Buongiorno Venezia

Last week, the current edition of the Carnival of Venice was officially presented by the mayor, Massimo Cacciari. The mayor, who didn’t neglect to reprimand Venetian businesses (merchants, hoteliers, restaurateurs) for the scant financial contribution they made to the event, said that the festival involved a great economic commitment by the local government. The objective: to ensure that Venetians and tourists experience a series of presentations equal to past years. “Carnevale è Venezia” (Carnival Is Venice), the title of this edition, will continue until Tuesday, 20 February with, according to the plan, the participation of 1,400 artists during the 220 hours of events. The expected number of attendees is 100,000 a day.

couldn’t choose a worst name for the campaign, if so.

the idea of publishing a blog came to me as a great means to have public discussions and comments of our readers of the Buongiorno Venezia Newsletter, who have been giving their feedback year after year. most comments are very private and very personal experiences, so i do not expect to be posted here (you can still contact me with the veniceword.com contact form  http://www.veniceword.com ). but it’ worth the experiment in my opinion. you’ll tell me.

One Venetian problem gets more and more… ingrained: the pigeons in St.Mark’s Square. Research by the Department of Environmental Sciences at Ca Foscari University in Venice has proved that the main cause of deterioration to the Square’s monuments is the hundreds of pounds of excrement that the pigeons produce every day. Every measure taken in
the past to control or reduce the pigeon population has been in vain, including the use of wheat as “contraceptive pill”. It now appears that the only viable solution is to forbid street vendors in the square from selling the grain, which also poses hazards to children and pets. It seems obvious, but current rules conflict with one another

There’s no way. It’s not only a conflict of rules. where i lived years ago in the cannaregio district (sestiere) in venice, a very old wowan used to feed pigeons by throwing bread out of the window. though it was (already) prohibited. results: not the whole palazzo got dirty, but also the palazzo in front of ours: because the birds knew her times of meals, and kept patiently waiting for her to show up. it was impossible for anyone to hang out clothes and sheets in the terrace without surveillance, because of the pigeons. kids were advised not to play there. we all complained. the lady’s daughter convinced the mother to stop. she did, for a few days. then she did it again, as hiddenly as she could. to summarize: after some years the lady died (no relation with the pigeons: she was 90!), and you wouldn’t believe it, the lady’s daughter herself began throwing at pigeons from the window. because “it’s always been like that”.

More:
http://www.veniceword.com/news/58/pigeons.html

the Buongiorno Venezia newsletter was born in 2000 and was written in our strict italianenglish (more or less the official language which is spoken in this blog

some issues, read after some years, are not only funny but something to be ashamed of. but the content was quite informative all the same. at http://www.veniceword.com  we still happen to receive inquiries regarding very old issues, and even requests of “copies” dating back to  2001 or 2002 archives…

most readers  did not care about the grammar, as long that is was so evident that the newsletter was proudly, lovingly and enthusiastically homemade in venice; some other were disturbed by the mistakes and mispellings. then we met Peter (  http://www.wordsworthandco.com ), an American colleague journalist with the rare gift of a great patience :-)) and of editing a text without deleting its spirit. so the english version of the Buongiorno now is never released without hearing from him. he’s the first foreign reader of the Buongiorno, on Sunday evenings ( — and sometimes later, my apologies and honorary citizen of Veniceword.

everyone in the world has started a blog or wants to start a blog. my friend Luca has opened more than 10 in one year, i guess, 3 of them are active and the other let die…

people spit on the 15 minutes of celebrity forecast by Andy Warhol. people want an eternal moment of celebrity. a blog will survive us.

the father of italian bloggers is Beppe Grillo’s blog. Grillo last name is very evocative in italy: in italian it is the name of an insect (it means “cricket”), an insect which most italian like also because an important character of the Pinocchio fairy tale is the “grillo parlante”, a cricket who can speak (literally “speaking cricket”): it is the voice of Pinocchio conscience.

So what a better name for a comic actor who in a few years has become an opinion leader, denouncing facts and dark sides of italian (and international) politics and way of life. taka a look (site also in english): www.beppegrillo.com - worth of. he is the man who fighted our (former) national phone company for years, the first one to speak out about the Parmalat scandal (in a theater show… nobody believed him at the moment), and he is also the man who taught italians what Skype is (i’m among them). a greatest example of an informative blog.

i lost count of the kilometres i walk in venice. even if i try to plan my day the more efficiently i can, i happen to cross the city 2 to 4 times a day, from piazzale roma to castello and sometimes more. i hate waiting at the vaporetto stops (our wintertime is being very mild, but in the early morning you feel humidity going up your nostrils), so i prefer give my feet the privilege to express themselves. they bring me everywhere quite fast, provided that i wear the right shoes. comfortable and with very low heel. I prefer to change them on the way if i have a “formal dress” occasion. besides a second pair of  stocking — which is not ununsual to find in the venetian “perfect lady”’s handbag, don’t be surprised to see her carrying another bag with rubber booths against acqua alta or the elegant touch for a meeting. and on the opposite, conveert from pin heels to sneakers, and you’ll feel another. you need comfortable shoes - and open mind, and a lot of patience - to walk in venice.

