Pretentious Venice

Cycle of tours PAPHOS VENICE • LUXURY AT THE TABLE…is part of my tour THE VICULTURE OF VENETIAN REFINEMENT.

…In patrician Venice, dining rooms were decorated with fragrant plants, silk ribbons and animal figurines, tubs of water in which exotic fish swam.

Gold and silver vases, cups and utensils were displayed in huge cabinets, arousing the envy of foreign nobility, because the use of gold and silver vessels was widespread in Venice.

The tables featured silver fountains, gold spoons, knives with blackened handles decorated with figurines, coats of arms, and friezes, exquisite majolica, and elegant porcelain. Even toothpicks were made of gold, and forks had been used since the 15th century—precisely what foreigners considered "vicious Venetian sophistication."

The butler explored a thousand fantasies to imagine the dishes: monuments made of baked goods and confectionery, castles, columns, marzipan figurines, huge salads with cedars and roots, castles made of lemons, white peacocks and black eagles, covered and decorated with feathers.

Such splendor, however, was observed only on ceremonial occasions, although the daily habits of the rich patricians were also abundant and extravagant.

The food of the common people was modest, but always plentiful.

I will also tell you about many interesting traditions and features of the daily life of the Venetians, as they have continued to this day.