- 6 weeks ago
Rob and Rylan's Grand Tour Season 1 Episode 1 - Full Episode
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00:00Mum, you alright?
00:03Yeah.
00:04Look, this is where I'm living, look.
00:06It's a boatline, right?
00:07Yes, I'm on a canal, of course there's a boat.
00:09You've got a nice colour.
00:11No, it's fake, mum.
00:12Oh, is it I?
00:13No, I'm gonna go, I love you and I'll speak to you later.
00:16I love you, have a nice time.
00:25This is Rob.
00:27He's one of the cleverest blokes I know.
00:29Who just loves talking about art.
00:31This room, it's like fireworks in your brain.
00:34To anyone who'll listen.
00:36I mean, it's being in the middle of the greatest opera set ever.
00:40Right.
00:40Does that make sense?
00:41No.
00:42And this is Rylan.
00:44I like the aftertaste.
00:46Who doesn't know his arts from his elbow.
00:49I mean, this is a big old paint job.
00:51Despite our differences, wicked mates.
00:53It's amazing when I look at us that we're the same species.
00:56But we've both been through painful divorces recently and are ready for the next chapter.
01:02To life.
01:03This trip is part of my restarting life.
01:07One.
01:07So we're getting away from it all on the original package holiday.
01:12The Grand Tour.
01:13This is utterly absurd in every conceivable sense.
01:16It's what we do.
01:17The Grand Tour was a life-changing trip.
01:19The young 18th century aristocrats who flocked to Italy on a cultural odyssey.
01:26You just take it all in.
01:27And I mean, there's a lot to take in here.
01:29They came back changed men.
01:31Blah, blah, blah, blah.
01:31Independent.
01:32Educated.
01:33I love it.
01:34This is me.
01:35With a bag full of keepsakes and often a dose of the clap.
01:39Blah, blah, blah.
01:40We're following the most famous Grand Tourist of all, romantic poet Lord Byron, on the 200th anniversary of his death, from Venice to Florence and Rome.
01:52Byron would challenge friends to swimming races here.
01:56It's full of sewage.
01:57So would the historic Grand Tour turn us into civilized gentlemen?
02:02My God, it's only when you step back and you know it's...
02:04Yes.
02:05Mend our broken hearts.
02:09And transform our lives forever.
02:11I never would have done it in a million years if I hadn't been this idiot.
02:16I have been looking at a painting for half an hour.
02:20The experiment is working.
02:27Arriving in Venice puts a song in anyone's heart.
02:41The art, architecture and music found here made it many Grand Tourists' first stop.
02:47I want to start my Grand Tour completely authentically.
02:52So I'm arriving just as Byron did, by rowing boat.
02:57There's something important about hearing the sound.
02:59What it would have felt like to have arrived two or three hundred years ago.
03:02Three hundred years ago.
03:03Same noises.
03:04Oi!
03:06I mean, it looks and feels exactly the same.
03:09Where else can you be in a museum like this where you can immediately enter the past?
03:13So I'm doing the real thing.
03:16Whereas Rylan's having more of a...
03:18A bling experience.
03:22Well, unlike Rob, I like to arrive in style.
03:25So I know the Grand Tour back in the day was for rich playboys.
03:30And Rob wants to do it proper authentic on his little boat.
03:33But come on, if it was nowadays, you'd be on one of these.
03:35So I'm going to do it my way.
03:38He wasn't as infused about an authentic, artistic, historical feeling as much as I am.
03:45Oh!
03:46Sorry, big seagull.
03:47What I'm hoping is that he'll get the full force of this place in all of its majesty.
03:55So I've literally got off of a plane onto this boat at the airport.
04:00And now I'm in Venice.
04:04I didn't know that was a thing.
04:06I thought like there might be like a sly motorway or something.
04:09But there really ain't.
04:10Like the canals are like the roads.
04:12The Grand Tour was intended to complete a young man's classical education,
04:27turning him into a civilised gentleman.
04:30But Venice was also renowned for certain extracurricular activities.
04:35So most Grand Tourists came with a wingman.
04:40Everybody who did the Grand Tour went with somebody else.
04:43And they could be completely different.
04:44But they brought different things to the experience.
04:48And I may know about art, but not necessarily about the art of life.
04:54I think Ryan's really going to help me with that.
04:56He's going to get me in touch with my cultural and social indifference.
05:00I don't care.
05:01I'm going to do everything they did.
05:04I'm going to have sex with married people.
05:07Or I might not.
05:08There's probably a very small chance I'm going to do that.
05:12They might have travelled in pairs.
05:15But many Grand Tourists stayed in separate digs.
05:18Because you never knew you might bring back from a night out.
05:22Oh my God, are we pulling in here?
05:24Oh my goodness, look at this.
05:26I've got my own jetty.
05:28I'll come out and step me green, have I got a jetty?
05:33I like to be where the action is.
05:35So I'm staying on the Grand Canal.
05:38The Las Vegas strip of Venice.
05:40Oh my God!
05:42This is crazy.
05:43I prefer lodgings that come with a sense of history.
05:56I mean, Venice.
05:59This is a palace once lived in by Venetian nobility.
06:02It's very me.
06:08My God.
06:10I've got my own ceiling fresco.
06:12That's the 19th century equivalent of having a mirror above your bed.
06:15Hello, babe.
06:21How are you?
06:22I'm in a palace.
06:24I don't want to make you jealous.
06:26I know, it's amazing.
06:26Hang on.
06:28Oh my God, that's gorgeous.
06:30That's on the ceiling.
06:31Look at this.
06:32This is as real as it gets for the Grand Tour.
06:34Look at that.
06:35Original fresco.
06:37Let me show you my view.
06:39You've got a view?
06:40I'm on the Grand Canal.
06:43That's my view.
06:46Okay, I'm coming.
06:47See you soon.
06:52Oh my God.
06:54Hello, Joey.
06:54Oh, babe.
06:57Shut up.
06:58Look at this.
06:59Shut up.
06:59I know.
07:01What?
07:02Babe, listen, we go Venice.
07:03You know, we've got to do it right.
07:05Can I just say, the gondola drivers that have passed me today.
07:09I mean, look at that one.
07:11Giuseppe's handsome.
07:12Is it a bit not coos to call everyone Giuseppe?
07:15No, he's actually called Giuseppe.
07:17I spoke to him earlier.
07:18I bet he parked up there.
07:21Babe, I'm getting down with the locals.
07:24Right across the canal from my gaff
07:26is the palazzo that the flamboyant Byron
07:29stayed in two centuries ago.
07:33When he arrived, he was fleeing debt
07:35and a scandalous divorce,
07:38partly caused by sleeping with his half-sister.
07:40His lavish Venetian lifestyle included an entourage of 14 servants,
07:46two monkeys, a fox, a wolf, and a sickly crow.
07:51But only the dog made the official portrait.
07:53Byron famously said of Venice,
08:00I loved her from my boyhood.
08:02She, to me, was a fairy city of the heart,
08:05rising like water columns from the sea.
08:07I don't often compare myself to Byron,
08:11but I, too, am a divorcee, and so is Rylan.
08:15We actually shared the same lawyer.
08:18And now we're both looking for a new start.
08:21I want to dance on a bar in Venice.
08:24Do you not?
08:26I'm so buttoned up.
08:27Do you know what?
08:28You are buttoned up.
08:29And do you know what I want to do,
08:30for want of a better term?
08:31Yes.
08:31I want to unbutton you,
08:33and maybe you can just do one of my buttons up.
08:35How's that?
08:36Yeah.
08:36Like, we want to form the perfect shirt.
08:38Yeah, the perfect bit of cleavage for me.
