Venice archivos - Page 5 of 8 - VOLARE MAGAZINE

The boats typical of the Venetian lagoon and the Adriatic Sea have shaped the history, economy and life of the city.

Caorline, mascarete, sandoli, s’cioponi, topi, peate, burci, bragozzi, pieleghi and trabaccoli and of course the well-known gondola; a host of strange names that symbolise some of the typical lagoon boats that have long been used for fishing and transporting goods to the city.

They used to be a much more common sight in the lagoon and the canals, but are nowadays almost entirely replaced by anonymous and standardized motor boats that contribute to the much-maligned “wave motion” damaging shorelines and buildings along the small and winding canals within Venice.

Traditional boats are now usually only seen during regattas, in the Vogalonga race or skippered by a small number of enthusiasts who are members of various rowing clubs, they can be admired rowing along with difficulty, navigating a path between the motor boats that so frequently speed down the waterways with no regard for these boats that are part of the history of the Serenissima.

Of course, the power of Venice was born from the sea and the trade that took place there, and ships and boats were a crucial part of this, while the large rowing and sailing ships, the famous galleys and war galleys, sailed the Adriatic and the Mediterranean trading with the East, the less sizeable boats were used for sea fishing or for trade along the Adriatic, and the smallest vessels, almost all with flat bottoms suitable for sailing in shallow waters, were used in the lagoon to transport goods to the city, in particular agricultural products produced on the many islands in the lagoon.

Today, visitors to the city can still take a gondola ride or possibly even catch sight of some of the other traditional boats, if they are lucky enough to be visiting when one of the races is being held; for a few years now there has also been the option of taking part in lagoon excursions on some of these boats, obviously motor driven and not rowed.

Up until the first half of the 1900s some boats, luggers, sail boats and then mixed sailing and motor propelled boats were still used for fishing or as cargo boats arriving in Venice from the Istrian shore of the Adriatic, often loaded with inert construction materials, some examples are stored at the Cesenatico Maritime Museum .

A few years ago, a well-known Venetian Association, the Club degli Amici del Nuovo Trionfo (Friends of the New Triumph), acquired the last lugger in the lagoon and is now undertaking careful and painstaking restoration work in order to preserve this link to a past which is unfortunately disappearing a little more each day, engulfed by “modernity”.

The “Nuovo Trionfo” (New Triumph) lugger was built 90 years ago and is now being restored with long and essential maintenance work on the hull to ensure its preservation and navigability.

A genuine piece of lesser known Venetian history, to be handed down for future generations and soon to return to its berth at the Punta della Dogana, at the mouth of the Grand Canal, where it can be admired by everyone in Venice, visitors and residents alike.

If you are looking for what Venice was like half a century ago and you want to find a bit of peace and tranquillity, the island of Pellestrina is an ideal destination for immersing yourself in serenity.

Today, after two days of intense rain and dark clouds, it was beautiful and sunny out with a splendid blue sky. So, I climbed on bus number 11 heading to the island of Pellestrina, a place which remains a small corner of genuine paradise little or not at all disturbed by mass tourism. This is because it’s a bit out of the way and reachable only after a couple of hours’ travel.

After a pleasant crossing of the lagoon from San Marco, you get to the Lido. There you climb on bus number 11 that runs all the way to Alberoni a Sud where you enter the ferry boat. In a couple of minutes, the ferry crosses the mouth of the port, one of the entrances seaward from San Marco, finally arriving in Maria del Mare.

After coming off the ferry-boat, the bus runs along the coast of Pellestrina until it gets to the opposite end. From there, a vaporetto or water taxi service regularly connects with Chioggia.

Although the island has been discovered in recent years by ecotourists, you can still get to the southern end by bike from Chiogga where the Ca’ Roman nature oasis is.

You pass small, successive clusters of houses, Portosecco, and San Pietro in Volta until coming to the village of Pellestrina, which gives its name to the entire island. In recent times, new construction has sprung up in this location whose principle source of income is fishing. You gather this by the almost endless succession of boats and vessels moored along the banks of the lagoon.

