0:00:02 > 0:00:04Italy. I just love this country.
0:00:04 > 0:00:11The people, the places, a history that reaches back over 2,500 years.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13From the birth of the Roman Empire,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15through the glories of the Middle Ages,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18to the flowering of the Renaissance,
0:00:18 > 0:00:20its achievements are just breathtaking.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24But behind its glorious facades,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28so much of that invention and creativity still remains invisible.
0:00:28 > 0:00:29Look at that.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33I'm exploring three of my favourite Italian cities to discover how their
0:00:33 > 0:00:37hidden treasures played their part in the making of Italy,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39and of Western civilisation.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I'll be working with historian Dr Michael Scott
0:00:42 > 0:00:46to uncover the invisible layers of Italy's past in Venice,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49in Florence and in Naples.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52You've got Nero murdering his mum...
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Using the latest 3D scanning technology,
0:00:55 > 0:00:59we'll reveal the secrets of how these cities made Italy
0:00:59 > 0:01:02a powerhouse of the Western world.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05This time, I'm exploring the hidden secrets of one of the world's most
0:01:05 > 0:01:08remarkable cities - Venice.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14Our scans will strip back the layers of history to reveal how Venice's
0:01:14 > 0:01:18beauty once masked a ruthless secret state
0:01:18 > 0:01:20and a world of excess and vice.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22The city was devoted to erotic pleasure.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Wahey, whoa, wahey, there we go!
0:01:25 > 0:01:29We'll see how the Venetians battled the plague...
0:01:29 > 0:01:31Welcome to the island of the Black Death.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33Right, we're off, OK, back, back, back.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37..how they build their city around money-making...
0:01:37 > 0:01:40We were the biggest traders and marketers in the world.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46..to create one of Europe's mightiest empires.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50The smell of power is reeking in the air.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55And for the first time, we'll use virtual reality.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00And see how the Venetians turned a muddy swamp...
0:02:00 > 0:02:02I'm sinking, you can see that.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05..into this watery wonderland.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24The second leg of our journey through invisible Italy begins at
0:02:24 > 0:02:26the airport taxi rank.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30- Benvenuto a Venezia!- Grazie! - How are you doing? You all right?
0:02:30 > 0:02:32- Look at this beautiful boat. - Welcome, shall we take that?
0:02:32 > 0:02:37'My expert guide, Dr Michael Scott, is travelling in style.'
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- How do you do?- Come on in, welcome aboard.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44It's a hell of a way to arrive, isn't it?
0:02:44 > 0:02:46This is the way to arrive in Venice.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55There it is, there it is, the most famous cityscape in the world.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Certainly one of the most unique places in the world.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Absolutely. I mean, unless we've got some sort of sub-aqua kit,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03what are we going to be looking at here?
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Well, we're certainly going to be going underwater,
0:03:05 > 0:03:06but we're going to be also, crucially...
0:03:06 > 0:03:09I'm just going to stop you right there. We're going underwater,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13- are we?- Oh, we're going underwater, yeah.- OK.- You know. But we're going
0:03:13 > 0:03:16to be exploring what it is that makes Venice possible.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23Venice is built in 210 square miles of shallow lagoon.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Most of its 118 islands are just inches above sea level.
0:03:29 > 0:03:30To get us started,
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Michael's going to show me what this corner of north-east Italy looked
0:03:34 > 0:03:36like when the first Venetians came here.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40We're just two miles from the centre of the city.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44You have your feet on the origins of Venice.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46This is Venice, this mud,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48this is what Venice really stands on.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Crab, big crab.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55- We're in a lagoon.- Yes.- Protected by a big sand bar and to sea.
0:03:55 > 0:04:01But 80% of it is this stuff - the salt marshes that are either just
0:04:01 > 0:04:03- above...- I'm sinking, you can see that.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07I am sinking. And I weigh marginally less than a city.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13The first Venetians were Romans, who started building here in the fifth
0:04:13 > 0:04:17century AD, when the empire was in a state of collapse.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19This strikes me
0:04:19 > 0:04:23as a crazy place to build anything, let alone a city.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- You have to be pretty desperate... - You do.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29..to want to make it here. That is due to huge invasions that
0:04:29 > 0:04:32are coming in from people like the Visigoths,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35people like Attila the Hun,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38are coming in and sweeping through the northern Mediterranean.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41And so, in northern Italy, people are looking for somewhere safe.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47This muddy marshland inspired the Venetians to develop new engineering
0:04:47 > 0:04:52skills. They created one of the finest cities on earth,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55that would inspire poets from Byron to Shakespeare.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59I don't think you arrive anywhere else in the world with this much
0:04:59 > 0:05:04drama all around you. Byron called Venice the paragon of landfalls,
0:05:04 > 0:05:05and he's absolutely right.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09There's so much drama, histrionic level of drama,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12as if a, sort of, mad genius has come up with the idea.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16'By the ninth century,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18'while Alfred the Great was fighting off the Vikings in England,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22'Venice was emerging as a new power in the Mediterranean.'
0:05:24 > 0:05:28The communities living in the lagoon had joined together to form the Most
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Serene Republic of Venice - La Serenissima.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42CHURCH BELLS CHIME
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Michael has me up at dawn to avoid the crowds.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58We are off to the most famous place in Venice, the Piazza San Marco.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02What you see before you is only possible because of a whole set of
0:06:02 > 0:06:05invisible magic tricks.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07And we're going to have to employ some of our own magic tricks
0:06:07 > 0:06:11to make sense of this place. We're going to have to use our scanning
0:06:11 > 0:06:15team to the utmost to be able to produce some really good scans
0:06:15 > 0:06:18linking together the places that we're going to be looking at
0:06:18 > 0:06:19in some detail.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24'Scanning this aquatic city is going to be one of our team's most
0:06:24 > 0:06:27'difficult jobs yet, but it means they get to play
0:06:27 > 0:06:29'with a whole bunch of new kit.'
0:06:30 > 0:06:33We've definitely got quite an ambitious amount of scanning that is
0:06:33 > 0:06:36happening here in Venice. We've got our mobile mapping team, who are
0:06:36 > 0:06:38hoping to capture the whole of the Grand Canal.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40We've got our underwater team,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42and then we've got the terrestrial scanning
0:06:42 > 0:06:45that we're doing for some of the squares and churches that pepper
0:06:45 > 0:06:47their way across Venice.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51So, all of these should hopefully kind of come together as, you know,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53a monumental map of Venice.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Michael's taking me up to see his favourite view of the
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Basilica di San Marco...
