Imagine walking across the temporary bridge to the Church of the Salute on 21 Nov ? An  important event for Venetians in the winter months. Rather like the Redentore in July this is a celebration of the ending of the plague. Venice in winter holds a magical quality. Both quiet and slightly mysterious. I feel you can claim  to know this city if you have walked the calles in the mist

Snow fell and Venice was more magical than ever. Found the angel with hedgehogs. Sottoportico dell' Angelo in Castello, minutes away from Piccola Perla  apartment. The Venetians 'aquired' the angel from Anatolia in Eastern Turkey. The family Rizzo placed on the archway above the entrance to a sotoportego, along with the reliefs on either side of porcupines or hedgehogs, which was the insignia of this family. When Napoleon conquered the Venetian Republic and began taking art away, many Venetians began hiding their valuables, and the Rizzo family bricked up their angel. Then the family left or forgot, and the hedgehogs weren’t unearthed until recently. In 1999 they were restored on the sotoportego by World Heritage on Calle Magno off Campo Pozzi.


Added photos to Piccola Perla website.