Buongiorno Venezia

not only the Pisa tower is leaning. Venice has its own leaning towers

the Church of Santo Stefano clock tower is the most evident example - you can takethe best pics when you stay in Campo S.Anzolo ankeep the bell tower in the background… with some worries; you may experience the impulse of imforming the parish priest of some immediate danger.. he knows about it, be sure and the danger is not immediate at all.

No dubt, it leans, and since 2000 the Venice Art Superintendence has been investigating the process. Tomorrow 13 April a conference open to public will illustrate how the tower is being restored and monitored; the meeting is organized at the Parish Church in Sagrestia Maggiore, Campo S.Stefano, 5 PM. Free entrance.
More in our next Buongiorno Venezia

upon kind request, i am starting a new thread about “bag sellers”. i’m sure this request refers to streets vendors who display their goods on the ground, along the streets (calli) or on bridges. quite a shocking view when you get to venice especially for the first time.obviously this business is illegal, but so spread (and well organized, and not only in venice but all over italy) that the officers have a hard time stopping it. the numbers: sellers are more and more, officers come in 2 or 3 per inspection. and there is a net of “sentinels” who inform bag sellers via cell phone if inspectors are in sight. so it is virtually impossible to catch them.

it must be added that some vendors have a regular business permit as “ambulante” (itinerant seller), which they display, and pay an annual fee. in the majority of cases, they do not have such permits.

an advertising campaign in various languages set by the Comune di Venezia and Chamber of Commerce informs people that buying from these vendors is very often a way to reinforce criminal organizations that exploit immigrants, instead of a way to help immigrants. Buyers can be fined: if you buy a Gucci’s bag for — say — 10.00 euro in the street, you are aware that there must be something wrong. Really wrong.

What a bright Easter week-end we had in Venice, apart from some morning clouds. 120,000 tourists in Venice last Saturday (though showers were expected: but “never trust what tv says!” (have a look at online weather forecasts instead).

so you may wonder what do venetians do during the Easter week-end. Tradition has it all over italy to have a big big big lunch on Sunday (Easter=Pasqua) and a picnic in the meadows on Lunedì dell’Angelo (also called Pasquetta=”little Pasqua”, Easter Monday). Pasqua’s typical food is lamb (for the ones who like it) despite its meaning as a Christian symbol. btw. never understood why one should celebrate the resurrection of Christ, called the “Lamb of God”, and grill the poor animal a few hours later.

Another symbol at our tables is the egg, in a much less violent celebration though it produces some side effects: someone buys you (or you buy yourself) chocolate egg(s); you break the chocolate egg(s), find surprise present(s) in, eat the chocolate and immediately decide it’s time to put yourself on a diet (the more the chocolate, the stricter the diet. if you stick to the diet, it may be a re-birth; if not, it’s pure cholesterol storing).

The following day - Easter Monday the sense of sin keeps you busy counting calories, so you go picnic in the Riviera del Brenta, visiting public villas or visiting friends (thank you Enrico), or decide it’s time for jogging or rowing, or simply enjoy a lazy day. Aprile dolce dormire, sleeping is so sweet in April… such a lazy month, and from now on it’s one of the best times of the year to visit Venice - not so expensive, by the way…

the winner of the last VeniceWord Photo Contest has been chosen by the jury composed of the director of the Venice School of Photography and the editors of Veniceword.com. The winner will be announced in the next issue of Buongiorno Venezia. As Monday 9 April is a holiday in italy (Easter Monday), the Buongiorno will be issued on Tuesday 10.

nice office, nice view, nice light, nice position. space enough for hosting exhibits. i love it.
it’s expensive.it’s venice. i knew it. but i’ll take it.
thank you, Mrs. Fitzgeral

First shorts for the movie Mojito, the story of two visually impared young people who discover venice through its smells (!!!!! good luck), tastes and sounds. A great idea which will be appreciated also by the blind “spectators”, and the general audience will like it as well, for its special care for sound effect and recordings. The film is directed by Stefano Bruno, who is also author with Katia Zamberlan and Barbara Riccioni. The first locations are the sestiere di Castello, Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Santa Maria Nova and Campiello dei Miracoli (very evocative..). The movie is produced by 360 Degrees Film and financed by MiBAC (Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali.).