0:07:01 > 0:07:02Ah, here we are.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05..the cathedral at the heart of Venice.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Goodness me.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20I'm tempted to say, "It's a mess!"
0:07:20 > 0:07:24I mean, it's beautiful, of course it's beautiful, very striking.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27But, if somebody built something like that today,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29they wouldn't really get away with it.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33They've certainly gone to, sort of, maximise every square inch.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38The Venetians first built a basilica here in the year 829,
0:07:38 > 0:07:40to house the bones of the gospel writer Mark.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Two Venetian merchants stole his body from Alexandria
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and brought him home to be their patron saint.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53And poor old Saint Mark wasn't the only thing the Venetians pinched.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58The ninth century is when Venice is really starting to come together as
0:07:58 > 0:08:02a city. And it's getting, sort of, a sense of itself
0:08:02 > 0:08:04and it wants all the trappings.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09And then in the 11th century, this magnum opus is consecrated.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11But then, they add to it over the years.
0:08:11 > 0:08:17- So, when Venice is, kind of, really in full flood of...- Mm.- Well,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20frankly, grabbing staff, they come and slap it on St Mark's.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23The horses that dominate the centrepiece,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26they're nabbed from Constantinople.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28All these columns that you see along the front,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32they're all kind of Oriental columns from the east that they brought back
0:08:32 > 0:08:35from different parts of the world.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40Every bit of this building screams the fact that Venice went elsewhere,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42grabbed stuff and brought it back to Venice.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47And displays it proudly, this is looting as proof of dominion.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51There's stolen booty all around Venice,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55from its conquests in Greece, Croatia and Cyprus.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Even the symbol of St Mark, the bronze Lion of Venice,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04was originally an ancient winged god taken from eastern Turkey.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10'Everywhere you look in this city reminds you just how powerful
0:09:10 > 0:09:12'and wealthy Venice became in her heyday.'
0:09:16 > 0:09:21Our first scans capture the smallest details of the loot on St Mark's,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25and build out from there to the grandeur of the Piazza and beyond.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30The scanners are going to create a giant 3D model
0:09:30 > 0:09:31of the heart of Venice.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34They'll build it onto the existing digital map.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39When complete, this will be an accurate snapshot of this slowly
0:09:39 > 0:09:41disintegrating city.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43An invaluable tool for archaeologists,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45engineers and conservators.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51And it'll help us reveal the invisible secrets of Venice.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59While the scanners get on with their epic assignment,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01I'm off to meet Michael.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04He's going to show me how the Venetians managed to build their
0:10:04 > 0:10:06city in this muddy marsh.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10He is with a team of underwater archaeologists
0:10:10 > 0:10:12and restorers repairing a section of canal wall.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Sadly, I'm not qualified to dive,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19so the intrepid professor will be slipping into neoprene
0:10:19 > 0:10:20for both of us.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- Michael.- Ah, good morning. - Good morning. Shall I hop on?
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Come on board, come on board, welcome.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30What are you doing down here? OK.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33So, the newest member of our presenting team is here.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36What is this, Blue Peter? So, you'll be going down to the bottom of the
0:10:36 > 0:10:39canal, basically, just to look at the bed, see what's there.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41And you're examining foundations, are you?
0:10:41 > 0:10:43We're going to be looking at some foundations.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45What's all this, "we"? You keep saying "we".
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Well, "we", because of the wonders of modern technology.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- Yes.- You, too, are going to be able to share in what I see down there.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52I'm so pleased to hear that, the "we" has been worrying me.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56- Not in the water...- Well, the "wee" could still be worrying you.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58We are going to take some precautions.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02So, we are going to be spraying medicated olive oil.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Oh, the last defence against the superbug, good.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09I have to admit to having been in Venetian canals once or twice
0:11:09 > 0:11:11before, sort of, in my youth.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Byron used to swim the Grand Canal every morning before breakfast.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17- And look what happened to him. - Yes, died aged 36 of a fever.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19So, yeah, there we are.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Listen, good luck. I shall be right here, I shall be gunning for you.
0:11:22 > 0:11:23Thank you.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Well, I can tell you, I've never been more grateful that I've not
0:11:33 > 0:11:35done a scuba diving course,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38which means I'm exempt from going down into the canal.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40I am looking forward to this, though.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43I'm intrigued to see what Michael's going to find down there.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Michael, just checking you can hear me.
0:11:51 > 0:11:52- RADIO:- 'I can hear you.
0:11:52 > 0:11:59'I have to say, Xander, visibility is not currently fantastic.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03'You, literally, cannot see a thing.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07'It's incredibly disorientating.'
0:12:11 > 0:12:15The team has timed Michael's dive at the turning of the tide.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17As the water starts to rush out of the lagoon,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19it takes some of the silt with it.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29'We're starting to get a little bit of clarity now down here,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31'which is really exciting.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34So, I'm pressed up just against the canal wall,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38'the deep stone foundations under the building.'
0:12:44 > 0:12:46As the water clears,
0:12:46 > 0:12:53it reveals the invisible foundations of the Venetians' amphibious city.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57'What we're looking at here is there's some exposed tops
0:12:57 > 0:12:59'of tree trunks.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03'These ones here are in fantastic condition.
0:13:03 > 0:13:09'It's hard to believe this is wood that is hundreds of years old.'
0:13:09 > 0:13:11I can see them, I can see them.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13A bit of sediment now, but I got a clear glimpse
0:13:13 > 0:13:14just about five seconds ago.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19'The early Venetians took massive wooden trunks between one and a
0:13:19 > 0:13:23'half, two to three metres long,
0:13:23 > 0:13:28'and they pounded them into the mud along the boundaries of the area
0:13:28 > 0:13:30'they wanted to build on.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35'Now that secured the mud and gave
0:13:35 > 0:13:38'them the beginnings of a strong foundation.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42'But, obviously, normally, wood would not survive and yet,
0:13:42 > 0:13:48'thanks to the anaerobic conditions deep in the mud, where there
0:13:48 > 0:13:52'is no oxygen - these tree trunks don't rot.'
