Thirty-one years, all of which in possess of a passport marked “Repubblica Italiana”, and I had never been to Venezia. I visited Hanoi, Dušanbe and Charlotte, North Carolina, but never made it to the city at the end of the Veneto lagoon. That had to change somehow.
Venezia brought memories of Istanbul by the bucketful. Not just because of the spontaneity of waterborne commuting, or because of obvious historic ties, but for me it was because of something else. Much like many of Istanbul’s neighbourhoods – Fener, Balat, Galata, Kuzguncuk – Venezia’s sestieri seemed designed to get lost into, and we very much obliged.
Click on any photo to start the slideshow.
Roads made of smooth stone slabs, bridges of bricks and granite. Green water, mould-patched walls from which windows of all shapes and sizes opened. Spun roundels, semi-circular, lancet or ogee: all sort of arcs were present in Venezia, often in the same building. This architectural mixing, intertwining and crossbreeding was a fitting similitude for what happened here on many fronts. Placed as it was at the busiest crossroads of the world, Venezia made the world theirs.
Rarely crossing paths with other tourists – or any other pedestrian, for that matter – we began noticing details. Everything, not just commuting, happened on water. Supermarket deliveries, taxi services, rubbish collection – with recycling ferociously adhered to – and all those wheelings and dealings that, anywhere else, would be accomplished by marauding white vans happened, in Venezia, by boat.
Because, after all, Venezia was a real city. Or, as the green banner say, una vera città.
Walking around Dorsoduro, Sant’Elena or even Rialto, it was hard to think Venezia could ever be submerged by tourists, but one needn’t scouting too hard to find apt clues of their passage. In Italy the No-Tutto “no to everything” season hadn’t gone away yet, but for once the No Grandi Navi was a campaign I could subscribe to, especially after seeing mammoth cruise ships trundle along the Giudecca canal.
Details continued to bounce to our eyes. Slowly, Venezia reveals another side of her – because, like Istanbul, Venezia is a she, a great dame – character. A quirky note, made of street art: irreverent and subtly critical art, taking as many forms as one could wish or imagine, and then some more. For instance, it could be a jest aimed at the American presence in Vicenza and Aviano, Saluti da Vicenza, “Greetings from Vicenza” says the bombing airplane.
Or it could be a caricature of those tourists who clog only selected piazze and calli.
Modern economy didn’t escape the hand of the unnamed artist. The euro has now replaced Mark the Evangelist’s Gospel, and the lion sported a sinister, reptile, grin. Euro tuum vitae meae.
It wasn’t a recent phenomenon either. Past and present of street art intermingled, and nowhere this was more visible than in a piazza where an indie drawing had been sticked above a faded hammer and sickle, all within spitting distance from a church parvise. It didn’t get any more Italian than that.
Sometimes it was art for the sake of art, perhaps with a nod to the city’s past, such as the pigeon wearing the Plague Doctor’s mask. And why not? It didn’t necessarily have to be political, or denouncing this or that. I found myself liking these little chef d’oeuvres intensely, for they added a subdued, unobtrusive touch of beauty to hidden corners of a city that had plenty of the good stuff.
Click on any photo to start the slideshow.
Walking the Ghetto Nuovo, a mere teenager at 501 years of age, we wondered whether street art didn’t date any older than the last decade, whether today’s stickers, drawings and photos were indeed a baton passed from previous centuries, a tradition spanning ages, cultures and religions.
Whatever the answer, street art seemed positively alive and kicking in Venezia. And when streets ended and canals began, it did what everyone else in town did: it, too, took to the water.
Fresh, unusual take on the city!
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Thanks a lot Rich! I figured that it’s the first post ever on Venezia without St. Mark’s Square!
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Bello. Grazie mille. E una vera città.
Now Istanbul? That is funny.
Buon finale di settimana
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Grazie mille Brian 🙂 It is a true city indeed!
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🙂 And if I recall, once you move away 2 or 3 streets from the tourists, it becomes quite pleasant. 🙂
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Yes. It’s surprisingly calm and charming, even if there’s high water and the number of streets available goes down.
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True. I’ve only gone once. And briefly. I like Italy very much so I will probably go back. (and practice my terrible Italian!) Arrivederci.
