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00:01A few hundred years ago, there was the grand tour of Europe.
00:08Young aristocratic lords and ladies set off across the continent on a cultural rite of passage.
00:14They departed as callow youths, with the aim of returning to Britain refined, stylish, and schooled in the birds and
00:24the bees.
00:29I'm Tom Reed Wilson, and at the grand age of almost 40, I'm in need of a transformation.
00:36Oh yeah, if you die, you die.
00:39I'm on the brink of being terribly grown up, so before that happens, I want to flood my senses with
00:44adventures of a bygone time.
00:46Who needs yoga when you've got etiquette?
00:48So, with a heart full of wanderlust, an old guidebook, my trusty Vedica, and a suitably vintage lens.
00:55It's the way Catherine Hepburn did it.
00:57I'm following in the posh footsteps of yesteryear by horse power, man power, fire power,
01:05Up in a balloon, boys.
01:09And the occasional modern convenience.
01:11There's Florence!
01:14From gay Paris to Rome, the eternal city.
01:18Will the magic of the grand tour work on me, as it did on the powdered and privileged youth of
01:23the past?
01:24My time traveler!
01:25Gosh, yes I am!
01:27So get ready to twirl through the continent.
01:30This is getting rather naughty.
01:32This is my grand tour.
01:48In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, young British nobility left England and set off on a sort of posh
01:55gap year.
01:56The grand tour.
01:59Many of them were just like me.
02:02Young, single, carefree, and looking for adventure.
02:05So, I'm following in their footsteps.
02:09I've shed a layer or two of Englishness.
02:13So far I've stayed in Paris to study fencing and diplomacy.
02:17I'm trying not to moan.
02:20That's the hardest part.
02:22And demonstrated my vigor by surviving a perilous crossing of the Alps.
02:27Just as those grand tourists would have done.
02:29I can see the triceps throbbing.
02:31For the travelers of yesteryear, and now for me, it was then on to Italy.
02:38But before jaunting off to Venice, Florence, and Rome, the grand tourists stopped to recuperate in the foothills of the
02:45Alps.
02:46Which is why I've arrived here in Lake Como.
02:57I'm staying in the small town of Bellagio, as it was where the first luxury lakeside hotels were built to
03:05receive grand tourists.
03:09There's just time to drop my bags, do a spot of window shopping, and unpack my guidebook.
03:14Oh, and feel Lake Como lap over my size eights.
03:18Now, where are you?
03:19Here you are, my trusty Baedeker.
03:21The Baedeker was the guidebook for the later grand tourists.
03:26The Lake of Como is, in the estimation of many, the most beautiful lake in northern Italy.
03:34Numerous villas of the Milanese aristocracy, surrounded by luxuriant gardens and vineyards, are scattered along its banks.
03:45It's certainly right about the gardens.
03:48Everywhere you go here, there are flowerpots absolutely stuffed with pansies.
03:54which the Italians call viola di pensiero, which means the violet of thought, because it was often given at funerals
04:04to show that you were thinking about somebody.
04:06And that's where our pansy comes from, pansy, to think about somebody.
04:11This place is wonderfully special, and it was like a magnet for the grand tourists.
04:18They all longed to come here, and of course, rubbed deltoids with each other, right here.
04:23It is suffused with magic.
04:27And the guidebook tells me there is true magic to be found in a villa just across the water from
04:33Bellagio.
04:34So, with my vintage Super 8 camera at the ready, it's back on board Flavio's beautiful boat, crossing the lake
04:40as so many have before me.
04:44Do you know, I know Cecil Beaton, but I think even I can't take a bad photograph here.
04:53These villas are extraordinary.
04:56And the grand tourists agreed.
04:58One of them, aristocratic writer Lady Morgan in 1821, called Como one of the loveliest scenes ever designed by nature.
05:07The sun glitters on the water and glitters on the windows.
05:12And I wonder if that's why the whole of Hollywood have been drawn here.
05:16The first ever queen of Hollywood, Mary Pickford, came here.
05:20And then Clark Gable became enamored in the 30s, all the way to present day with George Clooney, who lives
05:26on the lake.
05:28It is pretty dazzling, I have to say.
05:31But the stars of the silver screen don't just come to relax.
05:35Como's villas and views have provided the stage for countless films.
05:39Just as they starred in the canvases and poems of the grand tourists, who marveled at one spot in particular.
05:48Now, this is Villa Balbianello.
05:51And this was built in the 18th century, when the grand tourists were visiting.
06:01This is the only way to approach it, isn't it?
