Richard Porter visiting in Venice with cousin, Maristella Tagliaferro

We had a 5pm time set to meet the cousins in San Marco Sq.  We had noticed some fine looking people milling around the patio chamber orchestra (doing "O Solo Mio of course).  No one looked like Maristella.  Liz moseyed down the way to peruse some shops and I stayed.  Then I spotted her across the square approaching the others.  Then we met in the middle.  It was like we hadn't seen each other in 500 yrs or so.  Maybe it was since Bartolomeo left in 1562 heading to London to seek his fortune.  He was the trade representative of the Doge (king) of Venice which at that time was one of the most powerful and influential city states in the world.  He was also a concert violinist and played at the court of Queen Elizabeth 1st.  Also he opened a music store in the arts district and befriended a struggling young actor.  They became drinking buddies and the actor from Stratford-upon-Avon was young  Wm Shakespeare.  We are about 18 generations removed from Bartolomeo Tagliaferro whose grandson Robert the Immigrant decided to sail to Virginia to seek his fortune (he found it).   His decendents included Richard who taught architecture to youngTom Jefferson and whose son in law was TJ's law partner and and a signatory to the Dec of Independence (Geo Wythe).   In our group were cousins Maristella, the entertainment and arts editor of the Venetian newspaper, her uncles, their wives and two cousins.  They all lived outside Venice (mostly Verona) and came in by train, bus and water taxi.  We were impressed and honored that they'd spend the time and effort to meet "new" cousins.  After our visit at the meeting cafe, everyone had to return home except Maristella who took us to the best restaurant in town where the Italian president dines when he's in Venice.  It's been there for over 100 years.  I had veal scallopini and Liz had veal cannoloni.  It was excellent and Maristella regaled us over the next two hours with tales of the Taliaferros.  One was actually the mother of King John of the Magna Carta fame.  There were other almost equally as famous.   After the dinner, around ten, she walked us back to San Marco Sq and showed us the place where Bartolomeo's father Antonio had a shop and the church they attended ( a little Baptist church on the square).  Kidding a little bit here,  according to jackie and gary it was Lutheran.   When we got back to the ship's shuttle, it was delayed for almost an hour for the 20 minute shuttle to the ship.  Come to find out, the ship had broken lose from its moorings and was adrift.  There was a quick wind shear and we felt it at the cafe when the outside patio umbrellas were knocked down and out.   We got back around 11pm and are starting out this am for another misadventure in the "Most Romantic City in the World".   More later   R&L