Let me set the scene: Below is a glimpse of a typical high-season day in the Venice of yore. Till last year, high season had spread across most of the calendar.
Let me state that there is nothing good about the pandemic, so don’t think what I’m about to say is to be taken as positive. Except that in its tiny little way, it is.
Over the past months, the daily armies of motorized boats of all shapes and purposes and horsepowerage roaring around everywhere — particularly in the Grand Canal — have made a forced retreat. This is bad (see above), but the side effect has been a Grand Canal liberated from the appalling turmoil that had long since become normal.
Note: Barges and their cousins are still at work, but what are missing are the approximately 39,210,443 taxis and tourist launches that had claimed the waterways as their own.
Result: Space, tranquility, and calm water for Venetian boats to return to their native habitat, which they have been doing on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Perhaps also at other times, but I’m not there to see them.
So for anyone who might want to breathe the atmosphere of a watercourse that has been unintentionally restored to many Venetians who had been effectively banished for years, here are some views of our Sunday morning row in our own little boat a week ago. There were even more on Saturday, because boaty people like to go to the Rialto market, but Sundays had long since been taken over by herds of taxis thundering along one of the world’s most beautiful streets like the migration of the wildebeest in the Serengeti.
Here are some glimpses of what the Grand Canal looks like when there are more Venetians than anybody else. Enjoy it, because yesterday the Great Reopening began here, and we may have seen the last of this.
So we have swung between two extremes — the old days entailed lots of work and craziness and also hugely damaging motondoso, then the pandemic period was marked by no work, no craziness, lots of people with no money. But I will whisper this: I never would have thought I’d have the chance to feel that the city returned somehow to its origins, and it has been beyond wonderful. Whether some middle ground between the two extremes can be found will be clear only when the pandemic is well and truly over.
The phrase “Let me state that there is nothing good about the pandemc […] so don’t think what I’m about to say is to be taken as positive. Except that in its tiny little way, it is.” just cracked me up. My dear wife heard me giggling and for a moment feared I had taken leave of my senses altogether.
We are actually quite good here, just that we can’t travel and meet people and that has been really getting to me lately when I realise there probably won’t be any trips to China this year either.
Thanks, Erla, for keeping the spirit up!
/Andreas
As both a rower and wooden boat guy I would love it if you would give us a tour some time of the various types of traditional boats. I loved the photos in this article but in many the angle was such that I couldn’t really see the lines.
I could easily put something together — I know that you, at least, will be eager to see it. Meanwhile, if you’d like to look at some drawings, check out the site of arzana’, the association for the conservation and preservation of Venetian boats. Too bad it’s all in Italian. https://arzana.org/barche/barche-tipiche/
Simply magical. Thank you for recording what we can’t be there to see – and if we were there to see it, it wouldn’t be there to see…
(I’m sure that’s quite clear?)
Thank you for the elegiac account. Perhaps, before this strange moment passes, you could make and share a video with sound. The lack of turbulent racket on the Grand Canal is something most of us will never experience. Beautiful photographs that stir a yearning to return.
I hate to tell you that the strange moment has already passed. Your suggestion of making a video is an excellent one, but the traffic has already begun to return. I’m really sorry, it would have been a very good thing to have. But weekend mornings are back at the mercy of taxis, not to mention private motorboats. Looks like we’re headed back to the bad old days. Damn.
Hi Erla! The photos of pre-COVID boat traffic in Venice brought smiles of remembrance to our faces. The recent photos brought tears of beauty to our eyes. Joe and I are grateful. Molte grazie, Sherri
Hi Erla, such a nice report, and I feel sad, not to be there as well.
The guy in the bow (alza remi) with video cameras is Adriano Kraul, he put so many nice videos into youtube, search his name there, i love them, too…
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🌹🌹🙏🙏👍👍😆👏👏👏
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏thanks Erla.
The phrase “Let me state that there is nothing good about the pandemc […] so don’t think what I’m about to say is to be taken as positive. Except that in its tiny little way, it is.” just cracked me up. My dear wife heard me giggling and for a moment feared I had taken leave of my senses altogether.
We are actually quite good here, just that we can’t travel and meet people and that has been really getting to me lately when I realise there probably won’t be any trips to China this year either.
Thanks, Erla, for keeping the spirit up!
/Andreas
As both a rower and wooden boat guy I would love it if you would give us a tour some time of the various types of traditional boats. I loved the photos in this article but in many the angle was such that I couldn’t really see the lines.
I could easily put something together — I know that you, at least, will be eager to see it. Meanwhile, if you’d like to look at some drawings, check out the site of arzana’, the association for the conservation and preservation of Venetian boats. Too bad it’s all in Italian. https://arzana.org/barche/barche-tipiche/
This just brings me to tears. Tears of happiness for the way things are now, and tears for the future.
Wonderful yarn, excellent photographs, very educational to those is who know nothing about the sport. Another wonderful post, Erla.
Simply magical. Thank you for recording what we can’t be there to see – and if we were there to see it, it wouldn’t be there to see…
(I’m sure that’s quite clear?)
Thank you for the elegiac account. Perhaps, before this strange moment passes, you could make and share a video with sound. The lack of turbulent racket on the Grand Canal is something most of us will never experience. Beautiful photographs that stir a yearning to return.
I hate to tell you that the strange moment has already passed. Your suggestion of making a video is an excellent one, but the traffic has already begun to return. I’m really sorry, it would have been a very good thing to have. But weekend mornings are back at the mercy of taxis, not to mention private motorboats. Looks like we’re headed back to the bad old days. Damn.
Hi Erla! The photos of pre-COVID boat traffic in Venice brought smiles of remembrance to our faces. The recent photos brought tears of beauty to our eyes. Joe and I are grateful. Molte grazie, Sherri
Hi Erla, such a nice report, and I feel sad, not to be there as well.
The guy in the bow (alza remi) with video cameras is Adriano Kraul, he put so many nice videos into youtube, search his name there, i love them, too…
Fantastic photos and so nice to see so many people about. I must return one day!