0:00:04 > 0:00:07I'm embarking on a new railway adventure
0:00:07 > 0:00:09that will take me across the heart of Europe.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide
0:00:15 > 0:00:17dated 1913,
0:00:17 > 0:00:22which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel for the British tourist.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26It told travellers where to go, what to see
0:00:26 > 0:00:32and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks criss-crossing the continent.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Now, a century later, I'm using my copy
0:00:34 > 0:00:38to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I want to rediscover that lost Europe
0:00:46 > 0:00:48that in 1913 couldn't know
0:00:48 > 0:00:53that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09On this second part of my journey
0:01:09 > 0:01:13through one of my favourite countries, Italy, la Bella Italia,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I'll find out how the Edwardian adventurer discovered
0:01:16 > 0:01:18a love of the high life.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23A traveller with my Bradshaw's guide in 1913 could have gone up in a plane
0:01:23 > 0:01:26- and seen this wonderful view? - Absolutely.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30I follow a star-crossed tale of Shakespearean love.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Eleonora! Eleonora!
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Hello, Michael! Come up here and join me!
0:01:38 > 0:01:39And on the Grand Canal,
0:01:39 > 0:01:44I hear about the amorous conquests of Venice's most famous son.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Casanova loved women. He only had a 130 lovers.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49- That's extremely moderate! - Absolutely.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54My Italian travels began in the Piedmont region,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56where I visited the city of Turin.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59From there, I travelled into Lombardy
0:01:59 > 0:02:01to another major northern city, Milan.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Como and its famous lake will be my third stop
0:02:04 > 0:02:09before I visit the romantic city of Verona.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13My journey will end in the east, on the islands of Venice.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Today I am heading away from the city
0:02:25 > 0:02:28to visit some of Italy's most spectacular scenery.
0:02:31 > 0:02:38- Buongiorno. Uno biglietti di treno per Como Lago, per favore. - One?- Uno, si. Sola.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42This is very unusual for us. You can buy your railway ticket in the newsagent.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45- OK.- Buongiorno. Grazie.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10This double decker train is taking me towards Como.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Bradshaw's tells me that it was a centre of silk manufacture.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Apparently the region was covered in mulberry trees.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19But there's a hint here of a change.
0:03:19 > 0:03:25"The Lake of Como is incontestably the most beautiful and picturesque in the Alps.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29"It's 32 miles long, two to three miles in width,"
0:03:29 > 0:03:32and already in 1913 Bradshaw's tells me
0:03:32 > 0:03:36that villas of the wealthier Milanesi were to be found here.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Yes, it was converting to tourism.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51The railway line to Como was completed in 1875
0:03:51 > 0:03:56and by the early 20th century, the British had established their own community.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01But our love affair with this place goes back to early Victorian times.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04John Ruskin, a writer later much admired by the Edwardians,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08wrote of Lake Como, "There was blue above, and blue below,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11"And the gleam of the eternal snow."
0:04:15 > 0:04:18It's hard to believe that so very close to the city of Milan
0:04:18 > 0:04:21you can be in such wonderful countryside. It is delightful.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27The houses, villas and hotels blend into the green hillsides.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30And even on a summer's day like today,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33I suppose the deep water of the lake keeps it delightfully cool.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Just perfect!
0:04:38 > 0:04:41It wouldn't be right to travel all the way here
0:04:41 > 0:04:43and not to take to the lake,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46so I've joined boatman Max to get a feel for the place from the water.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Viva Italia!
0:05:15 > 0:05:19I'd like to learn more about how British tourists amused themselves in Como
0:05:19 > 0:05:22and sample some of the delights of the lake,
0:05:22 > 0:05:27so I've arranged lunch with tourism officer Monica Neroni.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31So, welcome, Michael, how are you? Nice to meet you.
0:05:31 > 0:05:32Monica. So nice to be here.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39Monica, for how long have travellers from my country been coming to this beautiful place?