08:41That's what I want.
08:44Once they'd unpacked,
08:46the Grand Tourists made a beeline for St Mark's Square,
08:49where they'd all hang out in its bars, cafes and coffee houses.
08:54But the Grand Tour wasn't meant to be a jolly.
08:59Most travellers were expected to study the art and culture
09:02of each place they visited.
09:04So, their parents assigned their young sons tour guides,
09:08known locally as Cicceroni.
09:12Part chaperone, part tutor,
09:14the British called them bear leaders.
09:17Hi.
09:18Hey, guys. How's it going?
09:19It was fine.
09:20To help with my cultural enlightenment,
09:22our bear leader's a Venice resident
09:24and art historian called Adam.
09:27How did you become a bear leader?
09:28I studied here, and I fell in love with the city,
09:31and so I've tried to just immerse myself in it
09:33as much as I possibly could.
09:34Having fallen in love with the city,
09:35you're hoping we will too, just like the Grand Tourists?
09:38Absolutely.
09:38What I think we should start with here
09:40is one of the most monumental works of art
09:43that the city has to offer.
09:44Heaven.
09:45Sounds great.
09:45Fantastic.
09:46Follow me? Let's go.
09:47Let's go.
09:48I wouldn't say I know a lot about art,
09:50but I feel like we're not really taught about art.
09:53Maybe duck a little bit fantastic.
09:55I don't know.
09:56I come from quite a working-class background,
09:57and art wasn't the thing
09:59that we had hanging up in our houses.
10:01It would be fake chandeliers from down the market.
10:05That was our family heirlooms.
10:07Look at how impressive this structure is.
10:12Somebody lived here.
10:14The palace was home to the Doge,
10:17the elected leader of the Venetian Republic.
10:20During the Middle Ages,
10:21Venice became the richest city in Europe
10:23by transporting precious goods like spices and silks
10:27from the east to west.
10:30In 1588, the sitting Doge commissioned
10:33a huge work of art for his stateroom,
10:35intended to impress and intimidate every visitor.
10:40Come on in.
10:41Come on in.
10:42Oh, my God.
10:43The Doge would sit right there,
10:45and this is what I want to show you.
10:48Famed for his enormous paintings
10:56and the speed with which he completed them,
11:00Tintoretto was one of the most brilliant
11:02and accomplished Italian Renaissance artists.
11:06Il Paradiso was his greatest achievement
11:08and a must-see for any grand tourist.
11:12It's 24 metres across by 7 metres tall.
11:16At the time, the largest painting
11:20in the entire world, on canvas.
11:24I wouldn't say art intimidates me.
11:26However, people talking about art can intimidate me.
11:30Am I right in thinking
11:32that it's like a journey to the other side?
11:36Exactly.
11:37Yeah, it's like when you become an angel.
11:40But what's also happening?
11:42I mean, there's a judgment going on.
11:44Not everyone's getting in.
11:47Look at the light.
11:47Yeah, oh, my God.
11:48Oh, my God, look.
11:51Tintoretto was a leading exponent
11:52of the Venetian school,
11:54a radical new style of oil painting
11:56that used colour to capture light
11:58in ways never seen before.
12:02It does feel 3-D.
12:04I feel like if I climbed up there,
12:06I could jump through that bit.
12:07That is the Venetian school of painting.
12:10It's creating depth.
12:11And one of the things
12:13that really appealed to the Venetians
12:14is the way that the form
12:17is created by the colour.
12:19What is the predominant colour?
12:21Blue.
12:23Yeah.
12:23Expensive stuff.
12:24It is.
12:25What do you mean expensive?
12:26It comes from a mineral called lapis lazuli.
12:30And...
12:30Oh, you just don't think about these things, do you?
12:32Look, we're so used to going
12:33and being able to buy a tube of paint.
12:35Hobbycraft.
12:35Yeah, exactly.
12:36And the thing is,
12:37they made their paints.
12:39But that lapis lazuli is hard to mine.
12:41It's hard to get here.
12:43So when you have this much blue
12:46in a painting,
12:48it is demonstrating to anybody that comes here,
12:51look at how powerful we are.
12:53It's almost peacocking.
12:55A big time.
12:56Absolutely.
12:57They had so much money.
13:03Do you know what I really want to do?
13:05I just want to sit on the floor and look at it.
13:07Because when do you ever
13:08get to come somewhere like this
13:10and actually just...
13:13sit...
13:14I've got a bad back.
13:15I've got done.
13:15OK.
13:18Look at that.
13:21I feel like I'm watching a film now
13:23that's not moving,
13:25that's not making any sound,
13:26but it's telling you the whole plot line.
13:29Like, you feel like one of them
13:30is just going to turn in a minute and look at you.
13:32Do you know what I mean?
13:33I don't think I've ever seen anything like this
13:36in real life.
13:37It's just real, isn't it?
13:42And you've made me cry.
13:45That's exactly it, right?
13:47I love art, and I want everybody to delight in it.
13:52You good?
13:53Yeah, yeah.
13:54Cool.
13:55But to be with somebody who's truly experiencing it,
13:57feeling it...
13:59..that matters.
14:00For a poet like Byron,
14:07Venice's works of art
14:08weren't the only source of inspiration.
14:11He was also influenced
14:13by the city's architecture.
14:17A bridge linking the Gioge's palace
14:19to a prison across the water
14:20became world-famous
14:22after he named it
14:23the Bridge of Sighs.
14:25It's two sides of the history of Venice.
14:28Decadent, beautiful palaces on one side.
14:30Yeah.
14:31And within reaching distance,
14:33across the bridge,
14:34where you're sitting,
14:35was the prison.
14:36So, literally, like,
14:37living the life,
14:39banged up for life.
14:40Precisely.
14:40Just imagine that.
14:42You know, you could hear
14:43people having a decadent life,
14:45but they'd be in prison.
14:46Is that why it's called
14:47Bridge of Sighs, then?
14:48I mean, it's like,
14:48you could probably hear
14:49people's waning.
14:50The Sighs, that was...
14:52It's a poetry, exactly.
14:53Let me show you from the bridge.
14:54Come on.
14:55In his epic poem,
14:57Childe Harold's Pilgrimage,
14:59Byron writes,
15:00I stood in Venice
15:01on the Bridge of Sighs,
15:03a palace
15:04and a prison
15:05on each hand.
15:07The line reflects
15:08Byron's own struggles,
15:09an aristocrat
15:10exiled from England
15:11in search of redemption
15:13in exotic foreign lands.
15:17It was the perfect metaphor
15:18for Byron,
15:19who was constrained in England
15:21and just through a messy divorce,
15:23even in joy,
15:25you always have to remember
15:26that you're in reaching
15:27distance of sorrow.
15:28Yeah.
15:30That whole sort of feeling
15:32of just escaping,
15:33running away from it all
15:35and trying to see the world
15:37and learn new things,
15:39this couldn't have come
15:40at a better time for me,
15:41I don't think.
15:42I feel the same.
15:42I'm so contained.
15:44I repeat myself.
15:45I read the same books
15:47and sleep under my
15:48study with a farting dog.
15:51But I just need...
15:55More.
15:55More.
15:59By the time Byron came to Venice,
16:01it was in economic decline.
16:04The rise of the Ottoman Empire
16:05in the East
16:06and the emergence of trade
16:08with the New World in the West
16:09meant the city
16:10had lost its influence in Europe.
16:12So tourism,
16:14rather than trade,
16:15became increasingly important.
16:18Grand tourists
16:19wanted souvenirs of Venice,
16:21but fridge magnets
16:22weren't a thing back then
16:23and there was no Instagram.
16:26Adam!
