Ancient Venetian idioms always
current

curiosities

The Venetian dialect is rich in idioms, peculiar idiomatic expressions, most often funny, that have been handed down from generation to generation: the Venetian sayings.

There are many of them, dealing with all aspects of daily life, and we have selected some of the most significant and understandable ones.

Many have historical references, because the Serenissima Venetian Republic was a great naval power that over the centuries expanded into the islands and territories of the Adriatic and Mediterranean seas, coming to encompass almost all of the eastern coasts of the Adriatic (entirely known as the "Gulf of Venice"), but also the large islands of Crete ("Candia" for the Venetians), Cyprus and most of the Greek islands and the Peloponnese ("Morea" for the Venetians). On several occasions its influence reached as far as the Bosporus.

Let us begin with the saying "andar a Patraso con tuto" or "mandar a Patraso con tuto" (to go to Patras with everything or to send to Patras with everything) which in the two different nuances means "to let oneself die" or "to end in ruin" economically. "Andar a Patraso" recalls the defeat suffered by Venetian admiral Vettor Cappello in 1467 on the island of Negroponte near Patras. His grief was so great that he retired and died of a broken heart a short time later, while "mandar a Patraso" comes from the disastrous defeat of provveditore Giacomo Barbarigo in the battle against the Turks at Patras in 1446.

Instead, of a particularly thin person with no money in his pocket, it is said "seco incandio" (skinny and reduced to poverty). The derivation of this saying is due to Candia, (today's Crete), known to the Venetians for the war against the Turks, a war that lasted 25 years, for which they had to shell out in the year 1668 the sum of 4,392,000 ducats. This was an extraordinarily high sum for those times and did not remain much either in the pockets of the citizens or in the coffers of the public treasury. The Venetians were therefore left "incandii" (without money).

It is also said "ndemo bever un'ombra" (let's go drink a shade) inviting someone to get something at the bar. It is a very popular saying, and to understand its meaning one has to go back in time to the end of the XIV century when, around the bell tower of St. Mark's, stalls were set up with various businesses: junk dealers, bakers, apothecaries and taverns. As the years went by, it remained mainly the osterias, which served wine on tables, which during the day were moved around the bell tower following the movement of its shadow. So they used to say "ndemo bever all'ombra," which over time turned into "ndemo bever un'ombra." The saying is still alive and among the Venetians' favorites.