What strikes you after walking for awhile along the lagoon is the silence. It’s only intermittently interrupted by the screeching of seagulls or water lapping on the hull of sporadic and slowly departing boats.

There’s also the chatter of little groups of women with their traditional, peculiar, musically-cadenced way of speaking that is enjoyable to hear and different from the dialect spoken in the city. Or you can hear the rare tourist on a bike. These are the only noises that punctuate the air in this place where silence reigns sovereign. It seems almost unnatural for those coming from the chaos of car traffic in the city. Meanwhile, on the other side, along the beach, the noise of the waves washing up is broken only by the engines of the few cars passing along the long road winding around the island.

The long “Murazzi” or walls, built to defend the town in distant times, hide a beach which was reformed and protected by works done after the Great Flood of 1966. It’s a wild and natural place which is visited almost exclusively by residents during the summer. It has no bathing facilities, cabins, kiosks or beach clubs. There’s only a long line of tamarix shrubs concealing the view of the town.

Beyond the usual typical tours in Venice, visitors staying for a few days, or already familiar with the city who come back to know it better, have some other options which offer a different perspective whether staying with the crowd or almost alone.

You can get to know Venice more deeply by exploring the city on foot and wandering around its narrow streets and small squares in search of its hidden corners, which are off the well-beaten tourist path.

A unique and pleasant experience can be had by taking part in an event known as “Su e zo per i ponti” (up and down the bridges). This is an annually held non-competitive walk that takes place the first Sunday in April. This year will be the 39^th such event.

Two routes can be tackled, a full or shortened one depending on level of ability, and the event attracts all age groups. Entire families from grandparents to grandchildren follow one of these routes that start and end in Piazza San Marco and pass through lesser known parts of the city. There are no winners and everyone gets a medal to mark the occasion.

Another more characteristic and typically Venetian way of exploring the city is by boat. Every year, on the last Sunday in May or the first Sunday in June, the “Vogalonga” (a paddling/rowing race) is held, which traverses the entire lagoon. It is a demanding race, involving 33 kilometres of rowing and is a challenge only to be taken up by the well-trained.

Besides the quintessential gondola tour through the city’s canals, Venice can also be explored by boat through one of its kayak tours. These have been going on for several years now and start from the Isola della Certosa. These guided group excursions by kayak offer a chance to discover the city “from the water’s edge”.

At one time, you could rent row boats, but this is something which has now disappeared. Nowadays, you can rent only motorised boats, which are perhaps more suitable for transporting goods than people. You can tour the city’s canals on these boats, but you need to have a basic knowledge of how to manoeuvre them. You must also pay attention to traffic and the many limits and restrictions which exist on water in Venice as they do for automobile traffic in other cities.

Finally, another option for being on the water is to rent a “haus-boat” or house boat. You can then tour the city further by exploring the lagoon and islands as well as the remote, but no less enchanting corners of Venice. Obviously, due to the size of these boats, or “trailers on water,” you cannot enter the city’s canals with them.

The city can also be explored from the air, not only by climbing up its bell towers, but from even much higher up.

Lido’s Nicelli Airport is the oldest in Italy after the Roman ones. From its well-preserved original 1930s terminal, you can take helicopter tours of varying lengths and prices over Venice and the lagoon.

This offers a view of the city, its canals, the lagoon and its numerous islands, big and small, which captivates and dazzles even those who know the city well.

Aeroporto Nicelli

http://www.aeroportonicelli.it/

https://www.facebook.com/AeroportoNicelli/?fref=ts

Isola della Certosa

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isola_della_Certosa

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Isola-della-Certosa/582007705221728?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

Like all cities with a long history, there are a multitude of things to see, many of which are before our very eyes. But, we don’t stop and take them in because we’re distracted by other more famous or obvious sites.

Venice has places like this which are less known or visited than the traditional and renowned spots such as Piazza San Marco with its basilica, the Doge’s Palace, the Rialto Bridge or the Gallerie dell’Accademia, just to mention some of the most famous tourist destinations.

