Susan in a Venetian Bar

Watercolours of Susan in a Venetian Bar, Cantina do Mori. Paintings of Venice – Alan Reed

Venice Bacari

One Italian tradition to experience is Venetian cicchetti: the long-standing ritual of enjoying small savory bites in local Venetian Bar called bacari.

Studies made on location in Venice in 2007 were the inspiration for this small preparation watercolour of a local bar scene. I later worked this up to a much larger studio painting.

There’s so much to paint in Venice. On a trip we made in 2007 we saw this old Venetian Bar, Cantina Do Mori. It’s the oldest tavern in Venice, often called bacaro. Old copper pots hung from the ceiling which added to the character of the place. Steeped in history, legend has it that the young Casanova used to take his conquests there on his first dates.

Local Bars and Cicchetti

In addition to being the oldest bacaro (traditional wine bars) in Venice, Cantina Do Mori stands out with an interior so authentic that it looks like it was created for a film set.

The place was packed with locals sampling small delicacies called cicchetti, and drinking delicious wines. We joined them and during the process of enjoying a few cicchetti before lunch, I managed to gather sufficient reference to compose this preparation watercolour back in my studio. On this occasion the bar was too crowded to paint on the spot so Susan was sketched in the studio.

I don’t often paint bars and cafe scenes but I was pleased with this composition. Later I worked this up into a larger piece in my studio.

Discover more Paintings of Italy and Prints of Italy at Alan Reed Gallery in Ponteland, UK.

Ciccetti Bars

Venice is historically a city of fishermen and merchants who worked hard, but had little time for a meal and would drink frequently.

Wine would be socially drunk throughout the day and night – even now it’s most common to see locals standing outside a bacaro at 10 or 11am with a glass of wine in hand.

Bar owners started to serve small tasty bites to eat and so cicchetti was born!

Usually served on a slice of baguette, common toppings include plenty of seafood, salami, cheese, mortadella and the most famous of all the Venetian cicchetti – baccala, or creamed cod. It’s my firm favourite; absolutely delicious! Best Ciccetti in Venice

Casanova

The oldest tavern in Venice: Cantina do Mori (Venetian Bar) since 1462 loved and frequented by Giacomo Casanova. According to the legend, the young Casanova used to take his conquest right here for the first dates.