Francesco's Venice was a four part BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 television documentary series hosted by Francesco da Mosto

Francesco da Mosto

Francesco da Mosto is an Italian architect, author, historian, film maker and television presenter. He presented the three BBC 2 series Francesco's Venice and Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe where he explored the country in his Alfa Romeo Spider and Francesco's Mediterranean Voyage which sees him...

 and first broadcast on BBC2 in 2004. The series follows da Mosto as he explores the history of Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, beginning with its creation in the 5th century and concluding in the modern era. Each episode focuses upon a certain area of Venetian history, interlaced with various anecdotes from da Mosto's own experiences and family history. A book of the same name was published to accompany the series in 2004.

#	Episode	Content	Original Broadcast
1	"Blood"	da Mosta family history, Doge of Venice Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city... , origins of Venice St. Mark, St. Mark's Square
2	"Beauty"	Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture... , Marco Polo Marco Polo Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently... , Rialto Bridge Rialto Bridge The Rialto Bridge is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo.- History :... , The Venetian Empire
3	"Sex"	Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe... , Black Death Black Death The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have... , Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, Histoire de ma vie , is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century... , Napoleon's Invasion
4	"Death"	Byron, Venetian Conservationist Movement, tourism, Venice's future

External links

• Francesco's biography