16:27Oh, hey, guys.
16:28Good to see you again.
16:29How are you?
16:30Our bear leader, Adam,
16:31knows the very spot
16:32where one clever artist
16:33exploited a gap
16:35in the market.
16:38I got you some postcards.
16:40Oh, that's nice.
16:41It's always nice to get by.
16:42This very, very famous painter.
16:43I'm sure you've heard of this guy.
16:44His name is Canaletto.
16:46Take a look at that.
16:48Canaletto was also a painter
16:50from the Venetian school.
16:52He popularized the Veduta style
16:54or view painting.
16:56English novelist
16:57William Beckford wrote,
16:58The pencil of Canaletto
17:00conveys so perfect an idea
17:02as to render
17:03all verbal description
17:04superfluous.
17:11You're standing in a snapshot
17:13of history,
17:14but literally
17:15looking at the snapshot
17:16while still standing in it.
17:18That's crazy.
17:19This is a snapshot
17:20of Venice
17:21shrinking in power.
17:23It's no longer
17:24the great city-state it was.
17:25It wasn't.
17:26And what is
17:28keeping it alive?
17:29Tourists.
17:30If you're a tourist
17:31and you're coming here,
17:32you want this.
17:33Yeah, that's exactly
17:34what you want.
17:34You want the gondola,
17:36you want the view.
17:38Yeah.
17:38But that's to preserve
17:39an image that
17:41we want to keep up.
17:43Like if this was London,
17:44there'd be
17:4440 skyscrapers there now.
17:46And an Asda.
17:47Yeah.
17:48Or a little nowadays.
17:49Canalettos didn't come cheap,
17:56but wealthy grand tourists
17:58were also scooping up
17:59larger works of art
18:00and shipping them home.
18:03English country houses
18:04began filling up
18:06with Italian art
18:06and antiquities.
18:09Rightly or wrongly,
18:10it kept the Venetian
18:11art world afloat.
18:15Oh, thank you.
18:17Is it clean?
18:18How did you?
18:19Oh, hi.
18:20Buongiorno.
18:21Buongiorno.
18:22I feel like cattle.
18:26When tourists
18:27took Canalettos home,
18:29it gave everyone
18:30a glimpse
18:30of this beautiful
18:31floating city.
18:33And then they all
18:34wanted to visit,
18:35which is basically
18:36what Towie
18:37did for Brentwood.
18:39There was a period
18:40where I lived in Essex
18:42where you would have
18:43like coach loads
18:44of people
18:44come to go
18:46to the high street
18:47and literally
18:48you would be
18:49walking around
18:50and be like,
18:50oh, oh,
18:51move, move, move.
18:52It does make you think,
18:53like, what do the people
18:54that live here,
18:55as much as I'm sure
18:56they benefit,
18:57do they love
18:58walking through
18:59a thousand people
19:00when all they want to do
19:01is go and get
19:01a little ice cream?
19:04I'm genuinely lost
19:06to understand why
19:08people would come
19:09to Brentwood.
19:11Well, why have you
19:11come to Venice?
19:12Because I get
19:13spiritually uplifted.
19:14Is that what happens
19:15in Brentwood?
19:16Well, Julie from
19:17Newcastle comes there
19:18because, like,
19:20you want to feel
19:21spiritually lifted
19:22from the art.
19:23She wants to get
19:24fucked in the sugar hut.
19:27I suppose it's the same
19:28with that.
19:28It's the same.
19:29It's the same.
19:29With the loaded British
19:33upper classes
19:34flocking to Venice,
19:35it gave rise
19:36to a whole host
19:37of industries
19:38keen to relieve them
19:39of their money.
19:40Today,
19:41we're taking one
19:42of the grand tourist's
19:43favourite shopping trips
19:44to Murano.
19:45Don't fool him, Rob.
19:46Murano.
19:48One of a hundred-odd
19:49islands dotted
19:50across the
19:51Venetian lagoon.
19:56The famed Murano
19:57glassmakers
19:58got relocated here
19:59just in case
20:00their kilns
20:01burnt the whole city
20:02down.
20:03Grand tourists
20:04were tempted
20:04to part with their
20:05cash
20:05for elaborate
20:06chandeliers
20:07and designer
20:08glassware.
20:09Nowadays,
20:12customers prefer
20:13statement pieces
20:14or massive dolphins.
20:19Buongiorno.
20:20Hi, I'm Ryland.
20:21Nice to meet you.
20:21Nice to meet you.
20:22Nice to meet you.
20:23I'm Davide.
20:24Please,
20:25come in.
20:25Very hot.
20:26Davide Salvadori
20:28comes from a long
20:29line of Murano
20:30glassblowers
20:30that dates back
20:32all the way
20:32to Byron's
20:33grand tour days.
20:35His family
20:36have been creating
20:36beautiful and fragile
20:38works of art
20:38for 11 generations.
20:42Oh, my goodness.
20:43This.
20:44You make all this?
20:45Yeah.
20:46This is all glass?
20:48All glass.
20:50So what is this?
20:51This is an instrument.
20:53Plim, plim, plim.
20:54Yeah.
20:55So something like this,
20:56this piece here,
20:57how much would that be?
20:5965,000.
21:00Wow.
21:01Stop touching it.
21:02Wow.
21:03Don't touch nothing.
21:05Don't rock.
21:06You know,
21:06when people came here,
21:08the grand tourists,
21:09you're Byron.
21:10Yeah.
21:11What must they have thought?
21:12For understanding that,
21:14you need to see
21:15a glassblower
21:16at work.
21:17I'd love to see
21:18a glassblower at work.
21:20Davide starts by
21:21dipping his blow pole
21:22in molten glass
21:23before shaping it.
21:25Now,
21:26I go in
21:27the hole
21:28with a blade.
21:32Wow.
21:37Voilà .
21:38Can I touch?
21:40No.
21:42No, no.
21:44Oh, my God.
21:46That's crazy.
21:46600 degree.
21:49I know the grand tourists
21:50probably didn't go this deep,
21:51but,
21:52I mean,
21:52while you're here,
21:53you might as well
21:53have a good old blow.
21:55So you stay there
21:57on your knees
21:58and I'll tell you
21:59when to blow.
22:00I'm a very practical
22:01sort of guy.
22:02Really?
22:02Yeah,
22:03but I think that would
22:03surprise people.
22:06Blow.
22:08Blow.
22:09Stop.
22:09Stop.
22:10I'm very much
22:11hands-on,
22:12fix it.
22:13You couldn't put a shelf
22:15up in it?
22:16Yeah.
22:19My glass.
22:20Babe,
22:21if that was in
22:21Harvey Nicks,
22:22they'd charge
22:23fortune for that.
22:26I make a glass.
22:29I think it's okay.
22:34So I have
22:35absolutely no
22:36transferable skills
22:37whatsoever.
22:38Blow, blow, blow,
22:39blow, blow, blow,
22:39blow, blow, blow, blow,
22:40blow, blow, blow, blow.
22:41I can't do anything.
22:43That looks like
22:51evidence that you
22:52would use in a case
22:54involving a car crash.
22:56Madam, I put it to you,
22:57you know,
22:58that looks like an exhibit,
22:59not a piece of art.
23:00Thank you very much.
23:02Glad to see you.
23:04And I wonder,
23:05just looking at that,
23:06my wonder at art
23:08and how much I love it
23:09is partly because
23:10I can't do it.
23:12after you look.
23:15Oh, that's kind.
23:18This is cute.
23:20Oh, it's exquisite.
23:21Oh, look at this.
23:22I like walking
23:23into places with you here.
23:24Why?
