As soon as one arrives in Piazza San Marco, one is welcomed by festive clouds of pigeons. According to an old legend, the birds were first brought to Venice from Cyprus and presented to the wife of the Doge. For the Venetians the pigeons are the traditional ornament of the lovely square and are cared for by the Town Hall authorities, who see that they get a plentiful ration of corn every morning and another one at one PM.