0:13:52 > 0:13:54There's just tree trunks holding all this up.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58The exterior walls of Venice's palazzos
0:13:58 > 0:14:02are supported by thousands of tightly packed wooden piles thrust
0:14:02 > 0:14:06into the mud of the lagoon to shore up the city's precious land.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10It's an ingenious piece of engineering that's kept the city
0:14:10 > 0:14:12afloat for hundreds of years.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19But Venice is under attack by rising sea levels.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23And the 30,000 boats rushing around Venice every day
0:14:23 > 0:14:25are making the problem worse.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30The wash and the underwater waves from their propellers are destroying
0:14:30 > 0:14:34the canal walls and exposing the ancient tree trunks.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39They very quickly start to rot, putting Venice in greater danger.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50I'm leaving Michael to peel off the neoprene to go and meet other
0:14:50 > 0:14:54inhabitants of the lagoon, and a genuine Venetian contessa.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Happily, Enrica Rocca is also one of Italy's favourite chefs.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02Bite into the head and eat the tail.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07'We meet in an area known as Rialto, in one of Venice's oldest markets.'
0:15:07 > 0:15:10We're going to buy a couple a few ingredients and then we'll go to my
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- house and we'll cook a few things. - Fantastic.- So, Xander,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16you're going to have not only a food lesson, but you're also going to see
0:15:16 > 0:15:20how food relates to history, to the history of the Serenissima.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Fantastic, to justify it, there we are.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Brilliant, history through food.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Can we do history through booze as well, I wonder?
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- Yes, of course.- Oh!- Come on, we're going to have lots of booze.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37Allora, Damiano. Mi da piacere mezzo chilo di vongole.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39- Si.- So, we're going to get some vongole,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42We're going to make you a nice pasta with clams.
0:15:42 > 0:15:43With the vongole of the lagoon.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46- Wonderful.- OK.- And the vongole come from the lagoon?
0:15:46 > 0:15:51From the lagoon. The lagoon was the first source of food
0:15:51 > 0:15:54for Venice.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- Andiamo!- You lead on.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Here we go, welcome to my home.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09I feel like I've broken something!
0:16:09 > 0:16:11This is my piece of craziness.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13- May I introduce you to Morella? - Nice to meet you.- Piacere.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16- And Aldo.- Piacere.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- Piacere.- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22- So, here we have sardines.- Yeah.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26We're going to make it taste a little bit of the sea.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32And you just put some egg, breadcrumbs, deep fry it.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- This is local, this is straight out of the Adriatic.- Yeah.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- Straight out of the frying pan, more importantly.- Mm-hm.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- That's delicious.- Don't worry, there's more coming.- Yum, yum, yum!
0:16:46 > 0:16:48'By the 13th century,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52'Venetian merchants were exploring far beyond the lagoon.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54'They returned with fabulous tales
0:16:54 > 0:16:57'and even more fabulous things to eat.'
0:16:57 > 0:17:01The most famous was Marco Polo, who explored as far as China.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Go, on the table, very strong, go.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- No.- More, stronger, stronger!
0:17:06 > 0:17:09That's it. Now you've opened it.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12So, we started off with our lovely sardines,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14which are very much locally sourced.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18We have now moved into things that have been inspired by stuff from far
0:17:18 > 0:17:23afield. Spaghetti, which we think of as just, couldn't be more Italian,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25doesn't really originate from Italy.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Pasta comes from Marco Polo, from the east, from China.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Risotto, which we think of as quintessentially Italian also...
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- Doesn't originate... - ..doesn't originate in Italy.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37What's happening here?
0:17:37 > 0:17:42Basically, we have influences coming from everywhere, that transform
0:17:42 > 0:17:45themselves in what is today...
0:17:45 > 0:17:46Venetian tradition.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48But that I think is the key thing, isn't it?
0:17:48 > 0:17:50You made it your own.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52You've, sort of, appropriated things...
0:17:52 > 0:17:57- Yes, absolutely.- And turned them into heartfelt Venetian dishes.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Absolutely. We were the biggest traders and marketers in the world.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Phew.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- Smell.- Mm.- Because this comes from the east.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15'Venice grew rich by cornering the European market in exotic foods and
0:18:15 > 0:18:17'spices from Asia.'
0:18:17 > 0:18:20It's gloriously salty.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22- Exactly.- Delicious black pepper as well.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26At the time of the foundation of civilisations
0:18:26 > 0:18:30was salt, pepper, saffron, spices.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34So, all these things, it turns out, have come from as well.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37They're not really Italian at all, but they've been brought here,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40they've been appropriated, like so many other things.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And this is the great thing, the chutzpah of the Venetians,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46they've been hallmarked as quintessentially Venetian,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48quintessentially Italian.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51And that's how they've been sold to the rest of the world.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Just brilliant. And delicious.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11After last night's gastronomic history lesson,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Michael is taking me to explore the city's canals.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19I'm starting to see how everything in medieval Venice
0:19:19 > 0:19:23was geared towards buying, selling and making money.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27'As Venice's international trade expanded,
0:19:27 > 0:19:32'the commercial area of Rialto became more and more important.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35'It's connected to the political centre, San Marco,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38'by one of Venice's most visited landmarks.'
0:19:38 > 0:19:45We're coming to the oldest bridge across the Grand Canal, at Rialto.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49So, this is something like this sixth Rialto Bridge, which,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52they nailed it in the 16th century.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54- Yeah, baby.- With this extraordinary structure,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57which the people at the time didn't believe could possibly work,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59because it has no central support.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02This was the genius invention of somebody called,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04if you can believe it,
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Antonio di Ponte, Antonio the Bridge Man.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11He was Antonio Smith before he built this, I imagine, wasn't he?
0:20:13 > 0:20:16The brilliance of da Ponte's engineering
0:20:16 > 0:20:18is completely hidden from view.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22The elegant arch directs all the weight of the bridge onto massive
0:20:22 > 0:20:25stone foundations on either side of the canal.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30And buried beneath them, more of those preserved tree trunks,
0:20:30 > 0:20:326,000 of them under each bank.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40The design is strong enough to support the weight of an entire
0:20:40 > 0:20:42street of shops.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Those wily merchants wasted no opportunity to make money.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52The scanning team is right behind us on the Grand Canal.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56To create a perfect digital reproduction of this watery city,
0:20:56 > 0:21:01the team has enlisted Federico, a local scanning specialist.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Our scanner is quite static, you know,
0:21:03 > 0:21:05if you knock the tripod, you ruin the scan.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Here we are on a boat.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11How does that work, how are you getting straight data and not wibbly
0:21:11 > 0:21:16- wobbly data?- Yeah, we have two informations,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19one with the GNSS position, the global position,
0:21:19 > 0:21:24plus, inside of the system we have a gyroscope and accelerometer
0:21:24 > 0:21:27and we know exactly what is the position
0:21:27 > 0:21:29and the angle of the equipment.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34The specially adapted scanner is going to work its magic
0:21:34 > 0:21:37along the entire length of the Grand Canal.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40The data will form the backbone of our 3D model of the city.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47This waterway has been bringing the riches of the world flooding into
0:21:47 > 0:21:50the markets of Rialto since Venice's earliest days.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53So, coming to Rialto today,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56being surrounded by people from all over the world,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59it's just like Venice would have been in its heyday.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01From the 10th-11th centuries,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Venice is getting trade concessions with the East.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06By the 12th and 13th centuries,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08it is the major power trading with the East.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11And from these, can I just quickly ask, what's coming in?