23:25Because you're tall
23:26and you sort of look
23:26that way,
23:27which makes me feel rich.
23:28It's like going
23:29to my school reunion
23:30in a Ferrari.
23:31Am I your Ferrari?
23:32A bit, yeah.
23:34I've been called worse.
23:36Grazie.
23:36Grazie, mille.
23:40Byron also went
23:41on the grand tour
23:42with a close friend.
23:44Still reeling
23:45from the end
23:45of his marriage,
23:46he came to rely
23:47on his companion,
23:48Sir John Hophouse,
23:49saying how he owed him
23:51the debt
23:52of enlightened friendship.
23:55Ryland's divorce
23:56was also public
23:57and traumatic.
24:00I think it was
24:02a culmination
24:03of my marriage
24:04breaking down
24:05and actually me
24:07stopping for the first time
24:08in ten years.
24:09Then all of a sudden
24:10I hit quite a big speed bump
24:11and instead of carrying on,
24:14I was just sunk.
24:14was the worst
24:18experience of my life.
24:20I just went
24:21on a downward spiral.
24:22I tried to end it.
24:24I tried to finish myself off.
24:26I did an A.
24:27I went down
24:28to Nine Stone.
24:29I'm six foot four, Rob.
24:30Like, I looked
24:31horrendous.
24:34I'm so grateful
24:35for what I've got.
24:36Yeah.
24:36I come from a council house, Rob.
24:38Like, I'm not saying
24:40we were on the breadline
24:40because we was not
24:41on the breadline,
24:42but we didn't have a lot.
24:45But in those moments
24:48and even to this day,
24:49if I had to give it all up
24:51to not have to have
24:53put my mum through
24:54what I put her through
24:55when I got ill,
24:58fine.
24:59Take it.
25:00It was horrendous.
25:01She's a 70-year-old woman
25:02and she had to watch
25:05her successful son
25:07literally disintegrate.
25:14You know, I'm not talking
25:17about my marriage
25:17because, you know,
25:18he's a private person
25:19and...
25:20Yeah.
25:20But we're in Venice,
25:22which is a place
25:22about passion
25:23and I was one
25:26so in love
25:27when I was in my
25:28early 20s,
25:30but it wasn't reciprocated
25:32ever.
25:33And it needs to be.
25:34And it never has been.
25:36Do you know what, Rob?
25:37We're here once.
25:39We've been through
25:40quite a lot of shit.
25:42What's it taught us?
25:43Nothing's forever
25:45unless it's right.
25:47Cheers.
25:49Then tell him.
25:52Peace, fit.
25:57That's something.
25:58I thought I turned it
25:59a bit light.
26:04I am to love.
26:06To love.
26:09This trick for me
26:11is part of my restart
26:14in life.
26:15You know, I'm 34
26:16and I'm young enough
26:18to start again
26:20when it comes down
26:21to my personal life
26:22and, listen,
26:23I've got no limits now.
26:25Nothing fazes me.
26:27I'm willing to try anything
26:28or anyone.
26:37Now, look,
26:38Venice is no place
26:39for the heartbroken.
26:41You literally can't move
26:42for happy couples.
26:44But back in the Grand Tour days,
26:46everyone was up for grabs.
26:48And from what I've heard,
26:49Byron was grabbing everyone.
26:52His reputation
26:53was really made
26:54when one of the notches
26:55on his bedpost,
26:56Lady Caroline Lamb,
26:57called him mad,
26:59bad and dangerous to know.
27:01As his interest waned,
27:02in a desperate attempt
27:03to keep him,
27:04she sent Byron
27:05a selection of her pubes
27:06in an envelope,
27:07which is really sweet.
27:11he did take on
27:11hundreds of lovers
27:12in his tour.
27:14Some of them lovers
27:15were men.
27:16So why should Byron
27:19have all the fun?
27:23Hello, love.
27:24Hello, dear.
27:25Welcome to my palettes,
27:26so dear.
27:26All right.
27:27You all good?
27:28Sit down,
27:28because I want to talk to you.
27:30Right.
27:31Right.
27:32Today,
27:32I think
27:33we should have a bit of fun.
27:35So I called Adam
27:36and I asked him
27:37to set us both up
27:39on a date.
27:43Please don't make me do this.
27:46Babe,
27:47hold me.
27:48You have to have small talk.
27:50My chat is,
27:51nice to meet you.
27:53Tell me about
27:53your childhood pain.
27:54Right, well, look,
27:55I can't help you
27:56with the chat
27:56because I'm not going
27:57to be with you,
27:58but I can't let you
27:59go out in that.
28:00Right, come on.
28:01Where are your clothes?
28:02They're in a wardrobe.
28:03What shoes we got?
28:04Absolutely not.
28:05We are not in cold today.
28:07Put them down.
28:08Them white trainers.
28:10The thought of being
28:10conscripted into a date
28:11is just about
28:12my worst nightmare.
28:14But grand tourists
28:15would try this stuff
28:16and I can't come
28:17and have the romance
28:18of Venice
28:19if I'm not prepared
28:19to have a go at it.
28:21What did he say?
28:21No socks.
28:22I'm not not wearing socks.
28:23He'll just have to put up
28:24with that.
28:24That's disgusting.
28:26Oh, baby.
28:29You look good.
28:29Can I wear a hat?
28:31I'd leave the hat.
28:33Right,
28:33got your sunglasses?
28:34Yeah.
28:34Have you had a spray
28:34of aftershave?
28:35Oh, no,
28:36that's in the other room.
28:37Right, well, get that
28:37and make sure
28:38you do downstairs as well.
28:39What do you mean downstairs?
28:40Oh, I see what you mean.
28:42Ridiculous.
28:44Ready?
28:45No.
28:46Let's do it.
28:47I hate you.
28:47I love you too.
28:51I'm meeting my date,
28:52Stefano,
28:53an art historian
28:54on a gondola.
28:56If you see a couple
28:57on a gondola today,
28:58there's a fair chance
28:59they're about
28:59to get engaged.
29:01Now, I'm not sure
29:02I'm ready
29:02to put a ring
29:03on it yet,
29:04but hopefully
29:04my luck with men
29:05is about to change.
29:08I really know her parents.
29:10I always thought
29:11when I was younger,
29:12oh, my God,
29:12imagine being, like,
29:13known and
29:13you've probably
29:14had to get anyone
29:15you want.
29:16It's the complete opposite.
29:17Is it this way?
29:18I've had two dates
29:20in the last two years.
29:21One of them
29:22was really, really great,
29:23was going well,
29:24and then my job
29:26was just too much
29:26for his life,
29:27and then the other one
29:28was so interested
29:29in my job
29:30he decided to
29:31call the press.
29:32So,
29:33they're the two
29:33opposite ends
29:34of the spectrum.
29:35I need someone
29:35in the middle
29:35that can deal with it,
29:37but don't want it.
29:37Hi.
29:38Hi.
29:39How are you?
29:40Cheers, man.
29:41Thank you very much.
29:42Oh, this is, like, wobbly.
29:43Don't get off
29:44his way.
29:44I ain't got my diet.
29:46Nice to meet you.
29:46Nice to meet you.
29:47I'm Rylan.
29:47How are you?
29:48How are you?
29:49This is fun.
29:50Yeah.
29:54I've never been
29:54on a gondola.
29:56Well,
29:56it's something
29:56that you have to try
29:57when you travel
29:58around Venice.
30:00It has been
30:00like this
30:01for centuries.
30:03I read
30:03that apparently
30:04back in the day,
30:05gondolas
30:06were not full
30:07love
30:08and romance.
30:09No.
30:09They were basically
30:10taxis
30:11for prostitutes
30:12to go sleep
30:13with the men.
