"A City in a State of Splendid Decay"

Venice

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy located on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges.  It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon, which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site along with its lagoon.

Sunny and warm and pink and bright - those are the words that come to mind when I think of Venice. I found it beautifully old, unlike any other place, and full of fun, new experiences.  My first gondola ride, my first Italian gelato (the real stuff!), my first city with no motorized vehicles, my first time riding a water taxi, and my first Catholic mass – in Italian no less.  

The architecture was lovely.  The exterior of the Doge’s Palace, with its beautiful pink and white herringbone brick pattern was just plain pretty.  San Marco’s Basilica took my breath away with its shining gold interior.  The labyrinth of buildings, streets, bridges, were confusing but not concerning, as all signs lead back to St. Mark’s square.  Getting lost is appropriate and necessary in Venice. Time is of little importance as you watch people and shop and eat and take pictures and wander and observe.  Yes, it was a nice, sunny break from all of our busyness.  Thank you Venice.

While its population is small, Venice attracts as many tourists as any major city.  With 12 million visitors per year, Venice rivals Europe’s major capitals (Paris and London) in popularity.  Venice is not only sinking but shrinking—its population is half what is was 30 years ago.

Some recent studies have suggested that the city is no longer sinking, but this is not yet certain; (especially since I found data stating it is sinking at a rate of up to 2mm or 0.08” per year), therefore, a state of alert has not been revoked.  In May 2003 construction work began on the MOSE Project(Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), an experimental model for evaluating the performance of hollow floatable gates; the idea is to fix a series of 78 hollow pontoons to the sea bed across the three entrances to the lagoon. When tides are predicted to rise above 110 cm, the pontoons will be filled with air, causing them to float and block the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea. Other measures such as coastal reinforcement, the raising of quaysides and paving and improvement of the lagoon are being completed in conjunction with MOSE. As of June 2013, 75% of the project has been completed.  Its estimated completion date is 2016.  I sure hope this beautiful, historic city is successfully saved.

Another reason to love Venice?  Ryan FINALLY joined us!  We are so happy to be reunited after 5 weeks and 1 day.  The extra day is compliments of Delta Airlines for delaying a flight.  It was brutal being so excited to see him, and then have to wait one more day.  Somehow we survived, and are now together, enjoying Venice as a family.  This feels right and good and perfect.

Kids on a bridge in Venice, need I say more?

John:        Venice was a very interesting place. First of all, it was easy to racially profile people based off what they were selling. For example, Africans sold knock-off handbags, Asians sold flowers and toys, and Italians sold paintings and masks. I found it interestingly funny.  Besides that, Venice was a city in a state of splendid decay. It looked like everything was slowly falling apart, which it kind of is.

My favorite places were the Doge’s Palace and San Marco Basilica. The Doge’s Palace was where the elected rulers of the Republic of Venice ruled for centuries. It had grand meeting halls and the largest oil painting IN THE WORLD! It was a palace worthy of even the snobbiest American president (which most certainly was not LBJ). San Marco Basilica was a beautiful church covered with amazingly detailed mosaics. They were all over the walls and the ceilings. And the Venetian marble! It covered the lower walls and the exquisite floor. It was one of my favorite places I ever visited.

John enjoying his cuttlefish.  Yes, it turned his mouth black.

We went to a Catholic Mass in Venice. It was very interesting due to the fact that it was all in Italian! We tried to go to an English Mass but we were off by an hour. Nonetheless, it was very enjoyable to learn how our Catholic brethren worship. I enjoyed it immensely. Italian is a beautiful language (except when the loud Italians shout it too loudly.)

 Also, while in Venice I tried cuttlefish pasta, which was delicious, even if cuttlefish is overly chewy (and black). And the chocolate gelato was divine!

The Doge's Palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice, opening as a museum in 1923.  Napoleon invaded Venetian territory, and French ideas of citizens' rights caused the populace to reevaluate its thousand year long aristocratic rule. In 1797 the last Doge ("doazh," or duke) abdicated, ushering in a period of French and Austrian rule. In 1866, Venice joined the Kingdom of Italy.

The largest chamber in the Doge’s Palace, the Chamber of the Great Council, is not only the largest chamber in the Doge’s Palace, but also one of the largest rooms in Europe.  It is decorated with a fresco by Guariento, which measures 53 meters long by 25 meters wide.  Here, meetings of the Great Council were held, the most important political body in the Republic. A very ancient institution, this Council was made up of all the male members of patrician Venetian families over 25 years old, irrespective of their individual status, merits or wealth. This was why, in spite of the restrictions in its powers that the Senate introduced over the centuries, the Great Council was seen as a bastion of Republican equality.

Immediately below the ceiling runs a frieze with portraits of the first 76 doges, commissioned from Tintoretto, most of these paintings are in fact the work of his son.  Each Doge holds a scroll bearing a reference to his most important achievements, while Doge Marin Faliero who attempted a coup d’état in 1355, is represented simply by a black cloth as a traitor to the Republic. One of the long walls, behind the Doge’s throne, is occupied by the longest canvas painting in the world, Il Paradiso, which Tintoretto and his workshop produced between 1588 and 1592.

Resting from the blazing Venetian sun, until next time.