Venice is Dying

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If Rome is a city for archaeologists, and Florence is for art, then Venice is a city for miracles.

Gasping for breath above its eternally sinking bulk, Venice slowly slides beneath the waves of history. It is a city that defies nature: the city's 100+ islands were built on the silt left by a delta in the river. Massive, wooden pillars were sunk into the clay beneath to hold up the foundations of the city. You can imagine the damage 400 years of sea water will do to wood.

To adjust to its aquatic structure, Venices' ambulances have rudders, the taxis cant drive in fog, and public transport is on an antique floating barge. The water is filthy and trash is collected by boat. "Disposables" such as vegetable matter and banana peels are thrown out of windows into the canals below. Often, they miss the mark and sit rotting on the sidewalks for days.
Venice has barely managed to keep its head above water for over 400 years. Venice floods approximately 100 times a year. This means that an average of once every three days, water spouts up out of drains and covers floors in slimy sea water. Hotels sell plastic shoe coverings and raised, wooden sidewalks wait ready for the water level to rise. All first floors are covered in marble or tile in order to make cleaning easier when it does flood. Many buildings are empty on the first floor. While boating down the Grand Canal, you see almost every other waterside doorway bricked up.
Much of the population is aging and homes are so expensive that many property owners just cant pay the rent. My family had dinner with an AC alumn who owned Al Covo, a restaurant with exquisite food. She explained that it just wasnt a place to raise kids, "My son took a boat to swim practice 45 minutes away on another island and goes to play soccer on the mainland". Many adjustments have to be made in order to live in a city completely surrounded by water.
Venice is a city that wears its heart on its sleeve. It has lived a luxurious life of over-indulgence. While my family was in Venice, the girls went to see the opera La Traviata. The paralells between the heroine of the opera and the city of Venice did not escape me. The story revolves around Violetta, a courtezan (read: harlot) who leads a rich, fabulous life and young country bumpkin Alfredo who falls in love with her. A few months later, they live together in his not-so-small country chateau in bliss. His father secretly intervenes and tells Violetta that she has ruined his family name and should leave. Violetta reluctantly packs her bags and heads for the door, telling Alfredo she needs her freedom and old pleasures back. A few months later, Alfredo sees Violetta at a ball, having gone back to her sleazy ways. He throws money at her to shame her (though it sounds very lucrative to me) and they seperate for 15 years. Violetta goes back to her house to retire and die of tuberculosis. But just before this, she recieves a visit from Alfredo, whose father admitted to seperating the two love birds. The lovers reconcile just before she dies dramatically at his (and our) feet.
Another example of luxury is the annual festival of Carnival. It is a celebration of dancing, parades, and partying in masks in the two weeks leading up to Lent. This tradition has continued and for two weeks in February, the city will be flooded with 100,000 masked party-goers. A fun event to participate in, but Venice's glory is short-lived.

Venice has lived a rich and decadent 400 years, but now the blood that gave Venice life is the very poison into which she sinks. It serves as an example that a life of over-indulgence can't go on forever.

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Photos

Al Covo Dinner
The Last of Luxury...from an AC Alumn!

Rialto Bridge
One of the three bridges that connect one side of Venice to the other.

This one is for Shelbi
Louis Vitton AND Chanel??? Too good to be true.

Venitian Glass
Sarah took this picture

Comments

[Jamie]

Did you munch on cicchetti?
One of my favorite parts about Venice were cicchetti bars. Cicchetti are little bread slices with local ingredients like fish or cheese. I equate it to Venitian sushi. One euro each and a one euro glass of house wine. It is a good way to make up for the fact everything else is so spendy.