Mark's Square in Venice, Italy, where the birds often bestow droppings.

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Pinault is also hoping to win the bidding on a larger venue, the 34, 000-square-foot Punta della Dogana, site of the 17th-century Venice customs house.

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Down on the bustling banks of the Niger in the port of Mopti - the Venice of Mali as the faded tourist posters call it - I find stacks of square white slabs flecked with grey.

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