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Luxury things, silks, spices?
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Absolutely. But everything from humdrum wheat
0:22:16 > 0:22:20and food supplies to gems, to dyes, to silks, to fabrics.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23They talked about the way merchandise in this period
0:22:23 > 0:22:27was flowing into Venice like water from a fountain.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I mean, it's just this continual rush of people and things.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33This was the first place you could write a cheque,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36as a result of the needs of all the people trading.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Of course, of course.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42There's something in the blood, there's something in the water,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46that makes these people incredible innovators,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49incredible entrepreneurs, incredible businessmen.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03The 3D scan of the Grand Canal shows how prosperous merchants packed
0:23:03 > 0:23:07their grand palazzos and warehouses along every inch of the waterway.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14The shadowy outlines of boats rushing past our scanners
0:23:14 > 0:23:17are ghostly reminders of centuries of commerce
0:23:17 > 0:23:20that flowed along Venice's trading superhighway.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28Michael's taking me down a side canal,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31to a place that was home to a group of immigrants
0:23:31 > 0:23:33vital to Venice's commercial success.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42What we are looking for here is a doorway...
0:23:43 > 0:23:45..to another world.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Which is here.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50Here it is. Aha.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53What we've walked into is the ghetto,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55the Jewish ghetto of Venice,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57the first ghetto in the world.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01'In the 16th century, Jews suffered widespread
0:24:01 > 0:24:03'persecution across Europe.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05'Venice was relatively tolerant.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07'Jews were allowed to settle here,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10'but they still faced severe restrictions.'
0:24:11 > 0:24:17From 1516 onwards, the Venetians demanded that if you were Jewish,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20you had to live in the Jewish ghetto.
0:24:20 > 0:24:26As a word, it gained negative reputation, but it didn't begin like
0:24:26 > 0:24:28that. Before it was used as a ghetto,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31it was the area of foundries, smiths.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34And the word in Venetian for that is "gheto."
0:24:34 > 0:24:38- Gheto?- Gheto.- Jews were prohibited from marrying Christians
0:24:38 > 0:24:42and could only work in a few designated trades -
0:24:42 > 0:24:46services the city most needed, like medicine and moneylending.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51In the Middle Ages, Christians were forbidden to charge interest.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53So, the Jews came in very useful.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58The Venetians borrowed their money, but many also resented them for it.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02The ghetto was a way to appease Christian mistrust.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05The doors were locked at night and guarded by Christian soldiers,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07- so they were...- Contained?
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Contained. Yeah, but on the other hand,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13they're highly valued members of Venetian society.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15They're moneylenders.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18They were absolutely fundamental to making Venice work
0:25:18 > 0:25:21as such a rich environment.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29This tiny enclave was soon home to around 3,000 Jews,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32arriving from all over the world.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36'Professor Shaul Bassi is going to show me one of their synagogues.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40'They're hidden away behind plain exteriors at the top of the ghetto's
0:25:40 > 0:25:42'overcrowded blocks.'
0:25:50 > 0:25:53- It's incredible.- Welcome to the German Synagogue,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55the Schola Tedescha.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57The German Synagogue.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01This is probably 1528 or 29, so 12 years into the existence
0:26:01 > 0:26:02of the ghetto.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07The oldest and also the sign that the Jews at that point felt stable
0:26:07 > 0:26:09enough to create a place of worship.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- This was where they were going to stay?- Yes.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Shaul became fascinated by the history of the ghetto while studying
0:26:15 > 0:26:19Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and its Jewish villain,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21the moneylender Shylock.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23This would have been Shylock's synagogue.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Since moneylending was a prerogative of the German Jews,
0:26:27 > 0:26:31if Shylock had been real person,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34he would have probably prayed in this place.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36- In this synagogue.- Yeah.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39The Jews weren't allowed to be architects or builders,
0:26:39 > 0:26:44so they had to employ Christians to construct their synagogues.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47And they weren't allowed to buy land, so they had to carve them out
0:26:47 > 0:26:49of the existing buildings.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53All the buildings in the ghetto were not the palazzos of the aristocrats,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56they were actually poor housing that was made available
0:26:56 > 0:26:58to the first Jews.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01And then later, when the community was probably more prosperous,
0:27:01 > 0:27:07they added all the gilding and this wonderful elliptical women's gallery
0:27:07 > 0:27:13- that is a kind of imitation of a typical Venetian theatre.- Mm.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16So, again, one can think of the ghetto as a place of separation,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20but can also very much think of it as a place of encounter,
0:27:20 > 0:27:21dialogue and exchange.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26The scanners are stitching together data from teams across the city to
0:27:26 > 0:27:29create their colossal 3D model.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I'm off to see their work in progress.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Oh, Matt, time for a few more treats.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40- What have you got for me today? OK. - OK, so, here we are in Venice.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44We're going to start today with the Ghetto Nuovo.
0:27:44 > 0:27:51- We have the canals bounding this area on all sides.- Mm.
0:27:51 > 0:27:52And as a result of that,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- the buildings in here are incredibly tall.- Look at that, yeah.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00They've ended up creating their synagogues in these really quite
0:28:00 > 0:28:04unique, quite...quite hidden away and quite strange places.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06And the upper floors.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11Nestled in between facades, in these strange shapes.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15- Extraordinary, isn't it? - So, we have the German one here.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18And, actually, let's take you back to street level here.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22Up the passageway here, there is another interior lurking.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25This is the Levantine Synagogue.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29The Levantines got a rather more foursquare space to deal with.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34They did, but it's still, you know, quite a traditional apartment plot,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37really. Complete with, at the rear here,
0:28:37 > 0:28:42- just this little garden space. - Yeah.- It feels very domestic.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Let's pop you inside. You know, we just have this normal front door,
0:28:45 > 0:28:49- bit of a staircase... - Yeah.- And then, suddenly,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52we're inside this incredible chandeliered space.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Oh, but it's beautiful, though.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59It's an extraordinary privilege, isn't it, with this technology,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02to be able to go in? I mean, we look from the street level and you see
0:29:02 > 0:29:06these tenements, people rammed into this tiny area
0:29:06 > 0:29:10that they were allowed. And yet,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14here are the special spaces where they were allowed to be themselves.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17- And these rooms of extraordinary opulence.- Mm-hm.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Yeah, these little jewels, kind of hidden behind the facade,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22- not given any dominance from outside.- Yeah.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26Suddenly, there's this one space where they can, like you say,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28be themselves and celebrate.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32This is an enormously valuable tool for just so many reasons.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36We're building up this incredibly extensive map of the city,
0:29:36 > 0:29:40inside and out, from the water, from the streets, from inside buildings.