One somewhat less known and tucked away place is St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church and the adjacent Museum of the Hellenic Institute for Byzantine Studies, which are just a short walk from San Marco,

I must confess I’ve only recently discovered these places, even though I knew they existed and have passed them a multitude of times. They were along I street I took often as my maternal grandmother and some relatives lived in their area. It was also the route I sometimes took back home from school.

Not long ago, I found myself walking by the front while taking a stroll without any particular destination in mind. I wondered to myself why I had never visited this church and museum as I had many other of the city’s sites.

I must confess that one of the countries that I love most, other than my own, is Greece, I know it quite well having visited there a number of times on various trips.

Having come across this Greek orthodox church by pure accident during opening hours, I found myself visiting the museum, which is rich in examples of iconic and church-related objects.

This place has an ancient history. For commercial reasons, Venice has, in fact, always been well-connected to Greece and others places. The city has had numerous Greek communities. In the second half of the 1400s, permission was given to set up a “School’ to support them and follow the orthodox rites. Here, the orthodox rites, which up until then were held in the Church of Saint Biagio, were allowed to be celebrated.

This, my first visit, provided a pleasant discovery of the building interiors and of an interesting exhibition on Byzantine icons and paintings of the Venetian Greek school from the period 1500 to 1800.

Visiting a city is about seeing the sights, the monuments, the museums, knowing a bit about its history and breathing in the air – feeling like a local for those few days.

However, besides these well-known techniques, there are also others which can help you to get to know the character of a city even better. And, in combination, all of these techniques can help you feel a bit more like a local.

You could describe some of these techniques as being ‘recreational’ and perhaps a bit less cultural in nature: the first of these techniques is to go shopping at various places – not just the souvenir shops, but also the places the locals use, such as markets and the ordinary shops.

Another way of getting to know the place you are visiting is to sample the typical local cuisine – something very often more difficult to find, being increasingly superseded by an international pseudo-cuisine which aims to satisfy the primary need to feed customers, with something to suit everyone, whilst at times sacrificing tradition for questionable reinterpretations along the lines of ‘Master Chef.’

The classic Venetian cuisine offers a vast range of dishes which have their roots in ancient local traditions and also reflect contributions from other countries of the Mediterranean with which, in the past, Venice enjoyed important ties and contacts thanks to maritime trade.

At the present time there are many trattorie and restaurants which offer a choice of menus featuring typical Venetian recipes, often, as has been said, with milder flavours, accommodating somewhat to cater for the palates, tastes and habits of all the many tourists coming from every part of the world.

However, there are also trattorie which, at the right times of year, offer typical dishes prepared according to the old recipes, with names which take you back in time: ‘castradina’ is a soup made with mutton; ‘sarde in saor’ is an ancient technique for preserving sardines; ‘bigoi in salsa’ is spaghetti grazed with a condiment made from anchovies; ‘sepe col nero’ is a typical recipe for serving cuttlefish; and various risottos such as ‘co i bisi,’ with peas, or ‘de go,’ featuring typical small fish harvested in the sandy sea-beds of the Venetian Laguna.

Recipes range from fruits of the sea to the produce of the land, and, in particular, the first-fruits of the various islands of the Venetian Laguna – not to forget the various meats.

Some recipes can be prepared quickly and with a small number of ingredients, while others are more elaborate and take longer to prepare.

There are typical, traditional dishes which I think more or less everyone ate when they were little. To this day they have the same effect as Proust’s ‘madeleine;’ they take us back to our childhood when we returned home from school to find generous portions of these dishes waiting for us on the table – served steaming hot.

One of these recipes, which was often prepared at home, is the famous ‘fegato alla veneziana’ (Liver Venetian style). Its ingredients are white onions and cow’s or calf’s liver. In the past even pig’s liver was used – which has a stronger flavour.

Having the sliced the white onion into thin strips, toss it for a while in a large frying pan with a little butter, add half a glass of white wine and leave it to evaporate, making sure the onions don’t turn golden brown.

