Pigeons and Venice?

Question

DO pigeons and Venice have any meaning? Like is there a connection?

i know the question is kinda hard to understand . but i just need some facts about pigeons in Venice .

Like for example i heard pigeons are the unofficial Mascot of Venice . Any other facts please?

dont ask why im wondering please.

Answer 1

There is some doubts as to the origin of these flocks of pigeons which shelter in Saint Mark’s. According to one story, Henry Dandolo, the Crusader, was besieging Candia; he received valuable information from the interior of the island by means of carrier-pigeons, and, later on, sent news of his successes home to Venice by the same messengers. In recognition of these services the government resolved to maintain the carriers at the public cost; and the flocks of to-day are the descendants of the fourteenth-century pigeons. The more probable tradition, however, is that which connects these pigeons with the antique ceremonies of Palm Sunday.

Answer 2

the pigeons only seem to be the unofficial mascot of Venice

Answer 3

The "mascot" of Venice, if anything, would be the Winged Lion/St. Mark's Lion/La Serenissima.

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/arti...

The pigeons you get for free! (And for a Euro you can buy a bag of corn--the BEST bargain in Venezia!) You CAN feed them in St. Mark's Square, but can be arrested for feeding them in other places (so we were told in Venice). I personally like having them on my head! In the late 1960's, Coca Cola spread out a huge amount of birdseed in St. Mark's Square in the shape of their logo.  It was immediately covered/consumed by 100's of pigeons who clearly spelled out the Coca Cola logo--the aerial publicity photo was taken and it remains a very famous/infamous piece of advertising today.

p.s. Most of the folks in Venice merely ABIDE the birds as they're good for tourism...

p.p.s. The city estimates that there are 40,000 pigioni in Venezia!

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinati...

Answer 4

The pigeons are NOT an unoffical mascot of Venice. There are however millons of them in Venice in the Piazza San Marco. Vendors sell grain and food that the tourists buy and let the pigeons climb all over their bodies. It is really quick horrible to see to tell you the truth! I hate pigeons...and have been to Venice many times, so have never walked straight though the Piazza, but rather skirt around the edges.

Apparently some people say that they have put some kind of steralisation things in the bird seed, so that when people feed them it will make the bird infertile. I think this is an urban legend however. They are a bother for all!!!

Answer 5

Apart from the million pigeons you feed and take pictures of, there are also a bunch of seagulls infiltrated in the flock.

I remember the last night I was there, we took the Vaporetto to Piazza San Marcos at dusk and when we got there, the Piazza was pigeon free except for the dead ones scattered all over the place (around 30 pigeons) I took a close look at one of them and found that it had been canibalized!. The pigeon was almost complete except for a hole on the chest from where the scavengers took their feast. I supose that, with so many people in the Piazza, somebody might step on one and injured it, after that the pigeons (or Seagulls) finish the task.

Looking on the Internet I found a movement against pigeons, and the Italian branch, Resistenza Italiana dei Piccioni (RIP)  has claimed 10,000 deaths only in Piazza San Marcos.

I don't think there's a connection between the Piazza and the pigeons, it's just that having no land around to look for food, they simply go to the nearest open space to obtain it and since people make easy money selling bird food, they are certantly going to multiply.

Answer 6

I just returned from Italy and I spent some time in Venice.There are a lot of pigeons in the square, however they do represent anything. Pigeons have no worth or symbolism in Venice.

Answer 7

How do you make a venetian blind?

You poke him in the eye.

No connection, but they are a pain sometimes, especially with all the people buying the food.

Answer 8

Dear,

no connection whatsoever, a part the fact that there are quite a few especially noticeable in St. Mark's Square.

Throughout the years where actually a problem being frequently full of deseases infact the local administration (Comune di Venezia) tried in the past to sterilize (I hope is the right word ..) a bunch of them to try to decrease their presence.

Ciao