More on next posts and next issue of Buongiorno Venezia.

getting married in venice is complicated. (staying married is even more, but that’s another story ) if the bride and groom are from different countries and according to the civil status, there are different papers to have ready.

in years of activity with Veniceword.com and as editor of Buongiorno Venezia i received the strangest requests for helping organize the wedding-of-dreams. some made me shiver (imagine being asked if one can get married in a Mickey Mouse costume during a 17th century carnival party. that was my feeling. i mean, i’ll look traditionalist but the wedding is NOT the party. the wedding is the wedding, the party is the party. you can mix the two, but with intelligence and respect - for your life plans and hopes).

this said, i respect both romantic escapes from the world (”just the two of us”, which inevitably makes you think of deep feelings) and parades.

in italy is not so easy to divorce as in the States. if the couple agrees for separation, 3 years of legal separation are needed before requesting the divorce. this applied to the civil aspect of the marriage. the marriage is unbreakable for the Catholic religion, apart from some reason (e.g. there has never been an intercourse, or the will to have children). so if you made both civil and religious wedding, you end up being divorced for the state but still married for the church.

back to the news. a practical guide has been issued by the hotelliers. haven’t seen it yet. be sure i’ll review it for you and write about this

UPDATE April 10, 2007 - (i am still newbie with blogs, so i can’ decide if a new post or a comment is better. anyway, this is it- if you wish to read on).
the Just married in Venice guide tries to respond to the hotelliers need: finding new ways to make money, without getting mad after the couples’ requests. The best possibile solution would be offering standard dream-packages and superior dream-packages, but it’s not that easy… every country has its own traditions, and the crazy thign is that often couples want to reproduce their traditions in venice. as if italians would ask for a well done spaghetti dish when abroad (nearly impossible). another reason why there may be little understanding between couples and hotelliers/organizers, is that wedding ceremonies in italy are rarely organized by professional agencies (like in the States), but by the couple or the family. a more intimate process? hiring a professional would also be expensive to italians, and couple prefer do the searches personally or choose during wedding exhibit fairs. as a result, the richest couples bring their wedding consultants from their own countries. not a bad idea, if you want a showy wedding. this is one of the udeas that a reader would get from the manual.

the list of requests is interesting: no limits to fantasy, but sometimes dreams must take alternative routes. e.g.: Americans seem to have a special desire for ice sculptures; Italian hotelliers wonder what this has to do with warm climate and the Mediterranean sea, and with Venice. the clients are always right, even if they may look nuts; but as a matter of fact, you’d better forget ice sculptures in venice unless you want to pay a fortune. subliminal message: be reasonable.

impossible is nothing, Nike ads says.. why not? a dream is a dream, a bed covered with rose petals is unforgettable romance… who cares if dreams are also a business

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we received some msgs at Veniceword.com asking why i did not send the last issue of the Buongiorno Venezia newsletter. it was released a little later than usual (tuedsday morning instead of monday - veniceword time zone but we sent it regularly to the list. in case of troubles please contact us at http://www.veniceword.com/form2.html and let us know.
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can someone tell me how it works. imagine you need a sponsor for a project of your client’s’. you ask around, someone addresses you to some others who regularly do fund raising. so you ask them for money, but they tell you they have no money, because they will spend much money to organize their next fund raising.

do i miss something?

not only high tides. also sulphation is a menace for Venice. The sulphur emissions of engines operating in the city are causing marbles and stones to get more fragile than ever. imagine marble turning into chalk.

a Committee for Public Health is trying to inform people and have them sign a petition, also with a public demonstration held yesterday - which was not so successful because of the rain.

according to studies, the present rate of the corrosion will put the palazzi in real danger in few years, and the committee is asking to replace the polluting engines. if you had thought that venice was safe against air pollution, because there a no cars after piazzale roma’s border, then think of ships, cruise ships and motor boats (and the close industrial area), and you’ll figure out the size of the problem.