06:06Oh, Flavio, grazie mille.
06:12Villa Balbianello was built in 1787 by an aristocratic cardinal.
06:18Italian nobles would spend their summers here, often hosting their British counterparts.
06:22I can see why they loved coming.
06:27Ciao, Michela.
06:29Hello.
06:30Oh, how lovely to meet you.
06:33Michela Pini is a guide for the FAI, the Italian equivalent of the National Trust.
06:39What a magnificent place.
06:42Absolutely, and here is the best place, overlooking the lake.
06:46The best view of Lake Como is right here on this terrace.
06:51It's right.
06:52How could you look at this vista and not be inspired?
06:55Glittering Hollywood people have been here, haven't they?
06:59Absolutely, yes.
07:00We had, in 2002, Star Wars.
07:03Oh, blimey.
07:05And Casino Royale in 2006.
07:09And didn't that happen just over here?
07:12It happened just right here, exactly here on the ground, sitting on the wheelchair.
07:18I remember, I remember, my goodness, that I have a naughty request, actually,
07:24because I'm of a slightly literary bent.
07:27So I know Lord Byron stayed here, and I saw all these wonderful spines of books glistening in the sun.
07:36May we have a look, or is that a private room?
07:39No, for you, it's open, absolutely.
07:41Oh, Michela, what a treat.
07:43We are going into the library that is full of 4,000 books.
07:53Oh, my.
07:56You know, this reminds me of royal libraries.
08:00Actually, there's a lot of interconnectivity between this part of Lake Como and the British royal family, isn't there?
08:08Yeah, there are quite a lot.
08:10Really?
08:10There are also some rumors about them.
08:13Oh, tell me all of them.
08:15Close to Como town, we have Villa d'Este.
08:18This property was bought by Caroline of Brunswick.
08:23Caroline of Brunswick was unhappily married to George IV, so sought refuge in Como, making quite a splash on the
08:32social scene.
08:32She bought the property in 1815 to welcome European aristocracy, but the rumors were that she was walking naked.
08:43Naked?
08:45Yeah.
08:45Wow.
08:46Across the village streets, she was surrounded by lovers, scandalous parties, but these are just rumors.
08:57Yes.
08:57Well, you might acquire a lover or two if you walk around in your birthday suit.
09:02There certainly seems to be something in the water in Como that brings out the frisky side of royalty.
09:10And then in the same property, Mrs. Simpson and Edward VIII, they met there at one of the first meetings.
09:18When it was all very, very hush-hush.
09:20Yeah, exactly, and saw someone to inform the photographers.
09:29The royal family weren't the only people trying to hide their secrets on the shores of Como.
09:33There are numerous letters and diaries documenting the tales of grand tourists escaping from scandals at home and abroad.
09:41And this villa was built for speedy getaways.
09:47I show you something that not everybody is allowed to see.
09:52Oh!
09:53I see!
09:54This is the beginning of the secret way.
09:56Oh, I see.
09:57It goes all the way down.
09:59Michaela, I feel so lucky that I'm getting the path less trodden.
10:02It's really exciting.
10:04Gosh!
10:06It's spooky, isn't it?
10:07This is something really special because thanks to the staircase, it's possible to get into the house.
10:14And the end of it was close to the dock.
10:17Someone could take a boat and flee.
10:20Many were fleeing from being rumbled over an illicit affair.
10:23Now, I may not have had any secret dalliances on my grand tour so far.
10:28Nonetheless, it's time for me to make my escape from the glorious tranquility of the lake
10:32and head to the hills where I've set my sights high.
10:36Up in a balloon, boys, up in a balloon.
10:41Corks fly?
10:42Oh, what a satisfying sound.
10:46And bridges sigh.
10:48I stood in Venice on a bridge of sighs, a palace and a prison on each hand.
11:07I'm following in the footsteps of the legendary grand tourists of yesteryear.
11:12Oh, my.
11:14Experiencing my own coming of age as I near the big 4-0.
11:18Do as you wish, my beloved guests.
11:20What a wonderful way to welcome them.
11:22I'm in Lake Como and my 19th century Baedeker guidebook is full of praise for the local vineyards.
11:28So I'm tearing across the water in a vintage speedboat to see for myself.
11:33It's jolly hard work this, you know.
11:35Lake Como is shining like a brand new pin today.
11:39And I've fallen a bit in love with it.
11:41Everybody does.
11:58Sorry, I'm a tiny bit late.
12:00No problem at all.
12:02We do three in Italy.
12:03Oh, good.
