Outside a gelateria in calle de le Rasse. It says it all.
Italy, like many other parts of Europe, has been pounded by intense heat the past month or so. Maybe more. It all begins to blur.
So to the usual end-of-summer entropy we add debilitating temperatures. Outraged articles in the press, here and abroad, have focused largely on the usual tourist scourge, but I feel more than usually sorry for them, especially their little children. If the little ones aren’t at the beach, they shouldn’t be here at all, wandering the sweltering, exhausting, meaningless streets with no end in sight. But I digress.
I have seen an assortment of diverting little moments and things, so here are some of them. They contain no meaning or significance of any sort except that I like them. If that counts as significance.
The survival instinct seen in its simplest and purest form. The shadows aren’t trees, but tall furled umbrellas at the nearby trattoria. It’s not even 8:00 AM but the dog isn’t flustered, even with fur.It’s perfect that he’s the same color as the pavement. Safe from any predators that might be roaming the veldt, and cooler than me, by any standard.I may have shown this before, but it remains one of my favorite fragments. I have no idea what inspired this lapidary Venetian comment on life, but it’s hard to dispute: “When I speak, nobody listens. When they listen, they don’t understand. When they understand, they forget.” (Note to lovers of Italian: “co” in Venetian isn’t always short for “con,” but sometimes for “quando.” Don’t blame me, I just got here.)Saturday, August 26. Balloons mean party, and white means matrimony. Happy news for everybody except maybe a few guests, who would otherwise at this point in the summer have been far away, taking their vacation in Croatia or Cortina.Confirmation on the balloons: Evviva gli sposi! Long live the newlyweds!
Sunday, August 27: The sposi, as celebrated by their friends. We heard the bells ringing yesterday and they sounded joyous despite the 90+-degree (F.) weather. This document was taped to the metal fence along the canal.This is the derelict church of Sant’ Ana (not the church where Piero and Carlotta were married). They got hitched at the nearby famous and important church of San Pietro di Castello, while this once-important entity has long since just been left by the roadside, so to speak. The four rectangles of earth in the forecourt have been as forlorn and neglected as the church. But as you see, plants are returning!This view shows the four very sad, once-briefly-verdant, patches of beaten earth in front of the church. These rectangles were somebody’s acknowledgment that even a small bit of green could mitigate the melancholy, but whoever it was didn’t remember that people would actually be walking here. I can attest that it just feels silly to keep to the walkways when I need to go diagonally, and you can see that everybody else has felt the same way. As water naturally runs downhill, people naturally walk in the straightest line between points A and B. Result: bare earth where many feet have trod, barely discernible here beneath the shadow.Look at the upper right-hand corner of the photo, which is also the upper right rectangle of land. Tell me honestly that you would have made two consecutive 90-degree turns in order to stay on the pavement while heading for the small passageway. If you would, you amaze me, and you would probably be happier living in Norway.But look! Things can change (we knew that) for the better (we certainly didn’t know that). This unruly plot is at the zenith of its garden-ness, the result of being an “aiuola adottata.” Could mean flowerbed, could mean greensward, could mean any remnant of land that could support roots and leaves. And it has been adopted! This is not yet a productive market garden and it certainly isn’t Kew Gardens, but my hat is off to anybody who has done anything to redeem the desolation of this little patch of Venice.You’ve heard of rescue animals, this is rescue ground. The fine print reveals that the program is under the aegis of the city of Venice, and the ancient and esteemed local association Societa’ di Mutuo Soccorso Carpentieri e Calafati http://www.smscc.it/. (Full disclosure: I am a member.) Not to forget the volunteers of the “green spaces” section of a group called We Are Here Venice https://www.weareherevenice.org/.The zucchine and beans may not flourish yet, or ever, but this is perfect.
I will have to let you know whatever improvement is made on the ill-fated footpath rectangle. I think it would be excellent for them accept that people want to cross there, and to install one of those wooden walkways that you see in swamps. Maybe plant the rest of the area with (finish this sentence please).
It would be nice if somehow the nizioleto here, that once said Campo S. Ana, could be repaired along with the terrain. The plight of the city’s battered nizioleti is the concern of the Nizioleti e Masegni group of volunteers (full disclosure….) https://www.masegni.org/. But periodic cleanup is easier than convincing the city to reconstruct street signs that have been reduced to the point of being utterly useless.I love you too, Luca of the fruit and vegetable barge. As for Muro, I could love them for having created this insouciant little greeting.Muro is the name of two restaurants, one at the Frari and the other at San Stae. This isn’t a plug for the places themselves, where I have never gone, but it’s a huge high-five for whoever thought up this T-shirt. https://www.murovenezia.com/en/As I was saying, dogs just seem to know what to do in the heat. First thing: Find shadow. Second: Lie still. They all do it so well.