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I’m sure people will appreciate your efforts with Italian, return!
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Grazie mille. 🙂 I have found that Italians do appreciate my efforts at the language, even more so since my compatriots are so bad at languages… 🙂 I am quite sure there are many more Italians speaking French than French speaking Italian. 😉
(Therefore, I will return.) Last time I did was in 2014. Quite lovely.
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I’d say you’re right! Looking forward to have you back in the Penisola soon.
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Thank you. And where are you located now? (Where they say you have to work some?)
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…London, unfortunately…
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Goodness gracious! So you are held hostage by Theresa May(be) and Boris (Judas) Johnson? Dear, dear…
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Indeed!!!!
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We can always set up a crowdfunding to pay your ransom.
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Wow, this is a side of Venezia I never imagined. I went almost thirty years ago in March. There was a low season back then. Now all I hear about is how overrun with tourists it is. So good to see that, like Prague, you can escape into deserted back streets where the real city reveals herself through symbols. That is probably the most tasteful collection of street art I’ve ever seen. Thanks for the wander!
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You’re welcome Julie! Frankly, I thought it’d be tourism central as well, but with the exception of a few streets (and of Murano and Burano) it wasn’t the case at all. Perhaps it’s different at carnival or in August, but in early September it was absolutely bearable.
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Good to know there really is a downtime in Venice. The street art reminds me a bit of the small stickers and more assuming art in Bogota, but I can’t imagine (mostly because I’ve never been there) a city essentially built on water. I agree with Rich that your post is a different kind of glance at the city – one that tempts me a bit more than the usual photo fare of gelato, gondolas, and many, many people!
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I’ve left Venezia being a massive fan of the place, and of the people. Speaking Italian definitely helped (as well as understanding a bit of the dialect and finding the funny side in the incredibly profligate parlance) in going beyond the ice creams and gondolas which were almost inevitably clogged with Asians Whatsapping their life away, so much so that even the gondolieri took photo of them!
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Those pieces of art on the quiet corners of Venice are a nice and refreshing touch to the otherwise very touristy city. I was planning to go to Venice sometime next year, but had to cancel it as I realized I would need more time to explore it beyond the usual tourist trails. Your comparison of Venice to Istanbul convinced me to dedicate a trip exclusively to the Italian city one day. I spent a week in Istanbul and really fell in love with her, so I should expect to fall in love with Venice as well. And as wise people say, love takes time.
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I can’t say whether I’d spend one whole week in Venezia, Bama… Frankly the place is as big as Galata, without having to be uphill, so even if you paced yourself you’ll walk the town in a couple of days, and another 2 days would suffice to see the other, main, islands. But there are bucketloads of places around Venezia to see, even as daytrips. Bologna is a mere couple of hours away by train, for instance.
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Really appreciate that! I stayed very close to Galata Tower so I have a clear idea about the size of the neighborhood.
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Hahha! The only Venezia post I’ve ever loved. So much food for quirky mind. This last one is just priceless. How much people living there must suffer their lack of streets, seeing that they are still Italians and automobilism in the national sport! I’m glad you made it there and saw the old girl with fresh eyes. I was there twice, just for a couple of hours both times. It felt like being picked up as that orange guy in Google Maps, dropped on a film set where a major fairy-tale was being filmed or in a dream, and then mercilessly thrown out thirsty and hungry because every bar and restaurant looked like a trap. Only to discover that the parking house only charged for the whole day. 25 eur, please. Still worth it though.
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Ouch, 25 euro!? That’s steep. We did find places – bacari or cicchetterie, mostly – where a glass of spritz was a couple of euros and food was cheap, but yes, downtown everything looks like a trap.
Funnily enough, boats are the cars there! We’ve even seen the local chavs, with louder engines, neon lights, techno music and all the rest of it… So it is Italy after all, just… wet. Love your image of the orange Google Maps guy, wish I had it!
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How do you mean, wish you had it? 😮 You don’t have Google Maps and still go around as much as you do? So it is possible! 😉
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Sorry, left half the phrase in the keyboard! I wish I had that as a figure of speech to use in a post, that’s what I meant 😉
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Feel free to borrow it at any time. 😉
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