Buongiorno Venezia

I quote from the current issue of BUONGIORNO VENEZIA….

There is a new webcam in Venice: the view over the Calatrava bridge. Under the magnifying lens of architects from all over the world who have been visiting the Biennale Architettura, the fourth bridge across the Grand Canal, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is still in the news… with some instructions for use.

The bridge required six years of work instead of, as originally planned, a little more than one, and it cost twelve and a half million euros instead of four (plus eleven million more in additional expenses which are at the centre of various legal arguments). Those expenditures, however, pale beside yearly maintenance expenses of forty million euros. At the moment, none of the bridge’s accessibility devices for the disabled are working… to be continued.

Dear VeniceWorders….

weeks ago we had announced our Summer contest, closing on August 1. I received several entries and in my last newsletter dated August 20 i wrote:

VENICEWORD SUMMER CONTEST - Many loyal subscribers have told us over the years that they save their Buongiorno Venezia newsletters for future reference. We were curious: who among you has saved the most? Carl  Gable has saved 65 past issues of Buongiorno Venezia. Thank you for your  affection and congratulations. We wait for you in Venice!

Now i just read a note from G. E. telling me:

 I did a quick count and came up with 223. I’m sure that I have
inadvertently deleted some, but I’ve always wanted to save them “in case”  I needed to refer to one.  I’ve been to Venice once, in 2001 with my future  husband.  My first save issue is from VeniceWord desk, Nov. 13,2000.

if this is true (we need to chek the copies), i am going to build kind of a monument to this lady. she saved nearly all our issues! we confirm our prize to Gary, and this would oblige us to give a second prize, but it’s fantastic  :-)

this week’s issue of Buongiorno Venezia talks of:

• Bugs in the system: infestation cases rise 500% - resulting from bad hygiene in Venice’s and Mestre’s bars and restaurants
• Bridge over troubled (muddy) water: Calatrava 
• Fruits and veggies return, doubts linger in Treviso
• The bell tolls for S. Stefano’s belfry?
• The Hilton’s stats
• Summer rocks: from Elton John to Pearl Jam
• Eleven million dollars for Bellotto

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in this week’s issue of Buongiorno Venezia we talked of:

• Fires in Treviso fuel worries of contamination (see also previous post about this topic, and veniceword.com )
• Silenter night: quiet fireworks for the Redeemer
• Pigeons: no free lunch in Venice
• Traviata struck: no “prima” at La Fenice
• Modern dynasty under siege in Venice
• A prodigious violinist from Russia with love (see veniceword.com )

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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

>> Contacts for more info <<

rumors are that a few of the best known hotels in venice are for sale. and it’s no secret that a lot of typical bars and restaurants, and hotels in venice have been bought by chinese companies. at the beginning the residents cried out at the “scandal”, then they got accustomed. chinese have some similarities with venetians, as both peoples mind to make money (since the times of Marco Polo, they found a way to understand each other doing business, and in such a great way).  but i am digressing.

what i was commenting about is the existence of rumors. if they are retreated, it is likely that the news is not (yet) true. but the rumor has some authenticity in it, as it testifies a probably real ”intention”. venetians like to talk so much, and talk so much, that it is easy to the to have the real news slip from their mouth, sometimes on purpose, sometimes unintentionally (maybe with the help of some prosecco wine).

in the end: are these rumors true? probably it is: in venice, saying “there is no negotiation” is the equivalent to saying that “negotiations are on (and just in case, if you have a better offer……. show up.)”

but beware of news, in these period: the April’s fool (in italian Pesce d’Aprile that is April Fish) is still swimming around!

“It is my intention” Mayor Massimo Cacciari said, “to entirely rebuild the Accademia Bridge which, in my opinion, is a wooden piece of junk. The municipality is tired of spending millions of euros on its maintenance every few years.” To journalists’ questions about the cost of the project, the mayor replied that “money is the last of the problems because the world is full of architects who would design the new bridge for nothing and of sponsors who would back the project financially.”

hope it works better than the fund raising for the carnival. btw, did also architect calatrava work for free at the new 4th bridge?

When high tide (”acqua alta”) comes to Venice, so do the catwalks - raised platforms that let pedestrians walk above the water level. The catwalks have some drawbacks, however. They float when the water level is higher than 120 cm., and they tend to be slippery. To overcome these problems, a new catwalk prototype is being tested. It’s made of wood and WPC, a thermoplastic polymer, it doesn’t float, and it provides surer footing. The prototype was presented to the mayor last week, and a dozen are being installed near the city hall to test their effectiveness.

the mayor’s sense of humor is legendary. he is so sure that the MOSE won’t work against acqua alta….  anyway, well done.

On 20 February, Shrove Tuesday, the Carnival ended with splendid fireworks over the S. Mark’s Basin. This was a record edition thanks, in part, to Spring-like temperatures, and the last week accounted for more than 600,000 visitors (870,000 for the entire Carnival period).

You wouldn’t believe it, venetians shopkeepers found the way to complain all the same. the 870,000 people did not spend enough money for their tastes.

Last week Venice hosted a day-long meeting about tourism and the Italian art towns — Florence, Naples, Rome, and Venice. The meeting was attended by the Minister of National Heritage and Culture, Francesco Rutelli and, obviously, the four cities’ mayors.
A dispute arose between the Minister and Venice’s mayor, Massimo Cacciari, who accused the Italian government of giving Venice too few financial resources because so much has already been allocated by the flood-prevention MOSE project that the town doesn’t want

oh oh.. this dispute is getting so absurd. can you imagine, being obliged to have a new — say — very expensive bathroom built in your own home, without your permission and with money which could have been yours? (maybe as yearly eternal contributions against acqua alta?)

but why don’t we break it into small pieces, merchandise it and get CASH for venice? :-)))