30:13Yes, yes.
30:14Like a Uber.
30:15Like a...
30:15Uber for prostitutes.
30:17Uber.
30:17The arrival
30:18of hordes
30:19of randy young Brits
30:20fuelled the rise
30:21of sex tourism.
30:23Prostitution
30:24became rampant
30:25in the city.
30:27One traveller
30:28claimed prostitutes
30:29were so loose
30:30they'd open
30:31their quivers
30:31to any arrow.
30:35And gondolas
30:36weren't just vessels
30:37of romance
30:37back then.
30:38They were pretty
30:39much being used
30:40as discreet
30:40mobile knocking
30:42shops.
30:43They were like
30:44covered
30:44with like
30:45a cabin.
30:46Oh, so you could have...
30:47Yes, nobody...
30:48A bit of a roll
30:49around on the gondola.
30:51I must say though,
30:52this bit of Venice
30:53feels like prostitute.
30:56You know full well
30:57certain things
30:58went down
30:58in this tunnel.
30:59Yes, I mean,
31:00I think
31:01if this...
31:03This is Whore Alley.
31:03With everyone at it,
31:07cases of VD
31:08went through the roof.
31:10Lord Byron
31:11tried to protect himself
31:12with a luxury condom.
31:14It was made from
31:15sheep's gut
31:15and reusable.
31:17It caught the clap.
31:19But the cure back then?
31:21An injection of mercury
31:22up your winky.
31:24I just hope Rob
31:25knows what he's doing.
31:26When he was back
31:29on his feet,
31:30Byron might well
31:31have met a new beau
31:32at a Venetian
31:33high society ball.
31:36So I'm meeting
31:37my blind date
31:38at the Palazzo Dandolo,
31:40a Renaissance palace
31:41which once hosted
31:42lavish parties
31:43and dances.
31:44I'm truly fascinated
31:46by grand tourists,
31:48but it would be
31:49only part of the picture
31:51if that didn't also include
31:53dancing and lovers
31:55and all of the stuff
31:57that all the grand tourists did.
32:00Society balls
32:01gave grand tourists
32:02a chance to show off
32:03in their finest outfits
32:05and many a romance
32:06would have begun
32:07on the dance floor.
32:08Maybe my date Boris
32:10will sweep me off my feet.
32:12Buongiorno.
32:14Buongiorno.
32:15Nice to meet you.
32:15It's been so long
32:17since I've had a date
32:18of any meaningful sort
32:19that it's impossible
32:20to remember.
32:21I feel like I want
32:22to vomit.
32:25Have you danced
32:25before, Boris?
32:26No, I'm a terrible
32:28dancer, Rob.
32:29You have to believe me.
32:30So you try,
32:31like you will try...
32:32I will follow you.
32:33No, that's not a good idea.
32:34We'll end up...
32:35So let's follow Fabio.
32:37Our dance teacher Fabio
32:39is a descendant
32:39of Giacomo Casanova,
32:41Venice's most famous lover
32:42and he's really
32:44getting into character.
32:45Are you ready, guys,
32:46to start?
32:47Uh, yes.
32:49Fabio's teaching us
32:50the Minuet,
32:51an elegant couples dance
32:53that originated
32:53in 17th century France
32:55and spread to aristocratic
32:57ballrooms across Europe.
32:58Anton.
32:59The Minuet,
33:00with its short, neat steps,
33:02was a favourite
33:02of grand tourists.
33:04I feel totally seduced.
33:10Well, I have to say
33:12you look good from behind.
33:14It's my best angle.
33:16Oh, you are a great dancer, guys.
33:18Two men dancing openly together
33:20in Byron's time
33:21was a rare sight.
33:23Remember the flyer?
33:26Oh, no.
33:27Oh, OK.
33:27Yeah, sorry, sorry.
33:29But the exchanging
33:30of female partners
33:31during the Minuet
33:31offered the opportunity
33:33for gay men
33:34to flirt without detection
33:35through tantalising touches
33:37of their fingertips.
33:39I'm very proud of you.
33:42Thank you, Casanova.
33:43OK.
33:44Bow.
33:46Super.
33:47For me,
33:48the shame around being gay
33:49has disappeared over the years.
33:51So, stepping into the footsteps
33:52of the grand tourists
33:53who came here to be free
33:56of a world
33:57that asphyxiated them
33:58in all of these social mores
34:00where they'd come here
34:01and experience
34:02the frisson of a lover.
34:04They could never have done that
34:05in England
34:06without judgment.
34:07They could wake up in the morning
34:08and feel joy,
34:09not post-ejaculative guilt.
34:10And final ball.
34:12And that's the Minuet.
34:17Grazie.
34:18Grazie.
34:19Listen, how about
34:20we have something to drink?
34:22Gen and tonic?
34:23Yes, I think it's a good idea.
34:27Would you suggest
34:28that I go on Grindr?
34:31Here in Venice?
34:33Oh, yeah,
34:35so I can text you.
34:36Venice had become known
34:43for its thriving gay scene,
34:44so much so
34:45that in England,
34:47homosexuality became known
34:48as the Italian vice.
34:51With numbers of male prostitutes growing,
34:53the ladies of the night
34:54petitioned the city's bishop
34:56to help them lure back trade.
34:59He gave them his blessing
34:59to publicly bear their breasts
35:02on a designated bridge
35:03dubbed Ponte della Tete.
35:06Which crudely translates
35:07as the bridge of tits.
35:10I find it really strange
35:12that people back
35:13in the Grand Tour days
35:14would escape to Venice
35:16to have sex
35:17with whoever they wanted,
35:18man, woman, whatever.
35:19But now,
35:21Italy's a little bit backwards,
35:22isn't it,
35:23when it comes down
35:23to LGBT rights.
35:25Your prime minister,
35:26she has said no
35:28to gay adoption.
35:29Yes, she's saying
35:31no to almost everything.
35:34So even building
35:35like a queer community,
35:37it's not easy,
35:38but I'm part
35:40of a drag family.
35:42Yes.
35:43You're a drag queen?
35:44Yes.
35:45Oh my God,
35:46really?
35:47Yes,
35:47and on Saturday,
35:48we celebrate
35:49the first year
35:50of our drag family.
35:52That's so lovely.
35:53So what,
35:53can I come and see?
35:54Maybe you can find yourself
35:57in drag,
35:58in full drag too?
36:00As in me,
36:00me, drug?
36:00Yes.
36:04That was so fun.
36:06Grazie.
36:08Ciao, ciao.
36:08Thank you so much.
36:09That was
36:10an amazing date.
36:12Such a great date.
36:13Bye.
36:14Ciao, ciao.
36:15Bye, bye, bye.
36:16Ciao, ciao.
36:17I think that was
36:18the most cultural date
36:19I've ever had.
36:20Do you know what?
36:21I've thoroughly enjoyed that.
36:23I feel like I've learned
36:24so much off of him
36:25in a real short space of time.
36:30Hello, Laura.
36:31Aperol.
36:32Oh, thank you.
36:33What are you having?
36:34I'm having a beer.
36:35What are you standing like?
36:36You look like a prostitute
36:37standing like that
36:38against the wall.
36:38I might earn some money.
36:40Right, how was it?
36:42Talk to me about Boris.
36:44He's a really nice guy.
36:45So is mine.
36:46Kind.
36:47Kind man.
36:48Yeah.
36:48Yeah.
36:50No, but kind.
36:51Yeah, fine.
36:52Yeah.
36:52Fine.
36:53Let me say this.
36:54Right, go on.
36:54Here's to us
36:55not getting laid,
36:57but getting cultured.
36:59I felt it.