12:05Oh, I'm thrilled.
12:06Sylvia Travi is the third generation of her family to manage the Sorsasso vineyard.
12:11This region has been producing wine for thousands of years.
12:14When the grand tourists came here, it was very, very old as a winemaking region already,
12:20but I have no idea how old.
12:23We can speak about after Christ, so Roman's period.
12:28Wow.
12:28Plinio il Vecchio, Plinio the Old, sorry, was speaking already about our particular variety
12:35that we have here in our white wine, that is this Verdeza variety.
12:39Plinio the Elder was a celebrated Roman writer famous for his love of wine.
12:44He was born a stone's throw away from George Clooney's villa on Lake Como,
12:48who coincidentally is an avid customer of this very vineyard.
12:52So I simply must try the wine for myself.
12:56Oh, what a satisfying sound.
13:00I like things very, very bubbly.
13:04Cheers.
13:05Cheers.
13:09Mmm.
13:12Now that is the nectar of the gods.
13:17Como has been blessed with an ideal microclimate and the perfect soil for growing its unique grapes.
13:23Loved by the Romans, the grand tourists, and now me.
13:27One of the grand tourists who came here, Lord Byron, said of wine,
13:32Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, and makes weariness forget his toil.
13:43It's a very unromantic ending.
13:46And before I came here, I was ever so slightly weary, and you've breathed new life into me.
13:53By all accounts, Lord Byron spent much of his grand tour rather sozzled,
13:57but other travelling aristocrats managed to send hundreds of cases of fine wine back home
14:03to impress their less well-travelled friends.
14:05I, too, may secrete a souvenir bottle in my bag.
14:09Oh, lovely.
14:10May I smell the cork?
14:14Feeling fortified and with my trusty guidebook and Super 8 in hand,
14:19I'm off in search of the ultimate vista of Lake Como by air.
14:23We're about to have wings on our heels.
14:27This is hugely exciting.
14:29Before airplanes, hot air balloons offered wealthy grand tourists a breathtaking adventure.
14:36Our lovely pilota Raffaele said,
14:39You must squat and hold tight to the handles.
14:43Now we go.
14:44Oh, Raffaele.
14:47Oh, Raffaele.
14:48Oh, I say.
14:51I just got a big gust in my gusset through the wicker.
15:01I am kicking about the clouds.
15:05I think I might have been a kestrel in a former life.
15:09Remarkably, it was an English grand tourist, George Biggin,
15:13and an Italian, Vincenzo Lunardi,
15:16who teamed up to stage the very first manned balloon flight in England in 1784.
15:22It became all the rage for the hardier grand tourist.
15:27Up in a balloon, boys, up in a balloon.
15:31All around the hills and towns on our honeymoon.
15:35It's like floating back in time over 200 years.
15:39Thomas, that is Como.
15:42Oh, look at it in all its glory.
15:48Everything is coruscating.
15:50It's amazing how it all picks up the light.
15:58It reminds me of the John Ruskin poem, who, of course, was a grand tourist.
16:03He wrote,
16:04in Lago di Como, there was blue above and blue below, and the gleam of the eternal snow.
16:16Philosopher, art critic, and social reformer, John Ruskin was one of the most influential grand tourists.
16:24And his writings inspired legions of others to visit this beautiful lake.
16:36Like Ruskin did nearly 200 years ago, I must bid farewell to Lake Como.
16:42With the sun setting on this magical, timeless place, I'm leaving Serenity behind.
16:47Something very dark in a piano in a balloon.
16:51And hopping on board another vintage vessel, speeding towards the party town of Venice.
17:10Oh, look at the vista now.
17:15For the grand tourists, Venice was a city of limitless, hedonistic possibility.
17:21Oh boy, it's wildly romantic.
17:25Where what went on on the grand tour stayed on the grand tour.
17:29It must have been an assault on the retinas of the grand tourists.
17:33And an absolute must-see for them.
17:37Thanks to its geographical position as a gateway for the luxurious goods,
17:41traveling along the Silk Road from Asia, Venice was the heart of exoticism, wealth, and trade in Europe for centuries.
17:50It's turned my knees to champagne, Andrea.
17:53It really has.
17:58You know, the funny thing about Venice is, because of Monet's paintings and the glorious summertime with Katharine Hepburn,
18:06I feel almost as though I've been here before.
18:10But in actual fact, I'm a total Venetian Virgin, and it is dazzling.
18:24It's just like the paintings.
18:26It's extraordinary.
18:28This rigid color palette of dusky roses and primroses and garnets.