0:29:40 > 0:29:45And we're handing that over to a team of international researchers
0:29:45 > 0:29:47and it's helping inform their knowledge of
0:29:47 > 0:29:49the history of the city,
0:29:49 > 0:29:51but also helping them plan for the future.
0:29:54 > 0:29:55Since medieval times,
0:29:55 > 0:29:59Venice has absorbed the influences of a fabulous melting pot of
0:29:59 > 0:30:01cultures from all over the world.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05When Charles Dickens saw Venice, he said,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08"Opium could not have fashioned such a place." And he's right,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12it does have this otherworldly, hallucinatory quality.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15But I'm getting a picture of something much more determined,
0:30:15 > 0:30:20much more driven, a sense of a city pushed onwards, constantly,
0:30:20 > 0:30:22by its entrepreneurial spirit.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31The merchants shaped the politics of the Venetian Republic.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37The head of state was known as the Doge.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40His formal residence on St Mark's Square
0:30:40 > 0:30:42was built during Venice's golden age.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45It was begun in the 14th century
0:30:45 > 0:30:48and completed over the next 200 years.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53This is the grand staircase of entrance to the Doge's Palace,
0:30:53 > 0:30:59and the smell of power is reeking in the air.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02It is just extraordinary.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04I mean, one doesn't really know where to look.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08Every tiny part of it is so exquisite.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11So, as you walk up this grand, monumental staircase,
0:31:11 > 0:31:18you're greeted by Poseidon, god of the sea, and by Aries, god of war.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20And then as you head through the portico,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23you walk under the lion of St Mark of Venice, the winged lion.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27The message you're being given is unmistakable.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30- It's clear, isn't it?- But this is a palace not really for a king,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32the Doge wasn't really a king,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35because Venice had a very complex system
0:31:35 > 0:31:38in which no-one person was trusted with absolute power.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41And it's more than a palace, it's the government building,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43it's the military HQ.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50Our scans uncover the labyrinthine internal structure of the palace.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54It reflects the Venetian Republic's complex political structure that
0:31:54 > 0:31:55evolved over the centuries.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01This is the room where Venetian leaders gathered to elect the Doge.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05He would then hold the position for life.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Then there are grand halls, for overlapping
0:32:07 > 0:32:10and competing bureaucracies, diluting his power.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13There's the Senate,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15the College,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17the Council of Ten.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24The members of these bodies and the Doge himself were all drawn from the
0:32:24 > 0:32:26most important assembly of all.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30So, welcome, Xander,
0:32:30 > 0:32:35to the chamber of the Great Council of the Venetian Republic.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38This is just astonishing.
0:32:38 > 0:32:4253 metres long and 25 metres wide,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45it is the largest room in the Doge's Palace.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48This is Venice.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51This is the scale and magnificence
0:32:51 > 0:32:54and the beauty with which Venice does things.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07- You can tell where the big cheese is sitting.- Yeah.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09The Doge is right there.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Now, who would be occupying this space?
0:33:13 > 0:33:16The Great Council. Now that is members of every patrician
0:33:16 > 0:33:20and aristocratic family in Venice over the age of 25.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22So, we're talking a large number of people,
0:33:22 > 0:33:26somewhere between 1,200 and 2,000 people.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30And these guys see themselves as the absolute bedrock of the Venetian
0:33:30 > 0:33:34- Republic.- Right.- It's their job to look after the laws,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38make sure stuff stays on track, not allow him, the Doge,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40to get away with too much.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43I was just thinking as you were saying that,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46the guy sitting in a throne up there their isn't really sitting that
0:33:46 > 0:33:49- comfortably.- Look along the top line around the walls.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55These are portraits of the first 76 Doges,
0:33:55 > 0:34:00but if he ever over there in his seat got a little bit lippy,
0:34:00 > 0:34:02see this guy here?
0:34:02 > 0:34:05The black curtain.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07The Doge who tried
0:34:07 > 0:34:10to take too much power.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13In ancient Rome. we would call this "damnatio memoriae,"
0:34:13 > 0:34:15you're dammed from memory, you're obliterated.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19But in a way that preserves the memory forever.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21So, that is in the corner of the eye.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Absolutely. You know, the Doge is the chief magistrate of the Republic
0:34:25 > 0:34:28of Venice, but it's not a hereditary position.
0:34:28 > 0:34:29It's not like a kingship.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32It's worth remembering, they can't meet the foreign ambassador on their
0:34:32 > 0:34:34own, they have to be shepherded.
0:34:34 > 0:34:39There is a very strict chain, if you like, kept on the Doge.
0:34:39 > 0:34:43It's a very unusual and unstable position.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53'The Venetian system the government seems absurdly complex,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56'as if designed to obscure where the real power lay.'
0:34:58 > 0:35:03But every aristocrat in this room was also a merchant and so whether
0:35:03 > 0:35:05making laws for fighting wars,
0:35:05 > 0:35:09the Venetians' priority was to protect and increase their wealth.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23'Venice conquered territory as far away as Cyprus and the Crimea and
0:35:23 > 0:35:24'defended her trade routes -
0:35:24 > 0:35:27'from the Black Sea to Gibraltar and beyond.
0:35:28 > 0:35:33The secret of her naval success was hidden in a city within the city,
0:35:33 > 0:35:36behind 4km of eight metre-high walls -
0:35:36 > 0:35:38the Arsenale.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49This enormous shipyard is still a navy base to this day.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01By the beginning of the 16th century,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04they'd built a fleet of over 3,000 ships.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09The English navy, under the first Tudor king,
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Henry VII, had just five.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18This is where Venice becomes a global superpower.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20This is how they protect their trade.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22This is how they keep dominion at sea.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28The Venetians invented the world's first production line here.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30There were over 100 separate areas
0:36:30 > 0:36:34to produce all the different components needed to make a ship.
