During the long history of Venice, many tales regarding the city and its most particular places are born. Some come from real facts, some are the result of Venetians’ fantasy.
There is a particular one, very popular among young people, referring to not to step on specific stones around the city, since they may bring bad luck.
The most famous stone is in Castello district, under the covered walkway between Corte Nova and Calle Zorzi. People who lived in this courtyard had always been spared from the many misfortunes striking the rest of the city. So happened in 1630, when none of the people living there was infected by the back plague, and also with the cholera in 1849 and 1855.
Besides, this area was spare from the Austrian bombing during the Great War. The inhabitants so decided to thank the Madonna della Salute (Madonna of Health) building in the covered walkway no less than two capitals portraying the Holy Virgin; at the entrance, the writing “Holy Mary of Health, who many times spared this courtyard”.
NIn the pavement there is a red stone testifying the place where the plague stopped. Moreover, the red colour was the colour of mourning. Here starts the origin of the superstition of the stone bringing bad luck and it absolutely cannot be stepped on, above all by students attending to the nearby high school, since it might bring their school failure.
In Salizada San Chianciano there is a bad luck stone too. Despite the other one, it is not red, and it’s much bigger about a half of the street. Looking at Venetians trying to avoid it among the crowd really causes oddity among tourists.
