> 00:54:57,280
There we go. Down we go. OK.
895
00:54:57,280 --> 00:54:58,840
Wow. Out of body experience,
896
00:54:58,840 --> 00:55:01,520
disappearing down as the floor
comes crashing up to us.
897
00:55:01,520 --> 00:55:03,440
And I think that's about perfect.
898
00:55:04,440 --> 00:55:08,040
And up above there is that painting.
899
00:55:08,040 --> 00:55:12,600
There it is. Looking on the one hand
angelic, but actually we get this
900
00:55:12,600 --> 00:55:15,680
privileged view, we see through,
transparently,
901
00:55:15,680 --> 00:55:18,520
into that hall of torture
directly above us.
902
00:55:21,760 --> 00:55:25,680
The virtual tour reveals how the
torture chamber is connected to a
903
00:55:25,680 --> 00:55:30,280
network of rooms and cells specially
created for the secret police,
904
00:55:30,280 --> 00:55:33,080
the interrogators and their
secret archives.
905
00:55:35,200 --> 00:55:37,080
From the early 1600s,
906
00:55:37,080 --> 00:55:41,080
the Bridge of Sighs joined the
palace to an additional prison.
907
00:55:41,080 --> 00:55:44,320
Its tiny windows gave captives
their last view
908
00:55:44,320 --> 00:55:45,880
of the outside world.
909
00:55:47,800 --> 00:55:50,520
'As Venice's power
in the world declined,
910
00:55:50,520 --> 00:55:53,000
'the state's paranoia increased.
911
00:55:54,640 --> 00:55:57,320
'Finally, Venice found herself
caught between
912
00:55:57,320 --> 00:56:02,400
'Napoleon's conquering armies
and the rising Austrian Empire.
913
00:56:02,400 --> 00:56:09,000
'In 1797, the last of the republic's
120 doges surrendered to the French.
914
00:56:10,280 --> 00:56:13,920
'The Lion of St Mark was toppled
from its column.
915
00:56:13,920 --> 00:56:16,800
'Venice lost her independence
forever.'
916
00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:26,560
Thankfully, the wonders created by
a millennium of Venetian ingenuity
917
00:56:26,560 --> 00:56:28,320
have survived.
918
00:56:29,360 --> 00:56:34,920
We've combined over 400 scans to
complete our monumental 3D model.
919
00:56:39,920 --> 00:56:44,240
It reveals the city's invisible
secrets in all their glory.
920
00:56:45,840 --> 00:56:48,200
The Grand Canal.
921
00:56:48,200 --> 00:56:50,480
The synagogues hidden in the ghetto.
922
00:56:53,760 --> 00:56:55,960
The might of the Arsenale.
923
00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:02,680
And the hidden network of power
and terror in the Doge's Palace.
924
00:57:10,040 --> 00:57:13,960
Venice, La Serenissima,
preserved forever.
925
00:57:22,800 --> 00:57:25,720
There's not a bit of Venice
that isn't beautiful.
926
00:57:25,720 --> 00:57:29,080
It's not possible to be here and
not at least be cheered by the
927
00:57:29,080 --> 00:57:33,280
combination of the sparkling
sunlight on the water,
928
00:57:33,280 --> 00:57:35,920
the grandeur of the vistas.
929
00:57:35,920 --> 00:57:39,600
Venice is just enormous fun.
930
00:57:39,600 --> 00:57:42,520
You know, just everything
happening on water.
931
00:57:42,520 --> 00:57:45,240
It's bonkers. It's absolutely
bonkers. But enormous fun.
932
00:57:45,240 --> 00:57:48,600
I mean, our very sense of the
romantic and romanticism,
933
00:57:48,600 --> 00:57:50,920
born not least
out of half the places
934
00:57:50,920 --> 00:57:53,240
and buildings from this very town.
935
00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:55,520
I think Venice is
absolutely perfect.
936
00:57:55,520 --> 00:57:59,160
Cheers. Yeah, cheers. To Venice.
To Venice. Venezia. Venezia.
937
00:58:02,280 --> 00:58:05,040
Next time, Florence.
938
00:58:05,040 --> 00:58:06,880
I mean, my word.
939
00:58:06,880 --> 00:58:10,520
A beautiful Renaissance city
forged on rivalry.
940
00:58:11,760 --> 00:58:15,600
Oh, that was a kick to the face!
941
00:58:15,600 --> 00:58:19,320
This was Florence bursting out.
942
00:58:20,520 --> 00:58:23,960
If you'd like to explore Venice
in 3D yourself,
943
00:58:23,960 --> 00:58:29,040
go to bbc.co.uk/invisibleitaly
and follow the link.
81527
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