Depeche Mode’s Walking in my Shoes

from Songs of Faith and Devotion

I would tell you about the things they put me through
The pain I’ve been subjected to
But the Lord himself would blush
The countless feasts laid at my feet
Forbidden fruits for me to eat
But I think your pulse would start to rush

Now I’m not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You’ll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes

Morality would frown upon
Decency look down upon
The scapegoat fate’s made of me
But I promise now, my judge and jurors
My intentions couldn’t have been purer
My case is easy to see
I’m not looking for a clearer conscience
Peace of mind after what I’ve been through
And before we talk of any repentance
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You’ll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes

Now I’m not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes

Al Gore, former vice-president of the U.S. and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president in 2001, will be the special guest at the international climate and tidal change conference that will take place in Venice at the Doge’s Palace at the end of April. He will be a very welcome participant, whom Mayor Cacciari eagerly wanted to attend — in
the hope of attracting world interest in the event and of finding an ally in his campaign against MOSE, the system of movable underwater locks designed to prevent high tides in Venice. The mayor believes that the MOSE project is already obsolete.

But the government has already said yes to the MOSE, and millions and millions of euros have already been spent, since i do not even remember when: year 2000? the minister Antonio Di Pietro declared the MOSE was the only admittable project because other alternatives lack evidence of effectiveness. so, who is right?

More:

http://www.veniceword.com/mosesystem.html

http://www.veniceword.com/news/8/mose.html

http://www.veniceword.com/news/9/acqua.html

The municipality of Venice has joined the campaign against homophobia with a series of posters on the walls of the town. The posters ask citizens to overcome prejudice against gays, lesbians, and transgenders. The initiative began as the result of research done by a group of high school students that the municipality supported in collaboration with
the Council of Europe. “School is the place where a culture of tolerance and respect has to begin. I totally agree with this initiative,” Mayor Cacciari said. Venice is the first public administration in Italy to focus on the problem of *** discrimination.

well, cheers. the slogan says “don’t laugh if they kiss” or something like that. i have very little trust that such campaigns can be successful in a city such as venice, which has a strange relationship with such topics. it’s permissing in the spirit but very gossipy and puritan. it’s an island. consider it as a little town where everyone says everything of everyone (speaking of residents and workers, i mean). or pretends to know everything. people know nothing, of nothing. they don’t know reasons, they just see effects. and can easily be cheated by appearances, for good or worse..

In years, I’ve seen so many good and interesting shots of Venice, even by amateur photogrphers. So the idea is to give them visibility and maybe help them starting as professionals. After some editions, I put the winners in touch with a publisher This is how the VeniceWord International Photo Contest was born.

It should become a regular monthly contest, also depending on sponsor. The current contest is sponsored by The Venice School of Photography, as announced in today’s issue of our newsletter Buongiorno Venezia

The jury who will judge the winning image consists of the Director of The Venice School of Photography, school staff, and the VeniceWord.com editors.

- ALL participants will be granted a two percent discount on ANY Photography Workshops offered by The Venice School of Photography, either in Venice or in other location

- THE WINNER will be granted a five percent discount on ANY Photography Workshops offered by The Venice School of Photography, either in Venice or in other locations. The winner will also get a free “web photo gallery” on VeniceWord.com and will receive a photography-related gadget from The Venice School of Photography and VeniceWord.com. The published photos cannot be published elsewhere without permission of the photographer and of VeniceWord International Media Services

my great friend and photographer Paola (whose website i’ve been asked to design, which honours me) just explained to mne the difficulty of taking “the right picture” in venice. light, humidity, people passing by. it may take days to find the special glow. whilst i would be happy all the same with the special glow’s brother and receive the photo some hours (or days) earlier. you would expect that digital photography has destroyed all the romanticism in the profession, instead you still find people who are in love of hard work. my best friend Mauro, also a photographer, does not even use any digital camera and has even a more funny time: he refuses any approach to technology (as a means to oppress the working masses, i guess) (like many venetians, he has no licence to drive. he doesn’t take lifts  - they make your muscles weak, and you-never-know. he hates computers, and i wonder if he ever used a typewriter himself). i smile and tease them, but i understand. i began working with websites in 1997, and i still enjoy programming in pure HTML.

again about Mauro: when we made the project of a calendar together last year, we spent days and days together and i found out he is such a strict vegan that he does not even eat sweets containing eggs - as hens live a terrible life in their cages,  exploited by the breeders. everyone feels he is exaggerated (everyone likes croissants with cappuccino… and all the rest. by the way the same attitude of his applies to milk, in case you were wondering) but everyone feels he is somehow right, and admires him. such as venice: love him or hate him. adorable, in his pureness.