18:33And the smell, Oscar Wilde said, my great hero, it was like going through a sewer in an open coffin.
18:43But I feel like we're gliding in a magnificent bathtub through creme de mante.
18:50As romantic as I am, my nose at least is grateful some things have changed since the days of the
18:55Grand Tour.
19:00My 17th century hotel, the Duodo Palace, is in the heart of Venice.
19:05And like most rooms in the city, it's a room with a view of, yes, more water.
19:12Just time to unpack my Baedeker guide.
19:15Oh, and my camera.
19:19I can't rely on my frontal lobe to document everything.
19:22I've got to do it with the super aid.
19:25It's the way to do it.
19:26It's the way Katharine Hepburn did it.
19:28And there's just so much to document.
19:35Where are you, Gondolier? I want to land on you.
19:38You're my reference point.
19:43Bingo.
19:44It's better than a Pocomile.
19:47Of course, the city, much like Lake Como, is no stranger to cameras.
19:51The sheer number of films set in Venice from Summertime to Don't Look Now to James Bond
19:56make every canal feel familiar and every alley like a movie set, especially at this time of year.
20:11Wow, it is a wash of people.
20:13You can tell it's carnival time.
20:17The Venice Carnival is one of the oldest and most iconic festivals in the world.
20:22For grand tourists seeking an escape from the strict morality of British high society,
20:27it was temptation incarnate.
20:30I have to stop you because your costumes are so magnificent.
20:34I mean, you practically marry Antoinette.
20:36The Baedeker says to beware of swindlers at this time of year,
20:40so I need to find my next bear leader or Ciccerone amongst the revelers to guide me through the chaos.
20:47Emanuele?
20:48Yeah.
20:49Hi, Tom.
20:51Nice to meet you.
20:52My Ciccerone.
20:53Emanuele is a local Venetian guide, so I'm in very safe hands.
20:59Oh, I'm getting costume inspiration, Emanuele.
21:02Carnival is upon us.
21:05The sense of the mask was hiding the identity.
21:07Yes.
21:08So the best was to hide everything behind the mask.
21:11So you could gender bend, you could mix up social strata.
21:15Absolutely.
21:15You could disbosom in every conceivable way and not get into trouble.
21:19And I'm quite sure that would have been very seductive to the grand tourists.
21:24So let's say that Venice was a city of art, culture, but also vices.
21:28Well, yes, also a little bit of nonsense.
21:30My hotel is next door to where the courtesans were.
21:34Yeah, absolutely, courtesans in the Renaissance.
21:37There were more than 10,000 when the population was about 120, 130,000.
21:44In the 17th and 18th centuries, sex work was legal in Venice, unlike Britain.
21:50And grand tourists certainly indulged.
21:53My beloved Lord Byron wrote that women kiss better than those in any other nation.
21:58But courtesans were known for much more than their carnal skills.
22:01They were expected to be musical, write poetry, talk knowledgably about art and culture,
22:07or part of the education, you could say.
22:09The oldest profession.
22:11Yes, yes.
22:11Is that the nickname?
22:12Yes, yes.
22:13How do you say it in Italian?
22:14Piantica professione, si può dire.
22:16We can say that.
22:17Sounds wildly romantic for sex work, doesn't it?
22:20Yes.
22:26Romance seems to seep out of every pore of Venice, not least on the water.
22:32Just behind you, you see one of the most iconic building, structure, bridge in Venice,
22:38the famous bridge of size.
22:42Why it's called bridge of size is because a friend of you, Lord Byron, mentioned the bridge of size in
22:48the 1800s for the first time.
22:49He did, I know what he said.
22:50He said, I stood in Venice on a bridge of size, a palace and a prison on each hand.
23:01He got the point, because on one side you have the doges palace, criminals were judged in the offices there.
23:08On the other side, prison.
23:09So the bridge was just a connection, so they could see this light, they could see this beauty for the
23:14last time before going to the prison.
23:16Yes.
23:16That's the essence of the name bridge of size.
23:18Even the prisons in Venice appear architecturally beautiful, and so is one particular inmate, according to legend.
23:29Casanova, you know him, he was a VIP, he was an important person.
23:32So this year we are celebrating the 300th anniversary of his birthday.
23:35The 300th.
23:36Consider that he did a sort of small grand tour.
23:39You know that the grand tour was born just a few years before Casanova, the 1600s.
23:45Giacomo Casanova is perhaps the most famous Venetian of all time.
