Pink lamps

It’s a foggy early morning in Venezia and the low cloud gives an eerie feel to the place as we wander around the streets. Just off Piazza San Marco are some of the best views of the sea, with the Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore visible faintly through the shifting fog.

Venice gondolas - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

I love the street lamps here. Their pink glass is a perfect decorative colour. I suspect that it’s pink because of the gold they added to the glass. Even the tiniest of amounts of the metal gold turn glass red. Selenium also turns glass pink. I wonder which metal was used in Venice’s glass? Given the luxurious nature of every aspect of Venice, I suspect gold.

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