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Tourism started on Lake Como thanks to the British,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46because for them we built the first hotels on the shores of the lake
0:05:46 > 0:05:49and still today a few of them preserve the name
0:05:49 > 0:05:53in honour of your country or of your Queen Victoria.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Lake Como was THE holiday destination,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58welcoming not only Queen Victoria
0:05:58 > 0:06:03but also writers such as Byron, Shelley and, later, EM Forster.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Ecco, signori.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- Thank you very much indeed. - Enjoy your meal.- Grazie.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20So this fish has been dried and then it's served, obviously, with a little polenta here.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22- Mm-hm. - Mmm. It's excellent.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24At the time of my guidebook, 1913,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27what sort of people were coming here?
0:06:27 > 0:06:31You know, the middle-class tourists started to come here
0:06:31 > 0:06:33because of the railway.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35It was the time when they could use the train.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39What did people find to do here in those days?
0:06:39 > 0:06:44They relaxed, they enjoyed the landscape, they visited the gardens.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46They talk about music and poetry
0:06:46 > 0:06:49and, of course, they fall in love
0:06:49 > 0:06:51because, you know, the lake was called the romantic lake.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53The lake of lovers.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56You're referring, of course, to married people.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Not really!
0:06:58 > 0:07:04In 1913 a new toy landed on Lake Como to amuse British tourists -
0:07:04 > 0:07:06the seaplane.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10So after my delightful lunch, I want to follow in their slipstream.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17- Hello.- OK, hello.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21- Nice to meet you. Hello. - I'm Michael.- I'm Cesare.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23- Very good to see you. - Here we are.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- OK, this is your book.- Thank you.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Such a fantastic view!
0:07:53 > 0:07:54Marvellous!
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Cesare, how long have people been flying on Lake Como?
0:07:58 > 0:08:01- Since 1913 exactly. - The year of my guidebook.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Were the public able to fly as well?
0:08:33 > 0:08:37So a traveller with my Bradshaw's guide in 1913
0:08:37 > 0:08:40could have gone up in a plane and seen this wonderful view!
0:08:48 > 0:08:49Wonderful.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52It wasn't just tourists who were interested in seaplanes.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Though Italy was neutral for the first year of The Great War,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58they were building up their air defences.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01When they did join the Allies in May 1915,
0:09:01 > 0:09:06their air force dominated the skies against their Austrian foes.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11Here on Lake Como, the navy tested the Macchi seaplane in 1917
0:09:11 > 0:09:13as it was considered an excellent way
0:09:13 > 0:09:17to patrol Italy's long, exposed coastline.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36After the splendour of Lake Como,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40I'm moving deeper into the romantic heart of Italy.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43My journey takes me via Milan to catch the mainline
0:09:43 > 0:09:48to a town where the most famous love story of all was set.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Milan central station, where I'm changing en route from Como to Verona.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57It is enormous. You might say it's fascist architecture.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It was opened during the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02but actually it's always reminded me
0:10:02 > 0:10:04of some of the great American stations.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06It turns out in a way I was right
0:10:06 > 0:10:10because the original design from around the time of my Bradshaw's guide was based
0:10:10 > 0:10:12on Union Station in Washington DC.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35After my sun-drenched day,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39I shall spend the night in the city that Shakespeare described as "fair Verona"
0:10:39 > 0:10:45and I shall rest my head where Romeo and Juliet found eternal rest.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53The ancient city of Verona boasts
0:10:53 > 0:10:57some of the finest Roman and medieval architecture in Italy.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59The city straddles the Adige river,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01which reaches the sea just south of Venice.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05Before I turn in, I've come to enjoy a nightcap
0:11:05 > 0:11:08by the spectacular Roman amphitheatre.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Whilst Verona's rich Roman history was enticing,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34it's not the only thing that drew the Edwardian visitor.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37British tourists had already started to come here in the 19th century
0:11:37 > 0:11:42in search of Shakespeare's classic story of love.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Bradshaw's tells me that "in the Via Cappello, is a house,
0:11:45 > 0:11:49"marked by a tablet, where Juliet's parents are said to have lived."
