Venice – Casanova’s Favorite Hangouts

Be the flame, not the moth

Giacomo Casanova

Casanova, the greatest lover the world has ever known. He knew a thing or two about attraction: about the heady power of seduction.

For Casanova, there was no greater seducer than La Serenissima herself – the magnificent, incomparable, Venice. She was forever his ‘flame’ and despite condemnations, incarceration and hedonistic sojourns abroad, he remained forever the drunken moth, drawn to her irresistible light.

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We get it. Long before George and Amal tied the knot in a splashy Venetian affair that lasted an entire weekend, we got married on a misty May morning on the Grand Canal (mentioned in the post “A Love Affair with Italy”).

And most years since, we return to Venice to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

This year, we returned for a very special celebration – our 10th wedding anniversary.

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What can I say? Venice has seduced us too.

The Poste Veci is one of Venice’s oldest restaurants. It means ‘old post office’ and that’s exactly what it was before it started turning out some of the city’s finest seafood dishes some 400 years ago.

Hidden on the outskirts of Rialto’s fish market, you have to cross a tiny, romantic bridge to reach the entrance. Prepare to be enchanted when you step through the door. The chaos of the market gives way to hushed voices, dimly lit, intimate rooms and flickering candlelight – the perfect place for a romantic rendezvous. 

No surprise then, Casanova was a familiar face here. It’s said he would meet his countless lovers in one of the discreet dining rooms before heading out for an evening of sensual pleasures.

I wonder if he ever sat at our regular table? Every anniversary dinner we’ve had here, we book the same table in what I call the ‘fireplace’ room. It oozes old world charm. Cozy enough to accommodate only eight or so tables, the walls are lined with old letters and painted with images of the seven deadly sins. I’m sure they’ve been witness to at least one of the sins on the list: gluttony. It would be easy to over indulge on the delicious items on the menu.

Not that I ever have – at least not on the food. But I do confess that I can never end a meal there without an oversize tumbler of sgroppino. My description of this delectable drink is ‘a frothy glass of lemon heaven’. The official version describes it as a drink made from lemon sorbet, vodka and prosecco whipped into a light-as-a-feather, melt-in-your mouth glass of perfection. Okay, the official version is very much like mine but you get the point. It’s delicious!!

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The name sgroppino roughly translates in the Venetian dialect to ‘untie’ as it’s meant to relax the stomach after a large meal.

I can verify it did relax the bride. At our wedding reception in the garden room of the Poste Vecie, my nervous wedding-day stomach couldn’t tolerate any of the wonderful food being served but I did manage to down at least three sgroppino.

And as small glasses were being served to our guests between courses, the women kept looking over at me and saying, “What is this? It’s incredible.” Sadly, it remains Venice’s centuries-old secret. You won’t find it anywhere else in Italy.

So when in Venice, have a sgroppino.

I have also been extravagantly fond of good food and irresistibly drawn by anything which could excite curiosity

Giacomo Casanova

You gotta love this man. He was all about exploring life through the five senses: tasting, touching, smelling, feeling, and hearing all that he could to live life to the fullest: To absorb it all. Take note of how he describes the act of kissing:

To kiss: an attempt to absorb the essence of the other person

Giacomo Casanova

An attempt to absorb the essence of the other person. Beautiful. No matter how sad and lonely his later years were, there’s much we can learn from Casanova’s gusto for life. For starters, we should try kissing more.

As for Casanova, when he wasn’t kissing one of his fair ladies, chances are you could find him at his favorite bar, the Cantina di Mori.

This is one of Venice’s oldest bacaro, the traditional wine bars of the island. Back in the middle ages, there were 20 or so of these bars around the Rialto area. The Cantina di Mori was founded in 1462 and to this day, maintains its original, authentic interior.

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Casanova was a regular here. I can imagine when he needed to refuel his depleted energy and prepare for another amorous evening, he might have sat at one of the bar stools and ordered some cicchetti.

Similar to Spanish tapas, cicchetti are small snacks or side dishes made up of tiny sandwiches filled with fish, eggs or artichokes; plates of olives; and seafood or meat laid over bread or polenta.

Cicchetti are often served with a small glass of local white wine, which the locals refer to as an ombra (shadow). If you want to walk and talk like a Venetian, try the phrase, “Let’s go to drink a shadow” or as the Venetians say, “Andémo béver un’ombra”.

Casanova might have favoured the Cantina di Mori for another more practical reason. This ancient bar has a unique feature: it has two main doors opening on to two separate streets – perfect for a quick escape if one finds themselves face-to-face with a jealous husband.

The Rialto was most definitely Casanova’s playground. He ate, drank, gambled and loved in this famous area of Venice. But when he wanted a coffee, he headed to San Marco, home of the iconic Caffe Florian. Opened in 1720 under the original name “Alla Venezia Trionfante” or ‘Triumphant Venice’, it quickly adopted the name of its owner Floriano Francesconi, or ‘Florian’.

Casanova was in good company. From dignitaries to poets, no visit to Venice was complete without a stop at Florian’s.

Today, the Florian remains the hot-spot for people watching in Piazza San Marco.

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For the price of a year’s college tuition, you can have a steaming cappuccino and a cornetto (croissant). Seriously though, you need a fat wallet to frequent this historical landmark.

We have to give a ‘thumbs-up’ to Casanova’s choice of hangouts for food and drink. But we have another to add to the list, one of our favourites.

Tucked away at the end of a narrow alley labyrinth in Cannereggio, is the very atmospheric, Taverna Al Remer. Carved into the ground floor of a 12^th century Palazzo, Remer’s stonewalls and ancient beams recall a Venice of centuries past.

The private courtyard leads to an intimate pier, perfect for sitting with a glass of wine and watching the setting sun reflected on the Rialto Bridge.

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I wonder if Casanova ever walked hand-in-hand with one of his lovers to this very pier? Did he look in her eyes? Did he kiss her in an attempt to absorb the essence of her?

Ah, Venice, you have seduced us all.

Nobody can deprive me of the fact that I had a good time

Giacomo Casanova

A presto

Anna

Take at a look at the Resource section for more information on great spots for cicchetti in Venice