So relieved to finally get another message from Venice even if it is tired and melancholy….it feels like the whole globe is tired and melancholy……and rightfully so. Not so hot here in New York City…..
somehow we’ve been spared,……..so far. However, good to hear your “voice” again.
Apparently I am “amazing”, as I would have walked around the square of grass. I am particularily conscious of struggling green spaces, and with so little green in the city as it is, I would want to protect what patches exists. It should NOT be boarded over, but instead loved and cherished for the life that it can provide. Put up a tiny fence and plant flowers and a shade-giving bush or tree!
And yes, I probably would be happier in Norway 😀
Another lovely story about a bit of Venice we rarely visit choosing to stay in Dorsoduro. I DO wonder why attractive young women scar themselves with tattoos but that is btb. Oh, and you don’t HAVE to live in Norway, being English and over 65, I would certainly follow the path but I do hope that the ground can be turned over and some wild flowers planted amongst the grasses to attract bees and other insects. It would be lovely, and also stop people walking across it!
So nice to “hear” from you again, really missed your take on that city we all love ( and in my case, miss) I’m so conformist I’d probably also follow the path and avoid treading down the poor beleaguered blades of grass any further.
A lovely post as usual, Erla.
Here in Sweden the risk of sunstroke is rather slim so it was really lovely to be back in Venice for a while. I did notice that something was happening inside that little campo in front of the church, but never really examined it further. The adoption of the little patches of greenery, with the city council’s blessing, seems like a lovely idea. Reminds me of the wife of an old friend who, after endless got some kind of permission to make the slope opposite their house prettier by making it into flower beds. It worked wonerfully for a few years until an alternatively gifted operator of a gigantic lawnmower used for roadsides came along. Adieu, flowers. Hopefully that doesn’t occur in Venice, and hopefully whoever has planted the plants has the stamina to keep taking care of them.
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So relieved to finally get another message from Venice even if it is tired and melancholy….it feels like the whole globe is tired and melancholy……and rightfully so. Not so hot here in New York City…..
somehow we’ve been spared,……..so far. However, good to hear your “voice” again.
jean
Looks like you’ve been sloping around despite the sweat it causes…hopefully a week off now at least… love the mini gardens!
Apparently I am “amazing”, as I would have walked around the square of grass. I am particularily conscious of struggling green spaces, and with so little green in the city as it is, I would want to protect what patches exists. It should NOT be boarded over, but instead loved and cherished for the life that it can provide. Put up a tiny fence and plant flowers and a shade-giving bush or tree!
And yes, I probably would be happier in Norway 😀
Another lovely story about a bit of Venice we rarely visit choosing to stay in Dorsoduro. I DO wonder why attractive young women scar themselves with tattoos but that is btb. Oh, and you don’t HAVE to live in Norway, being English and over 65, I would certainly follow the path but I do hope that the ground can be turned over and some wild flowers planted amongst the grasses to attract bees and other insects. It would be lovely, and also stop people walking across it!
So nice to “hear” from you again, really missed your take on that city we all love ( and in my case, miss) I’m so conformist I’d probably also follow the path and avoid treading down the poor beleaguered blades of grass any further.
Brava Erla, grazie! Ai lov iu, too!
A lovely post as usual, Erla.
Here in Sweden the risk of sunstroke is rather slim so it was really lovely to be back in Venice for a while. I did notice that something was happening inside that little campo in front of the church, but never really examined it further. The adoption of the little patches of greenery, with the city council’s blessing, seems like a lovely idea. Reminds me of the wife of an old friend who, after endless got some kind of permission to make the slope opposite their house prettier by making it into flower beds. It worked wonerfully for a few years until an alternatively gifted operator of a gigantic lawnmower used for roadsides came along. Adieu, flowers. Hopefully that doesn’t occur in Venice, and hopefully whoever has planted the plants has the stamina to keep taking care of them.
I could eat italian ice cream all day!
I agree with you entirely about the gelato. Here is some fascinating history I learned on assignment for Craftsmanship magazine: https://craftsmanship.net/the-secrets-of-an-italian-gelato-master/