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Over the centuries since Shakespeare wrote his play
0:11:51 > 0:11:56about the star-crossed lovers, Juliet and her Romeo,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58people have been moved by their story.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00And I won't be the first British traveller,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02clutching a Bradshaw's guide,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06to make my way to the house of the Capulets.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12At this fictional house of the Capulets,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16bought by the city of Verona as a tourist attraction in 1905,
0:12:16 > 0:12:21I've been told I'll find Shakespeare expert Eleonora Oggiano.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Eleonora, Eleonora!
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Hello, Michael! Come up here and join me!
0:12:30 > 0:12:32You're on the balcony! Do I climb up?
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Yes, please!
0:12:34 > 0:12:36There's no ivy.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Now, Romeo and Juliet were fictitious characters,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47so how can this be Juliet's house and Juliet's balcony?
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Actually the balcony was added in the 1930s
0:12:51 > 0:12:56after the success of George Cukor's Hollywood adaptation of the play.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Tourists expected a balcony, so Verona gave them one!
0:13:00 > 0:13:04That's rather disappointing. But at least this is an old house, is it?
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Yes, it is. It dates back to the 13th century.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12- So it could have been the Capulets' house. - Yes, it could be.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Why do you think he chose to set Romeo and Juliet here in Verona?
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Shakespeare was inspired by an Italian novella
0:13:19 > 0:13:23written by Mateo Bandello, in 1554,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25which was translated by Arthur Brook.
0:13:25 > 0:13:31So to some extent Shakespeare did what Hollywood producer do today.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35He adapted an Italian story based in Verona to the stage.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39It is THE classic story of tragic love, isn't it?
0:13:39 > 0:13:44And I see people leave things and they draw hearts on the wall and so on.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47So it's still a magnet for lovers and people obsessed with love.
0:13:47 > 0:13:48Yes, it is.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52They're opening the gates and already people have come.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56It's 8:30 in the morning but they've torn themselves away from their breakfasts.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58They must be very lovesick!
0:14:01 > 0:14:04- Why have you come here? - WOMAN: The romance.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- You're romantically involved? - Yes.- Yes.- Ah, that's very, very nice.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10So what's the attraction of Romeo and Juliet, do you think?
0:14:10 > 0:14:15I think that it's one of the largest love stories out there.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19So do you think your relationship will be stronger and warmer now you've been here?
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Yeah, it's so cute and all the little history and love and romance
0:14:23 > 0:14:27and all that, so it's cute, it's fun - it's fun.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31- Well, enjoy it.- Thank you.- Bye.- Bye.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36Star-struck lovers, forlorn lovers, thwarted lovers,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39unrequited loves write letters to Juliet.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41She must get almost as many as Father Christmas!
0:14:41 > 0:14:44I just wonder what happens to them all.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50These letters to Juliet were first penned in the 1930s
0:14:50 > 0:14:53and left here at her fictional tomb.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55I'm amazed to discover
0:14:55 > 0:14:58that these precious love letters continue to be collected
0:14:58 > 0:15:02and carefully replied to here at the Club di Giulietta.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07- Buongiorno, tutti! - Buongiorno.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11- Who is Manuela? Ah! - Nice to meet you. - Very nice to meet you.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13- Welcome.- Thank you very much.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17So this is the Juliet Club where people write letters to Juliet.
0:15:17 > 0:15:24- When did they first start doing that?- The club was born in 1972.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Mr Giulio with some friends started this club.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- Buongiorno, Signor Giulio. - Buongiorno.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32It's easy to make fun of people writing to Juliet,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34who never existed and anyway is dead.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Why do they write to Juliet?