Meanwhile, slice the liver into little pieces or strips and add them to the frying pan with the onions, leaving it to cook for a few minutes, but not for too long, otherwise the liver will become too hard.

The sweet flavour of the onions tempers the strong taste of the liver and the dish is served with yellow maize polenta (semolina).

Getting lost in Venice’s small lanes is perhaps the best ways to discover it and enjoy some of its spirit. It let’s you discover unusual places which are a bit odd and off the typical tourist itineraries, but still much frequented by the few Venetians left in the city.

While heading along the traditional route toward St. Mark’s Square, you only have to detour a bit, turning on to one of the many small streets. After a few steps, you’ll find yourself lost in a maze of narrow lanes.

Sometimes, you find some truly narrow places where a single person barely passes. There, you have to hope not to meet anyone coming in the opposite direction. Otherwise, you have to turn around or perform some acrobatic stunts to be able to get by.

Don’t even mention if you run into someone coming along with a cart carrying things. If that happens, you need to climb up on a doorstep, squeezing yourself up against the door itself.

Some of these narrow streets eventually open up a bit wider, sometimes ending at a canal where you can take in a different sort of view of the city. These are great points for taking unusual photos.

Often at the end of these narrow alleys, you find yourself in a small square, all calm and quiet, and centrally adorned by one of the many “vere da pozzo” or public wells that rise up majestically around the city.

They come in different sizes, small and large. They can be simple or decorated with diverse stone-carved engravings, including the coat-of-arms of the noble Venice house they belonged to as well as flowers and other types of decoration.

Until the early 1900s, these wells were used to draw the water which enriched the city’s subsoil. They were also specifically constructed in the courtyards of palaces or monastery cloisters, above large underground cisterns which collected rainwater.

Since the post-war era, all these artesian wells have been decommissioned and are no longer used. This was particularly the case after it was found that pumping water up from underlying groundwater contributed to soil subsidence and its related problems.

And so, all the wells were made unusable and closed up with metal covers.

Some of these “vere da pozzo” reflect very fine workmanship. Over the years, they’ve been restored to preserve the marble and Istrian stone they are made. This has kept them intact and able to be admired around the city.

Seeing Venice from above is always spectacular. The eye skims over the city’s rooftops, each different from the other, while the steeples of the city’s many churches also rise right up, soaring skywards.

It’s a vision that also fascinates Venetians. They don’t often get to see their town from this point of view, which you get by climbing the bell tower of San Marco or the one on the island of San Giorgio.

Two other viewpoints for seeing the city from on high have opened recently.

One is from the top of the so-called “Scala del Bovolo” in the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, which is a a few steps from Campo San Luca.

The other is from the beautiful terrace of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, next to the Rialto Bridge. After a long restoration project, this has been transformed into a shopping centre with a variety of luxury boutiques, which Venetians have mixed opinions on it as always.

From here, you can enjoy an incredible view of the Grand Canal.

But what is striking, beyond the asymmetry of the roofs and solitary steeples that shoot up, are the many “altane” or classic raised-up terraces on many Venetian houses.

They are strictly built of wood and thus, need frequent and expensive maintenance due to constant exposure to the elements and the action of the humid, salty air. They rise above the roofs, standing on two or four pillars. In summer, they are a place to sunbathe during the day while after sunset, you can enjoy the cold of the evening there.

Some are small in size and some are bigger. It’s not uncommon to use them during the summer, especially in the evening, as a place to dine with friends.

La Giudecca, an area of Venice divided by the canal of the same name, is accessible only by water and is made up of several islands connected by bridges.

You wind along the canal which the cruise ships take to reach the passenger terminal situated where the commercial port once was. In fact, all merchant ships passed through La Giudecca at one time to get to the docks of the old commercial sea port. However, this was moved to Porto Marghera in the first half of the 1900s.

Until the 1960s, La Giudecca was a common working class area with industries, shipyards and factories.

Now, it is a quiet popular zone with an extensive and enjoyable walking area. From here, you can admire St. Mark’s Square and take in Venice from another perspective while having dinner in a traditional trattoria or sitting down for a coffee or an aperitif in one of the many cafés along the way.