0:36:35 > 0:36:40Expert craftsmen churned out anchors, ropes, oars and masts,
0:36:40 > 0:36:41all in standard sizes.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Once the hull of a ship was watertight, they floated it around
0:36:47 > 0:36:50the complex and added the parts straight out of the factory.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56This was industrial production on a scale not seen anywhere else
0:36:56 > 0:37:00in the world for another 500 years.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04At its height, 16,000 people lived and worked here
0:37:04 > 0:37:07and the Arsenale area took up one tenth of Venice.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17And just absolutely extraordinary to think how far ahead they were.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Three ships a day are being turned out here.
0:37:21 > 0:37:22I mean...
0:37:22 > 0:37:26It's just mind-boggling.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37The Venetians celebrate their mastery of the sea every year on the
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Feast of the Ascension, Festa della Sensa.
0:37:46 > 0:37:52It dates back to 1177, where the Pope gave the Doge a ring,
0:37:52 > 0:37:57a ring that was to symbolise the wedding between Venice and the sea
0:37:57 > 0:37:59and as part of the Festa della Sensa,
0:37:59 > 0:38:04they would go to the lagoon entrance and throw that ring into the sea.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06Now, lots of people get married in Venice,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09George and Amal Clooney most recently in 2014,
0:38:09 > 0:38:14but I bet none of them had the sort of wedding ceremony that is intended
0:38:14 > 0:38:16here at the Festa della Sensa,
0:38:16 > 0:38:18because this is not a marriage of equals.
0:38:18 > 0:38:23The sea and the dominions that Venice control had no option to say
0:38:23 > 0:38:27yes or no. This was a marriage in which the wife, the sea,
0:38:27 > 0:38:30was to obey her husband, Venice.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41This festival is now passing Italy's modern naval military college.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45And there they are, saluting.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Italy's modern naval power,
0:38:48 > 0:38:53saluting the symbol of Venice's ancient maritime supremacy.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00The city's religious leader, the Patriarch,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03would bless the wedding ring and give it to the Doge.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Today, the mayor of Venice takes the Doge's place.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:39:21 > 0:39:24CHEERING
0:39:24 > 0:39:26HORNS BLARE
0:39:31 > 0:39:33While Michael's enjoying the Venetian wedding party,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37he's sending me on a mystery tour two miles across the lagoon.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46We've come to this island here.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50It has the appearance of a sort of penal colony with these high barred
0:39:50 > 0:39:52windows and...
0:39:54 > 0:39:59I'm going to say not very decorative structures on it.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03But I guess all will be revealed to me when we dock.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06I'm not quite sure where we are docking.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Hi!
0:40:14 > 0:40:16- Ciao!- Ciao.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Welcome to the Island of Black Death.
0:40:18 > 0:40:19Right, we're off, OK.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Back, back, back. I'm joking, I'm joking.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27The Island of Black Death. Well, listen, that explains everything.
0:40:27 > 0:40:28Yeah, please.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- Alexander, very nice to meet you. - Martino Rizzi.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34Ciao, how do you do?
0:40:34 > 0:40:36Goodness me.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40All those ships bringing exotic luxuries from the East
0:40:40 > 0:40:43were also carrying rats and with them exotic diseases,
0:40:43 > 0:40:45like the plague.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49Victims would suffer painful swelling and bleeding.
0:40:49 > 0:40:54Their bodies started decomposing before they were even dead.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58In one outbreak, over half the population of the city
0:40:58 > 0:41:00was wiped out.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03The Venetians came up with a radical solution.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06From 1361 until 1528,
0:41:06 > 0:41:11we registered 22 different outbreaks. 22.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17And that's why, after a while, they decided to make the first isolation
0:41:17 > 0:41:18hospital in history.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23Created in 1423 by the Republic of Venice.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27And they chose this little island, it's very small.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Anyone showing symptoms of the plaque was immediately removed
0:41:33 > 0:41:35from the city and rowed out to this island.
0:41:39 > 0:41:43Even today, this feels like a desolate place.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46Very few Venetians set foot on the island.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49You soon notice there aren't even any birds singing.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57'Doctor Rizzi and his team have been excavating graves and restoring
0:41:57 > 0:42:00'buildings here for over 15 years.'
0:42:00 > 0:42:03There was obviously no cure for it but did some people survive,
0:42:03 > 0:42:05- or was it...?- Very, very few.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08Believe me, we walk on mass graves.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10WHISPERS: Oh, Lord.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14During their work, the archaeologists found over 1,000
0:42:14 > 0:42:17crates of human bones under one collapsed wall alone.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24Please, take a look inside.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28How effective was it in controlling the plague?
0:42:28 > 0:42:29Very.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37Here, in the island,
0:42:37 > 0:42:41the people arriving could get two things that were very important.
0:42:41 > 0:42:42The last rites.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44Right, so there were priests here?
0:42:44 > 0:42:50Yes. And the second thing was basic food, basic assistance.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53- Right.- Almost no medicines.- Yeah.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59- God, it goes on and on. - Please, yes, on and on.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01- It's just...- Hall after hall.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06And by night, it's not the happiest place to visit.
0:43:06 > 0:43:07I can easily believe that.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10How many people do you think died here?
0:43:10 > 0:43:12It's impossible to know.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Tens of thousands, minimum.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16- This was a hell on earth. - A hell is exactly it.
0:43:16 > 0:43:21- That's exactly it.- This is the image I have of this island.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23From here, you can see how big it is.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26Really, you can get lost.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28Look how big.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Oh, my Lord. Oh, my Lord!
0:43:46 > 0:43:52It's just overwhelming to think of the sheer number
0:43:52 > 0:43:55of untold tragic stories that
0:43:55 > 0:43:59must have worked out their sorry ends here.
0:43:59 > 0:44:04But tempting though it is to wallow in the tragedy of it,
0:44:04 > 0:44:06there's also something brilliant about this.
