An enchanting corner of Venice: an outdoor sculpture dear to the Venetians

Location of the street

One of the first streets to be paved in Venice is the “salizada San Lio”. This main street is cut by parallel roads and one of those is called “Calle del Paradiso”. It is located in the district of Castello, not far away from the famous Rialto bridge. (see map above) but there are several others that bear the same name.

Calle del Paradiso

The origin of the name Paradise is unknown and there are different theories among which the most accredited one is that during many celebrations but especially on Good Friday it was decorated in a festive way with splendid illuminations. The ornaments were hanged on the wooden eaves, the so-called “barbacani” .

The buildings flanking its two sides, 26 houses in total, are a set of minor Gothic architecture and an example of township houses.

At the end of the street there is a pointed arch from the 1400s, which is worth seeing as it tells you an interesting story.

The front of the arch

On its front side you see the representation of Mary of Mercy with a wide-opened mantle protecting two people kneeling on each side of her cloak. They have been identified by their coat of arms represented on each side of the arch as Pellegrina Foscari Michiel and Alvise Mocenigo della Zogia, who got married in 1491. As their names remember, they belonged to two of the most powerful Venetian noble families.

Pellegrina Foscari lived in this street in the Palazzo you can see on the left of the canal. She brought her palace in dowry to her husband, who was able to buy the whole set of houses along the street.

Alvise Mocenigo was a merchant, but he also covered various political roles within the republic.

The back of the arch

On the backside of the arch there is the same reproduction of Mary, who is protecting either the donor or a kneeling devotee, who has not been identified yet.

Despite the arch was restored in the 1990s, unfortunately subsidence caused by natural processes or by human activities, its due to time and appearance appears to be extremely inclined.

Venetian pastry- stores : the meaning of the word “scaleter”

On some inscriptions on the walls in Venice, you read the word “scaleter”. It means there were pastry- stores in the neighborhood.

In the local dialect the word “scaleter” meant pastry chef and it came from the cakes that looked like waffles (scalete). They were imprinted with marks like steps on a ladder and were made with bread, butter and sugar.

The “scalete”

It took a number of years to become a pastry chef: four years of apprenticeship and 6 years of work at the same pastry-store. He had to prove his skills by taking a tough exam, which would allow him to start his own business. The last step required to be in good standing was to join the guild.

The guild of the “scaleteri” was born in 1493, and its members met in different churches but especially at San Fantin. ( the church facing the Teatro la Fenice).

At the beginning of the 1600 hundred the pastry-shops were counted in the number of 42 out of which 38 were in the hands of the Swiss. They started working as peddlers and then little by little they had the monopoly of this business.

In 1766 the Swiss community was expelled from the city because of the stipulation of a treaty between the Grisons and Austrians in favor of Milan and to the detriment of the Serenissima.

This event put an end to their dominance in this business.

A wide range of pastry

In any case Venice did not count and does not count a particular dessert like many other Italian cities and regions. Due to its maritime traditions, it favored small and dry dishes in the kitchen, which lasted much longer, did not perish and were nutritious.

In Venice, you can find in any pastry-shop, even the simplest a wide range of pastry, cakes and biscuits.

Dolci dei morti o fave dei morti: All Saints’ cakes

Discover the reason why Santa Maria della Consolazione church, better well-known as Chiesa della Fava ( in Castello district, close to the Rialto bridge) is famous for all Saints’ cakes.

Detail of Santa Maria della Fava in the 1500

The church of Santa Maria della Fava was built very close to the water and next to the bridge as you can see from the picture above. It can be identified by its tympanum typical of churches built in the 1500s.

Santa Maria della Fava was reconstructed in the 1700s. This is how it looks like today. This church was originally built to host an icon representing Mary that a pastry chef used to keep on the façade of his building located not far away from it.

Sweets for the dead

This man prepared the sweets of the dead on All Saints' Day.

Legumes

The fave were originally legumes which the noblemen did not like for their taste, so they were transformed into sweets. They were given as gifts by priests to the poor and to the gondoliers, who ferried them for free. It is still customary to prepare them on the day when the deceased are commemorated. Those sweets are the size of a walnut and their shape is crushed, made of almond paste and pine nuts. They are white, pink or brown, depending on whether they are flavored with maraschino, rose water or cocoa. The three colors symbolize the cycle of life: the white ones, vanilla-based, symbolize birth; the pink ones life and the brown ones death.

In the 1600s they were distributed at the end of a nobleman’s funeral, a tradition that ended one hundred years after.

Today you can just find them in the pastry stores from the end of October to the beginning of November.