23:49His life was so scandalous, it landed him in the dictionary as a noun, meaning a man who is a
23:55promiscuous and unscrupulous lover.
23:58Casanova could be my next word of the day.
24:01I read many moons ago Casanova's memoir, and what struck me was this sort of Hungatron as we know him
24:08now.
24:09He had chronic nosebleeds, loved witchcraft, was a bit of a con man.
24:13The memories of Casanova are partially true, and they are partially a myth. Venice is the city of myth.
24:22What is true though, is that Casanova was arrested in 1755 for an affront to religion and common decency.
24:31And imprisoned here, but not for long.
24:34And he was one of the only ones who escaped.
24:37But before taking a gondola, he went to the Café Florian to have a coffee, the last one before escaping,
24:43you know.
24:43I've just got time for an espresso.
24:45Absolutely, there is always time for a café.
24:51If the coffee at Florian's is good enough for Casanova to risk prison for, then that's clearly where I need
24:56to head next.
24:57Oh, my palate's singing.
24:59I also encounter some little birds.
25:02My two pigeons.
25:04And some big ones.
25:05Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew.
25:23I'm glazing a trail through Europe and back in time,
25:26on what was once an aristocratic rite of passage, a grand tour.
25:31Oh, this is just amazing.
25:34The Rialto Bridge in picture postcard Venice.
25:39The Rialto is the oldest bridge in Venice,
25:42and in the grand tourist day, the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot.
25:47History's everywhere here.
25:50I'm coming here for the history of the grand tourist.
25:54They were coming here for the history of Tintoretto,
25:57and Shakespeare mentions this very bridge in The Merchant of Venice.
26:02Shakespeare used the bridge as a meeting place for his characters to catch up on gossip,
26:06and artistically, it was also immortalized by Venetian painter Canaletto.
26:11So for them, it was already a huge cultural draw.
26:15It was already very well represented in art and culture.
26:20And the place to discuss art and culture for the 17th and 18th century grand tourist
26:25was the coffee shop.
26:27Café Florian in the heart of Venice, on the edge of St. Mark's Square,
26:31is the oldest café in Italy.
26:33Buongiorno, good morning.
26:35Good morning.
26:36Piacere.
26:37Nice to meet you.
26:37Michiamo Tom.
26:39I'm Roberto. Nice to meet you.
26:40This is magnificent.
26:43How old is it?
26:44305 now.
26:46305, so many of the grand tourists would have seen this.
26:49It's the most easy to say,
26:51who don't come to McLaurian Café in during the age.
26:53But sort of it.
26:54In the short list, I'm not explaining it exactly.
27:00Casanova, Lord Byron, and Charles Dickens,
27:03and many more besides, were loyal customers.
27:06Pleased to see and be seen.
27:10The one I always think of, Roberto, coming here,
27:13is my favorite film set in Venice, summertime.
27:16Really, really, it is.
27:16A wonderful movie, yes.
27:18Outside, Catherine Hepburn is sitting alone in summertime,
27:21and her chair is like this against the table.
27:27And Rossano Brazzi sees it like that,
27:30and then passes by because he thinks it's a sign he can't sit there.
27:34Good evening.
27:42Her eyes are suddenly awash with tears
27:45because she's desperate for him to sit.
27:48I go right back into the movie being here.
27:51Why not?
27:52But before summertime,
27:54it was the grand tourists that flocked here,
27:56and not everyone appreciated their presence.
27:59Englishwoman Lady Mary Montague
28:01lived in Venice in the 18th century
28:03and wrote of the grand tourists,
28:05their whole business abroad is to buy new clothes
28:08in which they shine in some obscure coffee house
28:11where they're sure of only meeting one another.
28:14I look on them as the greatest blockheads in nature.
28:17Just like today, tourism has its pros and cons.
28:20Reading the Bay Decker about the pigeons
28:23dashing about St. Mark's Square,
28:25just outside as they still are today,
28:27it feels very special to actually live as a grand tourist,
28:33witnessing it as they would have done.
28:36You couldn't miss this.
28:39Oh, Roberto.
28:41But today for you,
28:42I prepare a special coffee we call Café del Doge.
28:45Coffee, chocolate, milk cream,
28:48and a little bit of nuts on the top.
28:49Oh, my palate's singing.
28:57It's so funny coming here because via the arts,
29:00in lots of ways, paintings and film,
29:04I've climbed into Venice before.
29:07And here I am, sort of expecting it all to become real.
29:11And if anything, it's less so.
29:14I feel like I'm walking through an oil painting that's still wet.