0:15:36 > 0:15:40People consider Juliet a very strong character.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45People writing to Juliet just want someone to take care of their pains.
0:15:45 > 0:15:51She had the strength to fight against her parents' will
0:15:51 > 0:15:55and she was not afraid to express directly her feelings to Romeo.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Those are very good reasons. How many letters does Juliet receive?
0:15:59 > 0:16:02About 10,000 letters per year.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06- Do you try to reply to everything? - Yes, we try to reply to everybody.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09It's an enormous undertaking and you're all volunteers!
0:16:09 > 0:16:10Yes, we are.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14All these passionate letters inspire me
0:16:14 > 0:16:18to continue in the footsteps of those Edwardians looking for love
0:16:18 > 0:16:20here in Italy.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22I'm now embarking on the final leg of my journey
0:16:22 > 0:16:25to the most romantic city in the world.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56And now for the climax of my Italian journey Venice.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00Bradshaw's says, "it's an agglomeration of about 117 small islands
0:17:00 > 0:17:04"and also upon intermediate piles,
0:17:04 > 0:17:06"the houses and palaces have been built.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09"There are 150 canals, crossed by nearly 400 bridges."
0:17:09 > 0:17:14When I first approached Venice 40 years ago it was also by train
0:17:14 > 0:17:17and I couldn't believe that moment when I stepped from the station
0:17:17 > 0:17:22and saw that ahead I could only proceed on foot or by boat.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26It remains one of the great experiences open to the European traveller.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29This long causeway carries the railway
0:17:29 > 0:17:31towards the islands that are Venice
0:17:31 > 0:17:35and it's a bridge between a world of tarmac and a world of water.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54And though I've experienced this before,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58I somehow still can't believe it that as you leave the station,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00you enter a different universe.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03And such a concentration of beauty!
0:18:06 > 0:18:10The Edwardians weren't the first Britons to fall for this unique city.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13To learn how we became transfixed with Venice,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16author Michelle Lovric will take me back in time.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19- Hello, Michelle.- Ciao, Michael. Benvenuto Venezia.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Thank you very much indeed.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24- What an elegant form of transport! - Absolutely beautiful, isn't it?
0:18:24 > 0:18:26I've just arrived at the railway station,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28which is obviously quite a modern building,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32but arriving here in 1913, what would I have seen here?
0:18:32 > 0:18:34There would have been a huge pack of gondolas,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36all touting for business.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39So you'd arrive to an enormous chiasso, a great noise and bustle.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45The railway arrived here in the mid-19th century. What impact did it have on Venice?
0:18:45 > 0:18:48In my opinion, it was deeply disturbing for the Venetians.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51For hundreds of years, Venice had been an island state
0:18:51 > 0:18:55and suddenly a huge industrial construction arrives in Venice
0:18:55 > 0:18:57and the rest of the world can get here.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02The extraordinary two-mile-long rail causeway across the lagoon
0:19:02 > 0:19:05was built by the Austrians and opened in 1846.
0:19:05 > 0:19:11Only two years later, the Venetians rose in revolt against their foreign masters.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15In the end, the Austrians were expelled but the railway remained,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19heralding a new business opportunity - tourism.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23An educated British traveller arriving here in 1913
0:19:23 > 0:19:26would have had in one pocket John Ruskin's Stones Of Venice
0:19:26 > 0:19:29and maybe in the other pocket Casanova's memoirs.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32But John Ruskin's Stones Of Venice shaped
0:19:32 > 0:19:35what every British person thought about Venice.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37He had a mission here.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42He wanted to teach the world about the virtues of gothic architecture.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Gothic architecture was God's architecture, God's geometry.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47God never made a straight line.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50And that was good enough for God and that was good enough for Ruskin.
0:19:50 > 0:19:51But there's something in Venice
0:19:51 > 0:19:54that particularly binds the British imagination to the place
0:19:54 > 0:19:58and that something usually seems to be romance.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Yes, well, I think of it as a very romantic place.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02A place where people fall in love.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05So when can we trace the British connection with Venice back to?