0:44:06 > 0:44:11Yes, it was vile to bring people over here,
0:44:11 > 0:44:15but it contained the plague and it must have saved
0:44:15 > 0:44:18further hundreds of thousands of lives.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24Half a century later,
0:44:24 > 0:44:27Venice took the idea of isolation one stage further.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Michael's exploring an island four miles away,
0:44:31 > 0:44:33by the entrance to the lagoon.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41From 1468, all ships arriving in Venice were required to stay here
0:44:41 > 0:44:44for 40 days before entering the city.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49Our word quarantine comes from the Venetian practice of making their
0:44:49 > 0:44:53traders stay on this island for 40 days.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55"Quaranta," that's our quarantine.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00The incoming goods were also unloaded off the ships into this
0:45:00 > 0:45:04massive warehouse in the centre of the island.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07Here, they were disinfected with vinegar,
0:45:07 > 0:45:09boiling water and smoking herbs.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15This building was built and paid for by the Venetian state,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18because if Venice couldn't keep its trade going,
0:45:18 > 0:45:23if Venice couldn't ensure that this artery continued to flow,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26Venice itself was dead.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31The Venetians conquered the Black Death,
0:45:31 > 0:45:33but they couldn't fight the tide of history.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39In the Elizabethan age, new competition from English,
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Dutch and Spanish traders,
0:45:41 > 0:45:45piracy and wars with the Turks all started to cut into the Venetian
0:45:45 > 0:45:47merchants' bottom line.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56But the Venetians still had one thing left to sell.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01The city itself.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07Venice's wealth had paid for the world's greatest architects,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10painters and musicians.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15For the super-rich, this was now an essential place to see in the
0:46:15 > 0:46:18aristocratic gap year known as the Grand Tour.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28Tony Perrottet has written about the seedier side of the Grand Tour.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32So, Tony, you look around and you see that Venice is just a massive
0:46:32 > 0:46:36tourist trap. They have cruise ships the size of small market towns
0:46:36 > 0:46:39arriving, but I suppose 250 years ago with the Grand Tour,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41- it was similar even then. - Absolutely,
0:46:41 > 0:46:44it was a great tourist destination in the 18th century,
0:46:44 > 0:46:46but people came for a different reason.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48- It was the sin city of Europe. - Really?
0:46:48 > 0:46:52So, sex, gambling, sensuality.
0:46:52 > 0:46:53The city was devoted to erotic pleasure.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57There were beautiful casinos all over the city.
0:46:57 > 0:47:02The Florian here was once one of the great sights for
0:47:02 > 0:47:05the romantically inclined, because women were allowed to be served,
0:47:05 > 0:47:07which was quite unique in Venice at this time.
0:47:07 > 0:47:08And there was a brothel upstairs.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10- No! Here?- Yeah.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13- They keep that quiet. - Now it's very glamorous.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Look at it with its posh string quartet playing.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17- Very straight.- Butter wouldn't melt.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19It's a facade.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21There's other places in Venice that are even more
0:47:21 > 0:47:23appealing these days. We can go and have a look at one.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26Excellent!
0:47:26 > 0:47:30Tony is an expert on one of Venice's most notorious playboys,
0:47:30 > 0:47:32Giacomo Casanova.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37Casanova was a writer, musician, all-round intellectual,
0:47:37 > 0:47:39and a notorious gambler.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42But he's become best known for his exploits in the bedroom.
0:47:42 > 0:47:47I hope this isn't going to get me into trouble at home.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51And here we are, this is one of the original casinos,
0:47:51 > 0:47:55that Casanova would have visited, for sure.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57This is it. So, this is an 18th century...?
0:47:57 > 0:48:00- Yeah. - ..Venetian Casino.
0:48:00 > 0:48:04- This is exciting.- Yeah, one of the great gambling houses of Europe.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07Wow, think how many fortunes were made and lost in here through these
0:48:07 > 0:48:10doors. Look at this.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14A real sense of luxury and decadence.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17It would have been filled with gambling tables here.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19- Beautiful.- It's terribly elegant, isn't it?
0:48:19 > 0:48:23Everything was exquisite, beautiful food going by, great wines.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26- Gorgeous women, of course. - I see, yes.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29And certainly quite a lot of,
0:48:29 > 0:48:31quite a lot of dalliance going on in here as well.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35Yes. Venice had around 100,000 people in the late 18th century,
0:48:35 > 0:48:38of whom 12,000 were prostitutes,
0:48:38 > 0:48:42- which is 12% of the entire population.- Extraordinary.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45Now the Venetian courtesans were very famous, weren't they?
0:48:45 > 0:48:48Oh, yeah. It was legendary, because they were extremely well educated,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51they could speak many managers, play musical instruments.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55The courtesans used always extraordinary fashion tricks,
0:48:55 > 0:48:57they would soak their hair in urine,
0:48:57 > 0:49:00which would give it a sort of reddish golden glow.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04They would put raw veal on their cheeks to improve the complexion.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07And they would dress fantastically with these beautiful plunging
0:49:07 > 0:49:12bodices and these quite amazing platform shoes.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14What size shoe are you? Want going to try one on?
0:49:14 > 0:49:16Yeah, absolutely.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19I mean, if these fit, I'll be walking out in these,
0:49:19 > 0:49:23- I should think. - They're more like a circus outfits.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25They have something of the circus about them.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28There we go, I think you're fitting into these.
0:49:28 > 0:49:29These become me.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31Oh, look, and on, there we go.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34- We've got a strap there, maybe back here.- Oh!
0:49:34 > 0:49:37- Very fetching.- It looks suspiciously like I've been wearing these before,
0:49:37 > 0:49:39doesn't it, Tony?
0:49:39 > 0:49:42It's almost too beautiful.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44I can hardly tear my eyes away.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49- Doing a great job there. - You might have to give me...
0:49:49 > 0:49:51Oh, no, I need no help at all.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54There we go. Look at that. Now if you could just imagine yourself
0:49:54 > 0:49:56as a ravishing Venetian...
0:49:56 > 0:49:59What do you mean, "imagine myself," thank you very much.
0:49:59 > 0:50:00This is...
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Wahey, whoa! Wahey, there we go.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05There we go. I think that's...
0:50:06 > 0:50:08..enough of this folie de grandeur.
0:50:10 > 0:50:12I love my ankles as they are.
0:50:12 > 0:50:17Casanova had over 100 casinos to choose from in the city.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20But he would have to be on the guest list.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24Hey, Xander, hey, Alexander, let me in!
0:50:24 > 0:50:26Ah, Tony, how are you?
0:50:27 > 0:50:30So, as you can see it was just like a speakeasy.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33If there was a bang on the door, you could come in and you could look
0:50:33 > 0:50:36down and see who was there. If it was someone, if it was the
0:50:36 > 0:50:39police, someone you didn't want to see, someone's husband,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42there was a secret exit out the back. So, you could see who was down
0:50:42 > 0:50:46here and just get out of there if you needed to avoid them.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48Not today, thank you. Not today.
0:50:55 > 0:50:5818th-century Venice wasn't all debauchery and decadence.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06In 1755, Casanova's life of pleasure caught up with him.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10He was arrested and with no reason given,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14he was marched off to a room high in the Doge's Palace,
0:51:14 > 0:51:17the torture chamber of the Three Inquisitors.
