Venice

The Red Sea

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Red Sea. Venice, Italy. September 2015. 

Red Sea. Venice, Italy. September 2015. 

This was an installation created by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota titled "The Key in Hand" for the Venice Art Biennale in 2015. Housed inside the Japanese Pavilion in the Giardini, it was beautiful, immersive, glowing. When you entered the exhibit, you were surrounded by a web of red yarn with individual keys hanging on each string. You felt as though you were "swimming" in a red sea and every surface inside reflected an electric crimson glow. This boat was a central focal point, however just one piece in the multi-roomed pavilion all interconnected by the yarn and key adorned cielings. I would do a poor job in summarizing Shiota's description of what the boat, red string, keys, and other items signify in the exhibit so I leave her description here for you to explore.

Not Your Typical Venetian View

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Not Your Typical Venetian View. Venice, Italy. February 2016. 

Not Your Typical Venetian View. Venice, Italy. February 2016. 

When you picture Venice, what do you see? I'm guessing canals, gondolas, narrow streets, grand palazzi, and romance, however do you ever wonder about "residential" areas in this magical place?

Over the weekend I stayed in a beautiful flat in Giudecca, one of the islands of Venice. Giudecca is a short vaporetto ride away from all the frenetic action of Piazza San Marco, just distant enough away to feel residential. Unfortunately (or fortunately), this trip coincided with acqua alta and so the rain was rather unforgiving. Luckily, I was able to do a cursory exploration of this island for an hour when the rain let up. I enjoyed walking around this atypical side of Venice. There are still plenty of canals to remind you that you are indeed in Venice, however there are more campielli (small squares) surrounded by two or three level homes where you will find a more tranquil scene; residents leaning out of their windows smoking and observing kids kicking a football around, people taking their dogs out for a walk etc. In this area, there are little to no crowds; the only people I saw were nonnas with their grocery carts, a man working on his boat, kids playing in the campiello, dog walkers, and a father-daughter returning from church. It was quiet, calm, and lovely. Of course this was probably also due to the impending rain, but I think things are generally more calm here. 

I saw this home in a campiello and I thought it was really beautiful. The plant life is lush and a wonderful contrast against the building. I took plenty of photos of narrow streets and canals on this trip as I usually do (I can't help myself!), but this might be the most unique shot of the bunch because very few people would guess it is from Venice, the city of water.  

With Love, Venezia

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From Rialto Bridge With Love. Venice, Italy. June 2003. 

From Rialto Bridge With Love. Venice, Italy. June 2003. 

I thought I would put a genuine throwback photo into the mix today. I studied abroad in Rome the summer of 2003. Weekends would entail jumping on a train and going somewhere in Italy. Venice was my final side trip before returning to the U.S., and it was the most magical. Yes, you are overcharged for a ride on a gondola, yes the water smells a bit, yes there were lots of pigeons in St. Mark's Square, but GDI do Venetians know how to make a good Bellini and live "la dolce vita".