I finally finished the basic itinerary for next year's Celtic Invasion Vacations. You can hear about it in this week's Pub Songs Podcast.

I'm calling it Origins of Celtic Invasions for several reasons.

For one, my mom lives there. She moved to Italy in 1985. I have visited many times since. I even graduated high school in the oldest Renaissance theater still in existence. It was pretty awesome. I can't wait to share it with you.

The big reason though is because the Celts invaded Venice long before we did.

You see, the Celts, as an ethnolinguistic group, began somewhere around Hallstatt, Austria. They were one of the “barbarian tribes” that spread through Europe. Some ended up in Turkey. Others in Spain. The vast majority headed toward the British Isles, somewhere around 800-400 BC. By the time, Julius Caeser led his Gallic Wars in 58-51 BC, there were Celtic tribes all over Europe.

One of the largest Celtic tribes was called the Veneti. They were a seafaring tribe. Their home base was in Vannes on Morbihan Bay in Brittany. That whole bay has lots of small islands.

I bring this up because Venice was built on a whole bunch of small islands. It's a seafaring city. And one of the major rivers in the Veneto is the Po River (There's a Po River in nearby Carnac as well). You might note all of the Italian place names… wait, I mean Celtic place names that remain to this day.

Yes. It is my belief (and others) that the Veneti probably settled in the Veneto before traveling to Brittany.

My step-dad has searched for archaeological evidence. Sadly, there's not much in the region we are visiting. You'd have to go a couple hours North. But it's still fascinating to imagine Celts living in this area in 400 BC or so.

That said, Celtic Invasion Vacations is ultimately about our Celtic Geek community. We're gonna see an amazing part of the world, including my favorite city. And we're gonna do it together.

I look forward to sharing a part of my home, and my life, with you.

Again, listen to the The Celts Invade Venice on this week's Pub Songs Podcast. I'll go in further detail about the itinerary which is now up on the Celtic Invasion Vacations website.

Slainte!
Marc Gunn, The Celtfather

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