In addition to the Chiesa delle Zitelle (the Spinster’s Church), there is also San Eufemia, one of Venice’s oldest churches. You’ll then come to the imposing building of La Chiesa del Redentore or the Church of the Redeemer, famous for the Venetian feast of the same name held the third Sunday in July. The night before, Venetians dine by boat or along the banks of the canal, waiting for the “foghi” or firework spectacle that lights up the whole basin of San Marco.

Another interesting building is the one known as “La Casa dei Tre Oci” (the House of the Three Eyes) because of its three large windows overlooking the lagoon. It houses a foundation where interesting shows and exhibitions worth visiting take place. It’s also worth seeing the interior of the house. From its windows, you can enjoy an incredible panorama of Saint Mark’s and overlook the Basilica della Salute.

La Giudecca still remains a very Venetian area, although it’s being more and more discovered by tourists, especially younger ones since it’s home to the only youth hostel. But, you can come here in search of less frequented and more traditional and unique spots where you can still meet the inhabitants of the city as they go about their peaceful life.

Winding your way along one of the streets leading to the other side of La Giudecca, you can admire the panorama of the South Lagoon with its islands, the coast of the Lido on the left, and the mainland with the cranes of the commercial port on the right.

At the end, stands the imposing grindstone of what was once the Stucky Mill. The architecture here is reminiscent of the old docks of the Port of Hamburg. This former depot and grain warehouse has been recently transformed into a luxurious hotel.

Around the end of January and the beginning of February the city is awaking from its winter hibernation.

For the streets and squares it’s a lively, colourful, noisy awakening, attracting a diverse crowd of people.

It’s the Carnival of Venice.

An event which attracts brings visitors from around the world to the city year after year.

Walking around you meet people with the most strange and amazing masks, all brought together in a blaze of extravagance and rich colour, with a bit of harmless exhibitionism and a great desire to have fun; entertainment for big kids and little ones alike.

From the magnificent masks of ladies and knights from 1700s Venice, rich and elaborate with satin, velvet and lace, transporting you back through the centuries; to the classic masks of the Italian commedia dell’arte; to more original masks, born from the imaginations of the creators who wear them.

Finally, the easiest attire for this festive period: a simple mask over the eyes, hiding the face.

At the Carnival is there are nearly as many photographers as there are masks; armed with all their equipment, they wander the city to find the perfect angle for a shot that frames the most beautiful or unusual masks, who are in turn ready to strike a pose.

Alongside the professionals is a large group of amateurs or simple tourists, brandishing their cameras to take home some memories of this incredible Venetian event.

The preferred stage is, of course, Piazza San Marco, where it’s almost impossible to walk due to the amount of people, especially on weekends.

It’s a fun crowd, and there’s no use hurrying to get anywhere; just dive in and get carried away, like floating in the waves, with your camera or phone to snap those essential photos.

The square is also one of the main places where some of the events organised by the municipal city administration are held.

One of the best known is the so-called “flight of the angel/flight of the dove” in which a young girl, with a suitably sturdy harness, is lowered on a strong rope from St Mark’s Campanile down to a stage set up in the square, while a crowd of masks watches on with their noses in the air.

Many other varied events take place around the city during the carnival, with an extensive calendar available on the internet.

This is an unconventional opportunity to explore the city in a whole new way, either as a spectator or as an actor, whether you wear just a simple mask on your face or rent rich costumes and immerse yourself completely in the charm of a city that, once again, manages to surprise visitors with new perspectives.

Is there anything more romantic than losing yourself in Venice? The world’s most magical city is a tangle of quiet streets, each instincts guide through the calli and the campi, over the city’s bridges and into its breathtaking churches. And seeing the view of the lagoon at with a story and a treasure to be discovered. The best means of transportation is your feet, so wear comfortable shoes and let your sunset is an unforgettable experience. Summer is a great time to visit, but it does get hot, but to take a break from the heat and refresh yourself, there’s always the Lido beach, one of the most beautiful stretches of sand in Italy.