After leaving your gondola with the aid of a uniformed servant, you enter the foyer of an elegant palazzo, just off the Grand Canal. Owned by one of the most beautiful and notorious cortigiana onesta in Venice, the palazzo is well known to be home to elegant literary salons and lavishly profane parties. Music and laughter float down the pale marble stairs, inviting guests to follow. Ancient tapestries line the walls, glowing richly in the dim light as you ascend the stairs. Men and women in ornate, outlandish costumes glide through large doors, their silks and satins glow in the warm candlelight. Their faces are hidden in traditional or fanciful works of art, made by the finest mask makers in Venice.

A song, a sonnet, a tale, a jewel under glass and gold casket; gifts from honored guests in the courtesan's home are displayed in alcoves set into walls of the staircase. In a small antechamber, velvet cloaks and sturdy chopins are guarded by a footman and maid, flirting in the few quiet moments. Jeweled fingers caress the rich mahogany handrail; cool marble stairs pass under elegantly slippered feet and rustling satin. After announcing the newest guests, the imposing majordomo guides them to the receiving line to greet The Courtesan. Played on a harpsichord with violins behind, the minuet beckons guests to join disguised cyprians, rogues, and Venetian nobility as they dance in an elegant ritual of seduction and power.

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