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Oh, goodness. Very early.
0:20:07 > 0:20:13The British tended to come here because it was the place that invented sexual tourism.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17And as early as 1611, Thomas Coryat came here
0:20:17 > 0:20:21and said that the city was full of 20,000 courtesans,
0:20:21 > 0:20:22loose women who were so loose
0:20:22 > 0:20:26that they would open their quivers to every arrow.
0:20:26 > 0:20:27Sounds pretty unhealthy!
0:20:27 > 0:20:33I suppose one of the reasons why Venice is associated with love and indeed licentiousness
0:20:33 > 0:20:35is because of Casanova - he lived here, didn't he?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Casanova was born here in 1725
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and he probably is the most famous son of Venice.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43I consider him to be dreadfully misunderstood.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Casanova loved women, he was no Don Giovanni.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50So Casanova, though, develops this idea
0:20:50 > 0:20:52of the man who has many, many lovers
0:20:52 > 0:20:56which is then handed down into the Don Juan, Don Giovanni theme.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00He did but in fact in all his life, he only had 130 lovers.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04It's basically only three lovers a year, which isn't that extraordinary.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07- That's extremely moderate. - Absolutely. Yes.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10In his memoirs, only a third of those are devoted to sex.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14The rest of it is a kind of Hello! magazine for the whole 18th century.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- Well, I think I've met the president of the Casanova appreciation society.- Absolutely.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Michelle, thank you. An unforgettable tour!
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Recalling those British visitors
0:21:26 > 0:21:29intoxicated by the licentiousness of Venice,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33I've found a suitably romantic place for my evening meal.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36As evening falls in Venice,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40I've decided to treat myself to a dessert that was invented in this region.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44It contains coffee, which is important in the history of Venice,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47and Savoyard biscuits,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50which in turn were devised for the Counts of Savoy
0:21:50 > 0:21:53who were the distant ancestors of Victor Emmanuel I, King of Italy.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56And with all that caffeine and sugar,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00not surprisingly, it's called tiramisu "pick me up".
0:22:09 > 0:22:11This morning I've decided to get up early
0:22:11 > 0:22:14to experience something of the timeless romance of Venice
0:22:14 > 0:22:16before the crowds descend.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20I turn to my 1913 tome for guidance.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Here's a tip from Bradshaw's.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27"When the traveller has only a day or two, hire a gondola.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31"Nervously affected persons will find the noiseless highway a relief."
0:22:35 > 0:22:39- Thank you very much.- OK. - Bellissimo.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- Where you want to go, sir? - Just show me Venice, please.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53I love this place because the composition is perfect.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01There are two sides to walk, the flowers -
0:23:01 > 0:23:03different styles of construction.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08After all that hard work, I'm in search of a good cup of coffee
0:23:08 > 0:23:10and I know just the place.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13A beautiful cafe on St Mark's Square,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15where I'm meeting Sylvia Zamella.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20- Hello, Sylvia.- Hello and welcome. - Thank you very much.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Cafe Florian is very, very famous and very old.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25Is it one of the oldest?
0:23:25 > 0:23:31It's the oldest in Italy and I'm quite sure it's the oldest in Europe.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34It was founded in 1720.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36The most famous cafe in Venice,
0:23:36 > 0:23:40it's long been a haunt for the world's elite.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42One of the most famous Venetians is Casanova.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Did he come to the Cafe Florian?
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Yes, he used to come to the Cafe Florian
0:23:47 > 0:23:53because Cafe Florian was the only coffee shop in Venice that allowed women to come in.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57So it was the hunting ground for Casanova.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59It's all part of the British love affair with Venice.