29:18I don't feel like I really am here.
29:21That's part of the magic of Venice.
29:24It doesn't belong to anybody.
29:25You just get to be a character in the oil painting
29:28and go away again.
29:30I always think that's as it should be.
29:41I could do this forever and ever.
29:43It's so relaxing.
29:48Jacopo, you're my favorite gondolier.
29:51Jacopo is floating me across town
29:53to the squalor di San Rocco
29:55to meet his famous namesake,
29:58Jacopo Tintoretto,
29:59a Venetian who rose from nothing
30:01to paint counts, cardinals, and courtesans
30:04on his way to the very top of Venetian society.
30:11Oh, Professor Chiari, what is this room?
30:15This is the chapter hall of the squalor.
30:17Professor Maria Chiari is an expert on Tintoretto's art,
30:21and there are more of his paintings here
30:23than anywhere else in the world.
30:26The squalor di San Rocco
30:27was the wealthiest
30:30of all the Venetian squalor grandi.
30:32The squalor grandi of Venice or great schools
30:35were and are Catholic societies
30:38devoted to charity and the arts,
30:41and Tintoretto took full advantage.
30:44Tintoretto made an agreement with the squalor
30:48saying that he was to deliver
30:50three paintings per year.
30:52In exchange, he wanted to be paid
30:55100 ducats per year until his death.
30:59100 ducats would be worth
31:01about 28,000 pounds today,
31:03a handy sum for a man
31:05who was the eldest of 21 siblings
31:07and was good friends
31:08with some of Venice's most famous courtesans.
31:11And this is the reason for which
31:13we have such a huge quantity of paintings.
31:16You can see all around.
31:18They are more than 60.
31:19Oh, gosh.
31:22Tintoretto's deal with the squalor
31:24helped make him one of the rock stars
31:26of the Renaissance,
31:26and his paintings have fetched millions at auction.
31:29The royal collection owns eight,
31:32one of which hangs in the king's drawing room
31:34at Windsor Castle.
31:35The late, great David Bowie had two
31:37and was such a fan
31:39he named his own record label
31:41Tintoretto Music.
31:42Tintoretto has been an important step
31:46in the formation of young artists
31:49because of his use of light.
31:51The light, you can see over there.
31:53The light comes from the broken roof
31:57and hits the Virgin Mary, the baby Christ.
32:01He is for sure the painter
32:04who deals with light in the best way ever.
32:08Tintoretto inspired Britain's own master of light,
32:12J.M.W. Turner,
32:13who visited this very room in 1819
32:16and sketched some of these pictures in his notebook.
32:19Why was he so impactful to the Grand Tourists
32:22when they came here?
32:24It was John Ruskin who was responsible.
32:27He praised Tintoretto a lot in his letters
32:31and he made the new artists
32:35have a better attention towards Tintoretto's art.
32:40It's an aspect of the Grand Tour
32:42I hadn't considered until now.
32:44It wasn't just a one-way street.
32:46It was more of a cultural exchange.
32:48Grand Tourists like the English art critic John Ruskin
32:51weren't just passive learners.
32:53They helped people rediscover
32:54their own forgotten treasures.
32:56I invite those who will watch your program
33:01to come here and check what you have described to them.
33:06I hope so.
33:07You won't regret it.
33:08You won't regret it.
33:11Not every Grand Tourist could afford
33:13to take a real Tintoretto home with them,
33:16but they could buy books full of printed copies.
33:19In the 16th century,
33:20half of Europe's book printing shops
33:23could be found in Venice.
33:24The first printed Koran,
33:26the first printed edition of Aristotle,
33:29and many more scandalous tomes besides
33:31that were banned in countries like Britain.
33:35Ciao, piacere.
33:37Mi chiamo Tom.
33:38Ciao, Tom.
33:39My name is Federico.
33:40Oh, Federico, this is an Aladdin's cave.
33:43I mean, it's absolutely dazzling.
33:46Oh, thank you that you like it.
33:48The Grand Tourists sent books by the crate low
33:51back to Britain to stock their libraries,
33:53and some, like the Earl of Burlington,
33:55were so inspired by the books on architecture
33:57they found in Venice,
33:59they built their own versions at home,
34:01like Burlington House in London,
34:03that now houses the Royal Academy of Arts.
34:07Oh.
34:07Please ask and then browse.
34:09May I?
34:10You feel free.
34:12Don't worry.
34:13You can browse.
34:14No problem at all.
34:16Oh.
34:17Some little Grand Tourists.
