Wet in Venice

I've always believed that the most important thing to do before you die is to live for a long time but sailing into Venice in the morning mist probably comes second on the list. Just after 7.00, I met room service at the door to intercept the breakfast tray. I'd decided that, in the dimly lit cabin, a meeting between a sleepy waiter and the large octopus draped over our table might not end well. By 7.30 we were on a little used balcony that runs right across the front of the ship just under the bridge. Fortunately someone had hidden the “access for crew only” sign under the door mat and so once the safety locks had been removed on the outer steel door there was nothing to stop us enjoying the best vantage point on the ship.

Looking on the positive side, this was the first time we had watched the approach to Venice through driving rain. The view was still breathtaking although part of that effect may have been due to the wind. The bad weather and the feeling of water water everywhere seemed to emphasise the fragility of the place. There are various engineering schemes going on to “save” Venice but it's hard to believe that a sad end is not inevitable. Venice is sinking on its timber piled foundations by about 25mm a decade which is bad news when sea levels are rising. Obviously if there are billions of Euros on offer, someone is bound to come up with a rescue plan to dump loads and loads of rock into the sea, particularly if they own a quarry. However, I suspect that in the long term, the main benefit of the current civil engineering schemes will be to enable a significant proportion of the population to get rich enough to buy a house on dry land.

On previous trips to Venice we have done most of the main tourist things like marvelling at the cost of a cup of coffee in St Mark's Square. This time we decided to explore the Santa Groce area which gave us the opportunity to visit Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the largest church in Venice and also Ca'Pesaro, the modern art gallery. It also gave us the opportunity to use the new People Carrier. I suppose an underground would have been out of the question even for the Canute school of Venetian engineers, so they have opted for an elevated light railway. This runs from the cruise terminal to the edge of the old city which isn't very far but it's an interesting way to save a bit of walking. It is a driver-less which in Italy is probably considered a safety feature.

The church was amazing. Apart from being very large, the building is not that special but it is full of beautiful artwork including paintings and sculptures by Titian, Donatello and Bellini and a fantastic pyramidal monument by and to Canova. I can't show you because there were signs everywhere saying no photographs. I tried to sneak some but I only succeeded in getting one shot of the main altar and two of my fingers. The modern art museum was also well worth the visit. It was founded to exhibit the work of local artists but paintings and sculptures by more famous artists have been added to create an interesting cross section of 19^th and 20^th century art.

On the floor above there was an exhibition of modern sculpture. Black carpets hung in twisted shapes on on the walls. A number of the works featured copper tubes bent into abstract shapes and connected to the working parts of fridges. These sat forlornly in puddles of water on plastic sheets on the floor. The frozen tubes were covered in ice and it was difficult to know where the plumbing stopped and the art began. My favourite was a slab like sculpture that rose from a glass tank containing a single large white fish. I wondered if the piece would work with any type of fish and, if not, what would happen to its value when the white fish died? Did the artist offer a replacement service and if you used your own fish would it become a forgery? All Canova had to do was to design an angel that is so beautiful it makes people want to cry. Modern art is much more complicated.

Dave C