0:24:01 > 0:24:02Of all the sites in Venice,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05St Mark's Square, with its great bell tower,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07has to be the most famous.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12It's extraordinary to think that it had only just been reconstructed in 1912.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Bradshaw's tells me about the new campanile or bell tower
0:24:16 > 0:24:21on the site of the old tower, which collapsed on July 13th 1902.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Extraordinary to think that for a decade, tourists coming to Venice
0:24:25 > 0:24:27could not see this famous landmark.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29What's so interesting to me about it is
0:24:29 > 0:24:33that it's completely out of scale and style with anything else in the square
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and yet somehow, the juxtaposition works perfectly.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48For those travellers in 1913,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52clutching their Bradshaw's in one hand and John Ruskin in the other,
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Venice was the ultimate art-lover's destination.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59It was a reputation that Venice was quick to make the most of.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03At the end of the 19th century,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06a highly cultured mayor of Venice, meeting with some friends at the Cafe Florian,
0:25:06 > 0:25:10had the idea of an international art exhibition.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13It's been going on since 1895
0:25:13 > 0:25:16and I'm very lucky that my visit coincides with it
0:25:16 > 0:25:20because it's only held every two years and hence its name.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22It's the Venice Biennale.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Held in the park, or Giardini,
0:25:35 > 0:25:40the Venice Biennale is the international showcase for art.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Everyone who's anyone wants to be here.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47Andrea Rose is Director of Visual Arts at the British Council
0:25:47 > 0:25:49and is showing me around.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I've not been to the Biennale before and I'm surprised to find
0:25:52 > 0:25:55that it has permanent national pavilions.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Was it like that from the early days?
0:25:57 > 0:26:01At the very beginning, everything was in one big building
0:26:01 > 0:26:05but the Italians asked countries to have a room of their own.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08The Belgians built their pavilion first in 1907,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and then the Italians were keen that the Brits got in on the act,
0:26:11 > 0:26:16so they came to London to persuade us to do it and we did in 1909.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19It's fascinating that what we see today at the Biennale is
0:26:19 > 0:26:22a microcosm of Europe on the brink of the First World War.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25What do you think has been the significance of the Biennale?
0:26:25 > 0:26:27This is really like the Olympics.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29If you're not here, you're not in the race.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32It's an enormous platform. A global platform.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34This is a cultural coming of age.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37If you Azerbaijan, if you're Colombia, if you're Kuwait,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40and you don't have a pavilion, you still want to be here.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43It shows that you have a creative heart
0:26:43 > 0:26:45and that the world will recognise it.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48And it strikes me that with countries like China and Russia coming back to the fold,
0:26:48 > 0:26:55actually the makeup of the Biennale is something that would be recognisable
0:26:55 > 0:26:57to the Bradshaw traveller of a hundred years ago.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02In 1913 British tourists criss-crossed Europe in search of adventure,
0:27:02 > 0:27:06drawn by the eternal romance of Italy.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09This international love affair continues to this day,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13overwhelming Venice, this ancient floating city.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17It's a place with which the traveller falls in love over and again,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21being irresistible to every generation.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Britons have been infatuated with Italy for centuries
0:27:25 > 0:27:27and I'm no exception.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32I think the reason is that we find in Italians what we fear we lack.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36For example, a sense of style expressed in a zippy little car,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40a sexy dress or a natty suit
0:27:40 > 0:27:45and we flock to Verona and Venice magnetised by their romance,
0:27:45 > 0:27:50hoping that somehow a little of the Italian knowhow in fashion -
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and in love - may rub off on us.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02Next time, I'll discover how Kaiser Wilhelm II's militarism
0:28:02 > 0:28:06threatened Europe's fragile balance of power.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10I'll let Bradshaw steer me towards Germany's music
0:28:10 > 0:28:12and culture...
0:28:12 > 0:28:16..meinen bosen geist!
0:28:16 > 0:28:19..attempt a 1913 equivalent of a Jane Fonda workout...
0:28:20 > 0:28:25see model railway making on the grandest of scales
0:28:25 > 0:28:28and sample Germany's favourite tipple.