34:20This is taken from an 80th century book
34:23written by Thomas Salmon,
34:25who was an English traveler.
34:26Another tom?
34:28Yeah, another tom.
34:30Try it with the lens.
34:32You can see the dresses of the people also.
34:35They're emerging from the public library,
34:38bettering themselves through literature,
34:41just as I'm doing in your shop.
34:42Oh, and look.
34:44That's a little slice of kismet, surely.
34:48It's just, it couldn't be more perfect.
34:51Thomas Salmon was an 18th century writer
34:54whose histories of the world,
34:55partly based on his travels,
34:57were bestsellers across Europe,
34:59like a 17th century Michael Palin.
35:01I think it's the perfect match.
35:04So, tom belongs to tom.
35:08Now, is this what I think it is?
35:10Because I might have to do
35:11a two-pronged purchase if it is.
35:13Okay.
35:15It is, it's a bedecca.
35:17And every traveler
35:18has to travel with a bedecca.
35:21Because you see,
35:21this isn't the end of my tour, Federico.
35:24I'm Florence and Rome bound.
35:27Oh!
35:29You got Florence?
35:30Look, I opened it on Rome.
35:31Rome, perfect, yeah.
35:34You know, Federico,
35:35you furnished me with exactly what I need.
35:37A little bit for the heart and soul
35:39and a little bit for the grey cells.
35:41Perfect.
35:42Two pigeons with one seed,
35:44we say in Italy.
35:45Oh, we say two birds with one stone,
35:47but I much prefer two pigeons with one seed.
35:49Because Venice is full of pigeons,
35:51that's why.
35:53My two pigeons.
35:55It might not be enough to fill a crate,
35:57and I might not have my own library,
35:59but my grand tour souvenirs
36:01will have pride of place on my bookshelf.
36:04But before I leave Venice,
36:05like Cinderella,
36:06I shall go to the ball.
36:13Wildly romantic and really quite arousing.
36:35I'm drifting through Venice with my bear leader,
36:38Emanuele.
36:38I feel like I could be in the 1750s.
36:41I could be a grand tourist
36:42about to bump into the real Casanova.
36:46Oh!
36:50I didn't think that was him.
36:52Everything is allowed during Carnival.
36:54Until midnight, everything is allowed.
36:57It's the last day of the famous Venice Carnival,
37:00the final chance to let my hair down.
37:02And Emanuele has secured me an invite
37:05to an exclusive ball.
37:06The only problem is,
37:07I haven't a stitch to wear.
37:09Everything looks amazing
37:10with Venice on the background.
37:12Yeah.
37:12You could wear whatever you want,
37:15but the background is always,
37:17you know, the best.
37:30Hello, Angela.
37:32Ciao, Tom.
37:32I'm Angela.
37:33Ciao.
37:34Hello, Angela.
37:35Lovely to meet you.
37:36Nice to meet you.
37:36Ciao, Consuela.
37:37Pleased to meet you.
37:38Lovely to meet you, Consuela.
37:39Angela and Consuela
37:41have been clothing Venetians
37:43and tourists
37:43in the finest Carnival costumes
37:45for years.
37:47Look at that brocade.
37:49This is amazing.
37:51Oh, I see.
37:52This is quite beautiful.
37:53Even if for you,
37:54it's a little bit too big.
37:55What a keen eye.
37:57Sometimes I do like,
37:59okay.
38:00Squeeze the deltoid.
38:02Let's see if they fit.
38:05Now, one of the things
38:06I love about this
38:07is this sort of
38:09evokes Casanova to me
38:10and I know that
38:11the theme this year
38:12is Casanova.
38:13So you want to feel
38:14like Casanova?
38:15I would love, Angela,
38:17to feel just a trudge.
38:18And then to escape
38:19sometimes.
38:21It's an ancient time.
38:23You probably don't sense it,
38:25but I am slightly naughty.
38:27Yeah.
38:27There's an anthracite
38:28twinkle in my eye
38:29that some people
38:30can bring out.
38:31Yeah.
38:33Venetians closely guarded
38:35the secrets of silk-making
38:36they'd learned trading
38:37with the Far East.
38:38As such,
38:39their velvets,
38:40brocades,
38:41and laces
38:41were some of the most
38:42luxurious in Europe.
38:44Even some of Queen Elizabeth,
38:45the first finest garments,
38:47were made in Venice.
38:49I feel since I've been here,
38:51I've been plunged
38:51into a fairy tale.
38:53I think that's what
38:54the grand tourists
38:55must have loved
38:56because they could escape
38:57their day-to-day life
38:59and be a character
39:00for a while.
