History of the Codega

When there was still no streetlights that illuminate Venice today, scattered everywhere, the city plunged into darkness after sunset. Only a few votive candles lighted sacred images along the walls, the "cesendeli".

By the middle of the fifteenth century the number of assaults had soared so much that a law was passed which made it mandatory to use a light to those who go around past three in the morning.
People then geared up with candles and candlesticks, lanterns and all sorts of light, while the nobles and the rich hired somebody to light the way for them: the "codega" that preceded them holding up a lantern.

The word probably comes from the greek odegos, which means "guide", and in more recent times, when the "light-bearer" was no longer needed, the name was given to the hotel bellboy equipped with umbrella that welcomed guests on rainy days. The same name was also used for those who escorted girls back home after a theatre show. With some variation in meaning, the term survives today, indicating who happens to be the third wheel.