BED AND BREAKFAST GENEVE

Meet the Hotel Danieli Excelsior, one of the finest hotels in all of Venice. Like practically everything in the beautiful city, each building we see today is merely in its latest iteration, the enumeration of which would likely require two digits. But in the case of the Hotel Danieli Excelsior this is not quite the case. Why that is is a story that is not often told.

The Hotel Danieli Excelsior is actually comprised of three separate buildings two of which can be seen in the image above. The 600 year-old Palazzo Dandolo is the first and oldest of these and is seen on the right. The second is exactly in the middle and is the newest addition to the Venice waterfront, and this is where we find our story, which begins in 1171 during the Venetian Republic’s third century, with an attack on the Genoese settlement of Galata.

In the centuries that followed the collapse of Rome the City-State became the bulwark of the inhabitants of the Italian Peninsula. There was no unifying central power as there had been under the Empire and many medallions of modernity such as running water, a market economy, and defensive armies relied upon the efforts of citizens at the more local levels in order to be brought to fruition. When different city-states found that a relationship between themselves could be beneficial to both they became allies – until the benefits of a new arrangement exceeded those of the old one. The result was a loose-knit system of constantly shifting political, familial, and military alliances, all sprinkled with a modicum of Papal indulgence.

In Venice, the leader of the city-state was an elected official called a Doge. Once elected a Doge served for life – or until, in appreciation for all of his efforts on their behalf, the inhabitants of Venice awarded him an all expenses paid trip to some peaceful monastery to live out the remainder of his life. The Doge was the living embodiment of Venice. He was her political and military leader, as well as her primary religious leader inasmuch as it was he who dictated to the bishops Venice’s position on Church business.

It was in this setting that Galata was attacked and destroyed in 1171. Precisely who had attacked Galata remains unknown to this day but Venice was immediately blamed. In the neighboring Byzantine Empire Venetians were rounded up by the thousands and imprisoned. Venetians were incensed. They would not see their kind rounded up like common criminals accused of a crime they denied committing without a firm response. And so direct, vengeful reprisal from Doge Vitale Michiel became essential in the 16th year of his rule.

The Doge first raised a fighting force – a Navy. This, the first public assumption of military debt in recorded history, was accomplished by forcing the citizenry to loan Venice, according to their means, the money to pay for the construction of the Navy and manpower to crew it. To ensure that everyone paid his share, and to assist in the collection of the money, the Doge divided Venice into the six Sestieri (districts – Sestiere) that still exist today.

In September of 1171 he sailed out of the lagoon with his Navy to avenge his people. Before too long he encountered diplomatic representatives of the Byzantine Empire who assured him that if he were to send an emissary to Constantinople all arguments could be amicably settled under terms that everyone would find acceptable. The Doge accepted and in so doing sealed his fate.

While his representatives spent many months in fruitless negotiations with their Byzantine counterparts, the Doge parked his fleet at Chios awaiting developments. During their stay, plague descended upon the unfortunate warriors and by the spring of 1172 thousands aboard the crowded ships were dead. Survivors were in no shape to fight an enemy that Doge Vitale was learning from his emissaries had no intention of agreeing to anything. Unable to fight, and realizing that his crews were on the verge of mutiny, the Doge was forced to sail his diseased fighting force back to Venice to regroup.

Upon his arrival in Venice the Doge not only had nothing to show for the efforts exerted during a year of absence, he had literally brought the most feared pestilence in all of Europe right to the heart of his city. The inhabitants were not amused and in May of 1172 he faced his Assembly to explain himself. They would hear none of it – and neither would the unruly mob outside the palace. Realizing that his survival depended on immediate flight, he attempted to steal away through a side door and down an alley to a nearby convent. He was intercepted and dispatched with haste by the mob.

An investigation into who had murdered the Doge was immediately ordered by the Assembly. His assassin’s identity was learned and the miscreant brought to justice and executed – ostensibly for interfering in the governmental affairs of Venice. To punctuate the message after his execution, the assassin’s house was o

Thuy and I wondered through the hotel late at night and stumbled upon the Ritz Ball Room. I turned on the lights and was just in awe at the decadence. The chandeliers are made of blown glass; even the bedrooms had smaller versions of them.

Thuy and I stayed at the St. Regency Grand hotel for two nights in Rome. Built in 1894 as the first deluxe hotel in Rome, the St. Regis Grand Hotel, Rome is within walking distance of the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and Via Veneto. As the marketing literature states “Upon reopening in mid-December 1999, after an extensive restoration and renovation, the St. Regis Grand Hotel, Rome reclaimed its status as the finest hotel in Rome and one of the best in the world. As a focal point of Rome's diplomatic and political life, we are proud to host many national and international dignitaries, heads of state, business executives, and widely known celebrities.”

It was fabulous. We were even able to get Thai food there! By this point anything besides Italian food seemed enticing. So even though it was most expensive Thai food I ever had it was worth every Euro. Oh the luxury. My hedonistic side was in full indulgence mode.