39:00That's it.
39:01It's magical.
39:02It is magical.
39:03I feel like Cinderella
39:04in your mind.
39:04That's true.
39:05Fairy godmothers.
39:06And this Berkshire Pumpkins
39:08transformation
39:09is nearly complete.
39:14Well,
39:15what do you think
39:16of 18th century
39:18sartorial wizardry?
39:19Am I ready for a ball?
39:25In the grand tourist day,
39:26there were in the region
39:27of 10,000 gondolas
39:29in the city.
39:29I'm lucky to have
39:30got on board
39:31one of only about
39:32400 today.
39:33I could find
39:34a paramour
39:35of any kind tonight.
39:37Any kind.
39:40Allora,
39:41buona fortuna.
39:45Oh,
39:46it's Manuele.
39:47My handsome Ciccerone,
39:50Emanuele,
39:51has sweetly agreed
39:52to be my chaperone.
39:54Here you see balls now,
39:56but in the past
39:57you have to imagine
39:57people gambling.
39:58Consider that in the casino
40:00it was mandatory
40:00to use the mask.
40:02So I'm against the rules
40:03now,
40:03but we are in a special ball.
40:05You buck every trend,
40:06Emanuele.
40:07In the past,
40:09balls like these,
40:10known as E-Festini,
40:11were open to anyone
40:12wearing a mask.
40:13The locations were marked
40:15by a lantern
40:16with garlanded flowers.
40:18At the end,
40:18the hosts would collect
40:20payment from their guests.
40:22Nothing is free
40:22in the city of merchants.
40:24We're about to receive
40:25a number
40:26which apparently
40:27is crucial.
40:28Second.
40:28So I...
40:29First.
40:30Second.
40:30Second.
40:31Including dancing lessons.
40:33We have two hands.
40:34Oh, sorry.
40:35That's the run out.
40:36Just right.
40:37Okay.
40:38Learning to dance
40:39courtly dances
40:40was vital
40:41for any young noble.
40:43Eight steps around.
40:45One,
40:46two,
40:47three,
40:48four,
40:49five,
40:50six,
40:51seven,
40:52eight.
40:53Consequently,
40:54instruction like this
40:55was an important part
40:56of most grand tourists' travels.
41:01Oh.
41:06High combat.
41:07It's going to happen.
41:08Three steps are neither
41:09than half wire.
41:14Eight,
41:14turn left.
41:22Good night.
41:23Good night.
41:23Good night.
41:27I've broken a slightly
41:29baroque sweat doing that.
41:31There's something
41:32about the minuetto
41:33in particular,
41:34which I know
41:34that grand tourists dance,
41:36but it's so intimate.
41:38It's that sort of thing
41:39of being very,
41:40very proximate
41:41and then very,
41:42very far,
41:43like a piece of old
41:43knicker elastic
41:44pinging backwards
41:45and forwards.
41:46And it's wildly romantic
41:48and really quite arousing.
41:51This kind of free sigh
41:53in the air.
41:53Sometimes all it takes
41:55is one look
41:56and you've lost
41:56the person you came with.
41:59It's not hyperbolic
42:01to say
42:01that Venetian carnival
42:03is another world
42:05that you're plunged into.
42:07You're sort of
42:08dunking it
42:09until you're
42:10absolutely saturated.
42:13And that must have been
42:14so liberating
42:15for a grand tourist
42:16who lived in a world
42:18of propriety
42:19and dignity
42:20and starched collars.
42:24I have really
42:25let my hair down
42:26and I've picked up
42:27my heels
42:28and I want to continue
42:29to do so
42:30until the shank
42:31of the evening.
42:32I think there's
42:33no other way, frankly.
42:40At the break of dawn,
42:42my grand tour
42:43will venture south.
42:44There's Florence!
42:46Where Medici masterpieces
42:48takes my breath away.
42:52This is my very first
42:54visit to Rome.
42:55And the romance of Rome
43:01Complete my own
43:02renaissance.
43:03I say!
43:08I will treasure this trip
43:10for the rest of my life.
43:11It has transfigured me.
43:20It has transfigured me.
43:21It has transfigured me.
43:29It has transfigured me.
43:31It has transfigured me.
43:34It has transfigured me.
43:35It has transfigured me.
43:37It has transfigured me.
43:38It has transfigured me.
43:38It has transfigured me.
43:38It has transfigured me.
43:39It has transfigured me.
43:39It has transfigured me.
43:40It has transfigured me.
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