Venetian Highway Project and other Venice, Italy General Tips

Favorite Thing: I had originally intended to include this photo in the Warnings and Dangers tip category but then I thought, "Why?". The only danger here was to someone like me who was so fascinated by this work that I would become fixated with this renovation project at the expense of a...gallery tour?

Ok, I really do like galleries but rebuilding a Venetian canal can only be seen in Venice. I don't think I really thought much about this aspect of the canal system but, lets face it, they are hundreds of years old. The famous Erie Canal here in New York State had a useable life of barely one hundred years. So I guess the remarkable thing is that so few canals are actually being repaired in Venice at any given time.

Apparently, I was not alone in my interest. As you can see in the picture, construction barricades were erected along the canal work zones including the bridges. And, as you can also see, passersby have ripped and cut peep holes through the screening to get a look at the work in progress. I love this stuff!


Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: Carol and I love flowers. From May through September much of our time is spent working in and enjoying our garden. The payoff is fresh flowers inside our house as well. As the garden fades Carol heads off to the flower shop to fill her vases. Around here the flower shops are in the supermarkets or in small hard to find little storefronts but in Venice and in other Italian cities the shops are anything but obscure.

This flower shop in Cannaregio was typical but hardly ordinary. The variety and quality of the flowers was first rate but what really impressed us was the marketing. To promote their goods in the best possible way, the shop keepers appear to place their entire inventory out on the street. The effect was stunning. The "take-it-out...take-it-in" effort must be worth it. It's certainly an eye catcher!


Leave a Comment

Fondest Memory: "Taking a different route" is what its all about in Venice. The joy of discovery is around every corner. The day we had planned to visit Burano and Murano we realized that the long route might be the most interesting. We boarded the west bound Number 52 vaporetto at the Zattere stop and took a long looping cruise around the western end of Venice with its railroad yards, car parks and oddly contemporary buildings. Eventually we reentered the Grand Canal at the Santa Lucia Train Station and then turned left up the Canale di Cannaregio.

I recently read that only three waterways in Venice had the status of "canal"...the Giudecca, the Grand and the Cannaregio. The Cannaegio is definitely the narrowest of the three and perhaps because of this appears to be the busiest. The #52 vaporettos are smaller and lower in the water than most. The rationale for this became clear as we started weaving our way through the canal, even backing up at one point. Lining both sides were delivery barges unloading produce and other market goods. At some points the chop in the water was quite dramatic.

The bridge in the photo is the Ponte delle Guglie built in the 16th century. Its array of faces along the arch and the obelisks at either end make it very distinctive. Quite interesting but, in my mind, not nearly as captivating as the glimpse of everyday Venetian life we were experiencing.

Leave a Comment