36:59Cheers.
37:01Grand tourists came to Venice
37:16not just to sow their wild oats
37:17and see inspiring works of art.
37:19They also came on a musical pilgrimage.
37:22The city had a cutting-edge music scene back then.
37:25It was like the Glasto of its day.
37:28Elsewhere in Italy,
37:29classical music had been for churches
37:31and opera only performed
37:32in private palaces.
37:35But in Venice,
37:36there were public opera houses
37:38and concert venues
37:39and the finest musicians
37:40flocked from all over the country
37:43to play in front of fee-paying crowds.
37:45I'm meeting Ryland
37:48in the Santa Maria della Pietà ,
37:51known as the Church of Vivaldi.
37:54You can't get anything more...
37:56Oh!
37:56And it's beautiful, isn't it?
37:58You can't get anything more Venetian
38:00than this
38:01in classical music terms.
38:03I'm sorry,
38:03I'm just taken aback by the building.
38:06Local boy Antonio Vivaldi
38:07was a pioneer of the violin concerto
38:10and he composed and performed
38:12many of his major works here.
38:14His fame spread largely because
38:17Grand Tourist took copies
38:18of his music scores home with them.
38:21Every single detail.
38:23Yeah.
38:24It's just gorgeous.
38:25Can we walk around?
38:26Yeah.
38:26Have you been to any classical concerts?
38:28No.
38:29I tell the nearest thing
38:30I've got to classical
38:31is when Pete Tong
38:32did a classical album
38:34and made Ibiza tunes classical.
38:36I love that.
38:37And it's one of my favourites.
38:38What music do you listen to?
38:40Deep House, Trance,
38:42EDM,
38:43but actually the symmetry
38:45between those songs and classical
38:46are pretty much the same.
38:48Shapeshifters, Lola Spheem,
38:50that's a sample.
38:50So I don't know
38:51one of the pieces of music
38:52you've just described.
38:53But you'd know every piece of music
38:55because you'd know the original.
38:57Vivaldi led an orchestra
38:58truly surprising for its day.
39:01He became like musical director
39:03in an orphanage
39:04and at that time
39:07you can imagine
39:08lots of prostitutes
39:09with illegitimate children
39:10and the orchestra that he had
39:12was made up pretty much of girls.
39:15These great players
39:16who had learnt from illegitimate children
39:18to become virtuoso players.
39:20And these female musicians
39:23would sit and play behind masks
39:25and people would come
39:27from Western Europe
39:28to come and hear them play.
39:30Vivaldi composed many
39:31of his concertos
39:32to showcase his own virtuosity
39:34on the violin.
39:36Standing in for him tonight
39:38is Alberto Martini.
39:40Buonasera.
39:41Buonasera.
39:42Ryland.
39:42Buonasera.
39:43Alberto.
39:44Rom.
39:45Nice to meet you.
39:46Pleasure to meet you.
39:47How does it feel
39:48to play Vivaldi here?
39:50For me it's fantastic
39:51because I love Vivaldi
39:53from the first day
39:54I took the violin.
39:56Yeah.
39:56For me it's one of the
39:58greatest composers
40:00in the world
40:01because the energy
40:03and the powerful
40:04of Vivaldi.
40:05I would love it
40:06if Rob could potentially
40:08join you at the end
40:10to maybe
40:11be a maestro of himself.
40:13Fantastic.
40:14It's okay?
40:15Yes.
40:16You've got to do this.
40:17Maybe.
40:18Maybe.
40:18Can you imagine
40:19we have the painter
40:20of Vivaldi?
40:21He's there?
40:22Yes, yes.
40:23And he look down
40:25for his music.
40:27Vivaldi
40:27will be looking down
40:29on you doing it.
40:31This is so exciting.
40:32Yes, yes, yes.
40:33Very, very.
40:33Thank you so much
40:34for this opportunity.
40:35Thank you, thank you.
40:36Can we go up here?
40:37Yeah.
40:38Rob loves
40:40classical music.
40:42He's always going
40:42to concerts
40:43and he even writes
40:44opera reviews.
40:46But you wouldn't think it
40:47after hearing him
40:48murder this on the Arpsicode.
40:50You're in Venice,
40:51the most beautiful city
40:53I think I've ever been to.
40:54Your two passions
40:55are colliding
40:57and you're getting
40:58that opportunity.
40:59You've been
41:00an absolute fool
41:01not to do it
41:01and you would hate yourself
41:03for the rest of your life
41:03for not doing it.
41:04And I'd hate you
41:05for not doing it.
41:05What a team.
41:07What a team.
41:10So it is a dream
41:11of mine, genuinely,
41:12but I actually feel
41:13that I'm not worthy of it.
41:15You're overthinking
41:16this again, Rob.
41:19Maybe Ryan's got a point.
41:22Grand tourists
41:22came to Venice
41:23to experience new things
41:24they would never
41:25have the opportunity
41:26to do back in Britain.
41:27But Vivaldi was a genius
41:30and the prospect
41:31of conducting
41:32one of his masterpieces
41:33inside a monument
41:35to his brilliance
41:36is frankly terrifying.
41:39I come from
41:39a working class background.
41:41My dad was a taxi driver
41:42as was my grandfather
41:43but I was brought up
41:45by my mum
41:46as a single mum.
41:48Being working class,
41:49you know,
41:49opera
41:50wasn't on the buffet
41:51or ballet
41:53or books.
41:55Really, for me,
41:56education,
41:57be it in the music
41:58or the art
41:59or all of that stuff,
42:00it was the way out.
42:05Right,
42:06Rob's had a couple of hours
42:07to prepare himself.
42:08Should be enough.
42:09If you don't bottle it,
42:10he'll conduct the encore
42:11after Alberto performs
42:12Vivaldi's most famous work,
42:14The Four Seasons.
42:16I am totally...
42:20It's...
42:21It's madness.
42:23I feel completely sick.
42:27APPLAUSE
42:27Classical music audiences
42:45are usually pretty discerning.
42:47If you just get it
42:49a tiny bit wrong
42:50or you miss a cue,
42:51you can change
42:52the entire experience
42:54for everyone.
42:55People are coming
42:56to listen to this piece.
42:57in the place
42:58where he pretty much
43:00composed it
43:00with him looking down
43:02and then there's
43:03some bloke from England
43:04getting it horribly wrong.
43:07If I were the person
43:08in the audience,
43:09I'd be furious.
43:11Well, Rob!
43:13Bravo!
43:13Bravo!
43:23Well, Rob,
43:24there's no backing out now.
43:27Rob loves it when people get things that he loves.
43:42Rob loves it when people get things that he loves.
43:53If Rob had a Rubik's Cube in his hand
43:56and you'd never seen it before
43:57and he showed you how to do it
43:59and then you yourself did it,
44:01he would take great pleasure
44:02in the fact that he has passed that on to you.
44:05He's not a selfish lover.
44:07He's a giving lover.
44:08He's beautiful.
44:30And I can't tell you how I feel.
44:36I'm not at all present in my own body
44:37and I know how pretentious that sounds
44:39and I never would have done it in a million years,
44:42not without, like, a year's worth of rehearsal
44:43if it hadn't been for this idiot in my head
44:46going, oh, just do it, babe, just do it.
44:48You just did it.
44:50I did a little like a dick.
44:51You looked amazing.
44:53Honestly, I am so...
44:54Do you promise I didn't look like a dick?
44:56You were brilliant.
44:59After months of educating themselves in classical music,
45:03fine art
45:03and recovering from nasty venereal diseases,
45:06grand tourists were ready to party.
45:09And Venice was home to the most famous party in Europe,
45:12Carnival.
