Venice, Once Seen…

 

“Memory’s images, once they are fixed in words, are erased,” Polo said. “Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it, or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little.”
― Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

 

On this trip I have seen many cities. The sites of all of them will stick with me. Seeing Michelangelo’s David and the Acropolis was awesome in the true sense of the word. People watching in Barcelona was amazing as were the streets of Naples and Kusadasi. Yet no city has captured my heart the way Venice has. I could walk the tunnels and side streets for days and in my dreams I still do. I love the canals and watching the boats and the light on the water. The vendors selling their t-shirts and knick knacks seemingly indifferent. San Marcos Basilica and the Dodge’s Palace are filled with art that take the breath away. The craftsmen in the stores sell their glassware and masques and tell stories as enthralling as those in Kusadasi yet where the former talks about who made them, the artists in Venice talk about how they are made. The work itself is beautiful. It is a city of artists of one kind or another.
There are also contradictions in its streets. Along the outside of the Venetian labyrinth everything is geared towards the tourists. Along the smaller narrower lanes and tunnels closer to the centre there is a lot more poverty and people are less fond of the thousands of streaming tourists passing through. Dogs walk off leash beside their owners freely, the more aggressive ones muzzled. As in every city we saw on this voyage, the city walls are strewn with graffiti. In Venice, it is just one more form of art. The gondoliers and water taxis add to the traffic in the canals with grace as do the commuters in their private boats. The food is amazing, whether in an expensive restaurant or in a cheaper pizza stand. There is music in the heart of Venice. The concertinas play alongside the American rock streaming from radios in the smaller shops.
Venice has its share of history as well. I visited the site of Marco Polo’s house (replaced first by an Opera House which was then replaced by apartments. I also saw one of Vivaldi’s houses (apparently he had many movements within Venice) and the site of one of his concerts. On the waterfront square where we stayed, there were people in costume dressed as Casanova and his lady love and the ubiquitous masques carry reminders of earlier times.
One day I will return to Venice and spend at least a week there. Three days was definitely not long enough. Until then I will revisit it in my memories.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Entering VeniceEntering Venice

 

At St Marcos SquareAt St Marcos Square

 

Gondoliers1Gondoliers

 

Statue outside the hotel-VeniceStatue Outside Our Hotel

 

IMG_1898Hanging with Friends

 

Late afternoon Sky VeniceLate Afternoon Sky