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Venice

Venice (Venezia) is a city and provincial capital in the Lombardy (Lombardia) region of Italy. During Tchaikovsky's lifetime it formed part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia (until 1859), the Kingdom of Venetia (1859–66), and the Kingdom of Italy (from 1866).

Tchaikovsky visited Venice on four occasions:

• late January/early February 1872 — during the composer's first visit to Italy.
• 17/29 April–18/30 April 1874 — during his summer vacation. This time he "wandered far and wide", finding the Doge's Palace "the utmost in finery and beauty", and went to "three churches with a whole mass of pictures by Titian and Tintoretto, statues by Canova, and all sorts of aesthetic treasures" [1]
• 11/23 November–18/30 November 1877 — finishing the orchestration of Act I, Scene II of the opera Evgenii Onegin
• 2/14 December–16/28 December 1877 — staying at the Hôtel Beau Rivage [see below], Tchaikovsky worked on the orchestration of his Symphony No. 4, completing the first movement on 11/23 December, the second on 13/25 December, and the third on 15/27 December. Owing to interruptions, he was unable to work on the finale during his time in Venice.
• 15/27 November–18/30 November 1881 — spending three days in the city on his way to Rome.

The Hôtel Beau Rivage is now the Hotel Londra Palace, where there is a plaque commemorating the composer's visit in 1877. His former room is now the "Tchaikovsky Suite":

Notes:

1. Letter 347 to Modest Tchaikovsky, 17/29 April 1874 [back]