45:13This looks like a plague mask.
45:19I feel like I've had a load of dreams about things like that
45:22that really frighten me.
45:23Who's behind the mask in your dreams?
45:26You are.
45:29The Italian carnivale means goodbye to meat
45:33and was the name given to a celebration
45:35held from the 12th century onwards
45:37in which rich foods were eaten up before Lent.
45:40By the time of the Grand Tour, six centuries later,
45:43it had become a two-month period
45:45of non-stop parties and balls
45:47and your party outfit wasn't complete
45:50without a carnival mask.
45:53Leonardo.
45:53Leonardo.
45:54What a perfect name for an artist.
45:56Thanks.
45:57Leonardo of Venezia.
45:59Leonardo of Venezia.
46:00Leonardo of Venezia, thank you.
46:02Leonardo has been making carnival masks
46:05in the traditional way,
46:06using clay moulds and papier-mache
46:08for 30 years.
46:09All these masks
46:11is the historic masks
46:14for three, fourth century old.
46:17Is there a sense you could be more free
46:19if you could hide behind a character?
46:22Exactly, exactly.
46:23Wearing disguises like these during carnival
46:26was a social leveller,
46:28with rich and poor able to mingle together
46:30and become whoever they wanted.
46:32It also allowed Grand Tourists like Byron
46:35to enjoy the subversive side of carnival.
46:39He wrote,
46:41I have had some curious masking adventures
46:43this carnival.
46:44I have lived and am content.
46:48This is Harlequin.
46:49Harlequin.
46:50Yeah, yeah.
46:51You look 20 years younger.
46:54And this is pantalone.
46:56This is the boss of Harlequin,
46:59the servant.
47:00This is the right way down.
47:02Exactly.
47:03Oh, that's gorgeous.
47:05So, hundreds of years ago,
47:07people come,
47:08they have sex,
47:09they, you know,
47:10party, debauchery.
47:12Yeah.
47:12Is possible with the masks,
47:14the cape,
47:15and completely anonymous?
47:16No.
47:17Exactly.
47:17And not,
47:18so, like,
47:18if I had a mask and a cape
47:20and we met,
47:21like,
47:22and, you know,
47:22if, you know,
47:23we would,
47:24we would get down to it like this.
47:26Yeah, yeah.
47:27Right, huh?
47:28Thank you so much.
47:29Oh, yeah.
47:30So, I'll be walking along the street
47:31and then be like,
47:32hey.
47:33Exactly.
47:34For this motive.
47:35What do you mean exactly?
47:36For this motive,
47:37the Republic,
47:38stop the carnival.
47:40So, I thought you were being foolish.
47:43And apparently,
47:43they had to stop it.
47:44Stop it.
47:45Because there were so many flashes.
47:46Well, this is what I'm thinking about.
47:47So, like,
47:47let's say we met,
47:49right,
47:49on the street.
47:50Yeah.
47:50We could probably get in there.
47:52Again.
47:54No one will know.
47:55Love her, bruv.
47:57Love her.
47:57Shh.
47:58I love my look.
48:01This is perfect for me.
48:02I would happily go out like this.
48:04It makes me sad.
48:06On this journey,
48:07we're sort of
48:08tracing Byron's footsteps
48:09and sort of the reason
48:11why he came to Venice
48:12to escape
48:13and be anonymous.
48:14When you see
48:15what people did actually
48:17used to wear around that time,
48:18he literally got what he wanted.
48:20He could do anything
48:21with anyone
48:22without anyone knowing
48:23it was him.
48:23Do you sit here?
48:26Yeah.
48:27Sit to carry it.
48:28Sit here.
48:30Ah.
48:33Thank you, bye.
48:34Grazie.
48:34Grazie mille.
48:36Cheers, buddy.
48:37Cheers.
48:37The social tragedy
48:39insofar as there is one
48:40is that
48:42anybody should feel
48:43that they have to wear a mask
48:44in the first place
48:45in order to feel free.
48:47Yeah, I get that.
48:48But for me,
48:49wearing a mask,
48:50whether it's
48:52a massive mask
48:53that covers my entire face
48:55or whether it's
48:56foundation,
48:57concealer and bronzer,
48:58to me,
49:00that makes me feel better
49:01about facing the world.
49:02But why?
49:04Because I fell into this trap,
49:05like I've created
49:06this almost caricature
49:08of what people
49:11expect me to be like.
49:16I'm very much two people.
49:18So everyone knows me
49:19as Rylan,
49:20has a laugh,
49:20big teeth,
49:21wears a bit of makeup,
49:22a lot of makeup.
49:23And, you know,
49:25it's just that presenter
49:26off the telly
49:26or that idiot off the telly.
49:29Whereas actually at home,
49:30I'm Ross.
49:31Ross is who I grew up as.
49:33Rylan's my job.
49:35Ross is the one
49:36that sits at home
49:37with a tracksuit
49:37and I'm in a Peroni
49:38in the hand.
49:39So, you know,
49:41I am very different.
49:43It's an armour.
49:44So you can take
49:45the piss out of my teeth.
49:47You can say I look orange.
49:48But at the end of the day,
49:49when I wipe it all off,
49:51Ross isn't bruised.
49:52Rylan takes the battering.
49:54That's how I deal with that.
49:59It is extraordinary
50:00to think that when
50:01Byron's friends
50:02came to visit him here
50:03as they did,
50:04that he would challenge them
50:05to swimming races.
50:07Quite literally here.
50:09It's full of sewage.
50:10It would have been then as well.
50:12Oh, no, I wouldn't do that.
50:14You would if you were with him
50:15and he was full of verve
50:17and enthusiasm
50:18and all of that sexual energy.
50:20And that's the thing.
50:21He was so famous
50:22even in the UK
50:23for being this figure,
50:25not just the poet
50:25but the man as well.
50:28Venice was meant to be
50:29just a shortstop
50:30on Byron's grand tour
50:31to help him escape
50:33the pain
50:33of his scandalous divorce.
50:35But he stayed
50:36for three years
50:36before moving on,
50:38having never found
50:39true happiness.
50:40During our stay,
50:46Rob's been keen for me
50:47to immerse myself
50:48in the fine art,
50:50architecture
50:50and music
50:51that the original
50:52grand tourists
50:53came to the city
50:54to experience.
50:58I'm starting to see art
50:59in a new light
51:00but we still haven't
51:01truly found Byron's
51:02hedonistic Venice
51:03that I was hoping
51:04to expose Rob to.
51:05With our time
51:08in Venice
51:09almost up,
51:10I might have a chance.
51:12My date Stefano
51:14has invited us
51:14to meet his drag family
51:16and this could be
51:17an opportunity
51:18for Rob
51:18to really embrace
51:20the flamboyant side
51:21of the grand tour.
51:23Oh God,
51:24I can see sequins.
51:26It's so funny,
51:27in all of this architecture
51:28immediately you can
51:29identify sequins.
51:30And Rob's date Boris
51:32is also a member
51:33of Stefano's drag group,
51:35the house of Serenissima.
51:38Oh my God,
51:38what is this?
51:39Hi.
51:40Hi everyone.
51:42Hey.
51:44I mean,
51:44I feel like I've had
51:45a dream like this before.
51:47This is crazy.
51:48La Serenissima,
51:50or most serene,
51:51was the nickname
51:52given to Venice
51:53back in the Middle Ages.
51:54Nice to see you again.
51:56Nice to see you again.
51:57You okay?
51:57Hi, Rob.
51:58Nice to meet you.
51:59Today we are going to
52:00have a small walk
52:03in Venice,
52:04in drag.
52:06So it would be very nice
52:08if you can join us.
52:10What do you think, Rob?