0:51:19 > 0:51:24Like Casanova, I'm still not sure what I've done to deserve this.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30So, Casanova was led up here into the torture chamber,
0:51:30 > 0:51:35which is the most terrifying and legendary place in the whole palace.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37The three inquisitors were there and this was their
0:51:37 > 0:51:42favourite thing of the Venetian Inquisition, "the strappado,"
0:51:42 > 0:51:44also known as, "la corda." Just, "the rope."
0:51:44 > 0:51:46The strappado, so how would that work?
0:51:46 > 0:51:48- That in effect, that's... - Very simple.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51- Yeah, you would have your arms tied behind your back.- Yes.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53- And then...- Facing the inquisitors.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Someone would actually pull it up, so you would be taken up fairly high
0:51:56 > 0:51:59and then dropped to just above the ground.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01So, your arms would be like wrenched up and it would often
0:52:01 > 0:52:05- dislocate your shoulders.- I bet. - So, screams would echo
0:52:05 > 0:52:08through the prison. And the other prisoners were in cells up here.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10I was just wondering, so you've got barred windows there and there are
0:52:10 > 0:52:13windows right by it. So, I would be strung up that high, would I?
0:52:13 > 0:52:16- Yeah.- So, I would be screaming in their windows.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19Casanova when he comes up, he's so terrified he goes to the bathroom
0:52:19 > 0:52:22every 15 minutes, he records. He's so scared.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24He still doesn't know exactly what's going on.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26Of course, his main crime was hitting
0:52:26 > 0:52:28on the Inquisitor's girlfriend.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32I think that was a pretty serious black mark against him.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36This is the secret state, police state reality
0:52:36 > 0:52:38of what Venice can and will do.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40And we're still in the Doge's Palace, I mean,
0:52:40 > 0:52:42this is what I can't get my head around.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Venetian society by the 18th-century was sort of rotting from the inside.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48It was all falling to bits. And there's all this sense of secrecy,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51there's people observing you, spies everywhere.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55Casanova was locked up in a squalid cell,
0:52:55 > 0:52:57squeezed under the roof just above us.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06After 15 months he made a daring breakout.
0:53:07 > 0:53:12Accompanied by a fellow prisoner, he dug his way out onto the roof.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17He climbed back into the palace through a dormer window.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21He then snuck down through the maze of rooms and corridors and walked
0:53:21 > 0:53:26brazenly out by the front door.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30Casanova and his accomplice were the only two prisoners ever to escape
0:53:30 > 0:53:31from the palace prison.
0:53:34 > 0:53:39'The scanning team has combined 173 separate scans to build a
0:53:39 > 0:53:43'three-dimensional digital model of the Doge's Palace.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46'Matt is going to take me on a virtual reality tour.'
0:53:46 > 0:53:49So, Xander, with the help of our headsets here,
0:53:49 > 0:53:54- we are into Venice in a way that you will never have seen it before.- OK.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00Oh, look at that.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02- Wow.- Here we are in St Mark's Square.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08There is a kind of me-sized St Mark's Tower,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11just stood between the two of us there.
0:54:11 > 0:54:12There we go.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14So, you're parading around like a giant.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17- Shall we take another layer of zoom and get inside?- Oh, yes, let's.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Oh, wow!
0:54:20 > 0:54:23I know this room only too well.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26Yeah, so having seen this kind of remove perspective
0:54:26 > 0:54:30of doll's-house world, we are now back in one-to-one.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Absolute real dimension.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37We're in this terrifying torture chamber,
0:54:37 > 0:54:41but if you crouch down now and if you just look through the floor
0:54:41 > 0:54:46here, we're actually just hovering inches above another room.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48So, let's actually drift down now through the floor level now
0:54:48 > 0:54:51- and check out the slightly more... - It's slightly weird, isn't it?
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Whoa! We we're going up.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57- There we go.- Down we go. OK.
0:54:57 > 0:54:58- Wow.- Out of body experience,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01disappearing down as the floor comes crashing up to us.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03And I think that's about perfect.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08And up above there is that painting.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12- There it is.- Looking on the one hand angelic, but actually we get this
0:55:12 > 0:55:15privileged view, we see through, transparently,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18into that hall of torture directly above us.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25The virtual tour reveals how the torture chamber is connected to a
0:55:25 > 0:55:30network of rooms and cells specially created for the secret police,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33the interrogators and their secret archives.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37From the early 1600s,
0:55:37 > 0:55:41the Bridge of Sighs joined the palace to an additional prison.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44Its tiny windows gave captives their last view
0:55:44 > 0:55:45of the outside world.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50'As Venice's power in the world declined,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53'the state's paranoia increased.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57'Finally, Venice found herself caught between
0:55:57 > 0:56:02'Napoleon's conquering armies and the rising Austrian Empire.
0:56:02 > 0:56:09'In 1797, the last of the republic's 120 doges surrendered to the French.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13'The Lion of St Mark was toppled from its column.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16'Venice lost her independence forever.'
0:56:22 > 0:56:26Thankfully, the wonders created by a millennium of Venetian ingenuity
0:56:26 > 0:56:28have survived.
0:56:29 > 0:56:34We've combined over 400 scans to complete our monumental 3D model.
0:56:39 > 0:56:44It reveals the city's invisible secrets in all their glory.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48The Grand Canal.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50The synagogues hidden in the ghetto.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55The might of the Arsenale.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02And the hidden network of power and terror in the Doge's Palace.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13Venice, La Serenissima, preserved forever.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25There's not a bit of Venice that isn't beautiful.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29It's not possible to be here and not at least be cheered by the
0:57:29 > 0:57:33combination of the sparkling sunlight on the water,
0:57:33 > 0:57:35the grandeur of the vistas.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39Venice is just enormous fun.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42You know, just everything happening on water.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45- It's bonkers.- It's absolutely bonkers.- But enormous fun.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48I mean, our very sense of the romantic and romanticism,
0:57:48 > 0:57:50born not least out of half the places
0:57:50 > 0:57:53and buildings from this very town.
0:57:53 > 0:57:55I think Venice is absolutely perfect.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59- Cheers.- Yeah, cheers.- To Venice. - To Venice.- Venezia. Venezia.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05Next time, Florence.
0:58:05 > 0:58:06I mean, my word.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10A beautiful Renaissance city forged on rivalry.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15Oh, that was a kick to the face!
0:58:15 > 0:58:19This was Florence bursting out.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23If you'd like to explore Venice in 3D yourself,
0:58:23 > 0:58:29go to bbc.co.uk/invisibleitaly and follow the link.