52:11I see you puzzled.
52:14What's the purpose?
52:15To walk around
52:16and show that we are here
52:18because queer life
52:19in Venice
52:20is extremely reduced.
52:22You look a little bit different
52:23than you did on the back.
52:24What about Rob?
52:26Oh, Rob.
52:27It's just your colour as well.
52:30I really don't want to do this.
52:32And I would not make you do it.
52:33Let me just tell you something.
52:35The Grand Tour
52:35is about experiencing new things.
52:37That's why I'm here.
52:39And the things that I'm experiencing
52:40are what you're introducing me to.
52:42Going into these art galleries,
52:44seeing these amazing pieces of work.
52:46But for you,
52:48that is about you coming out
52:49of your shell
52:49and trying things
52:51that you would otherwise
52:52be hesitant about.
52:53We've got our masks.
52:55We have got our masks.
52:56But it's entirely up to you
52:57whether you draw a mask on
52:58or whether you wear one
52:59that's been pre-made.
53:01You're so profound.
53:03See, a few days with me,
53:05poet.
53:05And a few days with me,
53:07drag queen.
53:07Yeah, no, I like this.
53:13It's not slutty.
53:14It's not slutty.
53:15I never, ever,
53:16in a million years thought,
53:18I would be dressing
53:18my Brinda
53:19in strappy heels.
53:21I've got you.
53:21Hold my back.
53:22OK.
53:23Let me just have a little look.
53:25It's typically...
53:29How do people hold it?
53:30Be careful, slow.
53:31Taking your nan out, isn't it?
53:33It's literally like
53:33taking your nan out
53:34for the day, look.
53:35You know.
53:36But take them off
53:37to Gartham's day.
53:41This city being given away
53:43completely to tourists
53:44is bringing it to
53:45not being a city anymore
53:47but a museum.
53:48And it's our home.
53:49And we do not have
53:50the possibility
53:51to live it safely.
53:52That's why, you know,
53:53you build communities
53:54and you do activism
53:55and you do politics
53:56and you try to change things.
53:57What you're saying
53:58is very profound to me.
54:00You know, this idea
54:01that hundreds of years ago
54:02people could be free here
54:04but now, since all the tourists
54:05have come,
54:05it's harder to be free
54:06than it was
54:07in the times
54:09when they came.
54:12I'm going for like
54:13a slip bit more
54:14androgynous
54:15rather than full drag, I think.
54:22I don't know,
54:23it just feels
54:23different.
54:25Different to Rylan.
54:26I feel quite inspired now
54:39to go and do it.
54:40I'm really proud to hear that.
54:41And do you know what it's giving?
54:42What?
54:43Pauline Fowler.
54:43It's time for the Queen
54:48of Albert Square
54:49to meet her public.
54:58Amazing!
55:01This is so fun
55:02but I think
55:02I'm going to break
55:03my ankle.
55:05So guys,
55:06what now?
55:06Where do we go now?
55:07We are going
55:08all together
55:08to the Piazza San Marco.
55:10Buongiorno!
55:16Almost immediately,
55:17a young guy decides
55:18to pass comment.
55:19when we were passing by
55:22somebody told like
55:24I think we can translate
55:25it to like
55:26burn the faggot.
55:27Just now?
55:28Yeah, just now.
55:29Babe, do you know what?
55:30That's what reality is.
55:32That is reality
55:32but next time
55:33tell me who it is
55:34and I will knock
55:35that prick out.
55:36Bouncing.
55:37Don't do your...
55:39I, you know,
55:41know what it's like
55:42to have people look at it.
55:43This is a whole other level.
55:44Do you feel empowered
55:45by this?
55:46Absolutely, yes.
55:47You show people
55:48that we are queer
55:50and we're here.
55:53That's it.
55:54What I find crazy
55:55is that
55:55we've just had
55:56a young guy
55:57be homophobic.
55:58Yes, yeah, Natal.
55:59And then a gaggle
56:00of older women
56:01applauding us.
56:03You think that
56:03younger people
56:04will be more open?
56:06I think this is something
56:07we have to work on.
56:09Yeah.
56:09For a better world,
56:10you know,
56:11and for a better future.
56:13I feel like
56:13I'm learning something
56:14really deep
56:15and I love having a mascot.
56:17I feel like
56:17anything's possible.
56:18whatever people are saying,
56:19I feel wholly
56:20immune.
56:22And what did I say
56:22to you
56:23about when I put
56:24my face on every morning?
56:26Now you get it.
56:27I'm so happy
56:28you got that.
56:29You are unstoppable.
56:31House of Serenissima!
56:40Byron came here
56:46in search of escape.
56:47Now, I'm not saying
56:48he found it on a speedboat
56:49with a bunch of drag queens,
56:51but in a sense,
56:52the House of Serenissima
56:53is keeping alive
56:55the Venice
56:55he once enjoyed.
56:56And if an uptight
56:58traveller like Rob
56:59is loosening up,
57:00they must be
57:01doing something right.
57:02I'm standing in
57:03St. Mark's Square
57:03in drag.
57:05I usually try
57:06to control the world
57:07and predict
57:08what's going to happen
57:09despite how stupid
57:10that is.
57:11And this is proof
57:12positive that that's
57:12impossible,
57:13especially if you're
57:14with Ryland.
57:14that's what the
57:17ground was about.
57:18Go to party!
57:22Come on,
57:23to party!
57:24I wanted to bring
57:25Rob out of his shell
57:26and I really wanted
57:27to take Rob to a big party.
57:28Dance on bars,
57:29dance on poles.
57:30But actually,
57:31when you look at
57:32the experiences
57:33we've had this week,
57:34this is pretty perfect.
57:35You could have taken me
57:36to all the parties
57:36in the world
57:37and I wouldn't have
57:38learnt this.
57:39And behind this mask,
57:40I am really deeply moved.
57:43Mama.
57:43We're in Florence
57:46and we're going out!
57:48Oh my goodness, Rob.
57:50You're peering into
57:51the early renaissance.
57:52I love it.
57:53This is me.
57:54Here,
57:55they re-found art,
57:56they re-found culture,
57:57they re-found themselves.
57:58They've even done pubes.
58:00Precisely.
58:01It's a living,
58:02breathing psychodrama.
58:05It's like football
58:06but where they kick
58:07the shit out of each other.
58:09It's like fireworks
58:11in your brain.
58:11Ah!
58:15Babe,
58:16you are hot in Florence.
58:17Who are you talking to?
58:18They're my home.
58:19We're on the television, Rob.
58:25The next episode
58:26and the whole series
58:28is available
58:28on iPlayer now.
58:30Just press red.
58:31Tomorrow night,
58:32a family left
58:33with a terrible dilemma.
58:35The Jennings
58:35versus Alzheimer's
58:37at nine
58:38on BBC Two.
58:38The Jennings
58:40and the whole series
58:41is available
58:42on the TV show.
58:42The Jennings
58:43and the whole series
58:43is available
58:44on the TV show.
58:44The Jennings
58:44and the whole series
58:45is available on the TV show.
58:46The Jennings
58:47and the whole series
58:47is available on the TV show.
58:48The Jennings
58:48and the whole series
58:48is available on the TV show.
58:49The Jennings
58:49and the whole series
58:50is available on the TV show.
58:50The Jennings
58:51and the whole series
58:51is available on the TV show.
58:52The Jennings
58:52and the whole series
58:53is available on the TV show.
58:54The Jennings
58:54and the whole series
58:55is available on the TV show.
58:56The Jennings
58:56and the whole series
58:57is available on the TV show.
58:58The Jennings
58:58and the whole series
Recommended
58:59
|
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