Water Fountains and other Venice, Italy Local Custom Tips

There are numerous water fountains around Venice - the water is quite drinkable too, although I prefered the Venetian Spritz hahah. Anyway seem the pigeons enjoy this drinking water too :))

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You can suffer culture overload in Venice with all the art museums and masterpieces in the chuches. I'm not a big art lover and would much rather be in the open air than stuck inside a gallery or dark church. Many paintings are by Bellini (mainly radiant Madonnas), Titian, Canaletto and Tintoretto to name just a few. By chance we stumbled across the house where Tintoretto had lived and I was more interested in the old architecture here than his paintings I'm afraid.

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Well not only in Kenya ;-)
The lion is the symbol of Venice and they can be seen almost everywhere in Venice. The obvious places are in St Marks on the Basilica and in the small piazzata fronting the lagoon on top of one of the columns there. I liked spotting the unusual ones like this one -one of a pair - on a wall in Salizada San Polo.

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Venice of course is built on water and has hundred of canals. There used to be more but over the years some have ben filled in to widen the streets or calles of Venice. Keep a look out low down to the ground and you will see the evidence in the architecture - arches bricked up! These filled in canals are called Rio terra.

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The first Sunday afternoon in September provides a great spectacle in Venice as the Regata Storica takes place. The city's gondoliers and other expert rowers pit their skill against each other. It starts with a procession of decorated historic craft along the Grand Canal course, their crews all decked out in period dress. Like the celebrated Palio of Sienna, the fans and followers of each neighborhood boat and crew are a form of entertainment in themselves. Races take place during the day and in the evening there is a magnificent firework display along the St Marks basin and the Guidecca island.

The festival starts out with the colorful procession on water, formed by the Bissone, the Bucintoro and the boats of the Venetian rowing clubs; the event commemorates the Queen of Cyprus, Caterina Cornaro, coming to Venice, which marked the beginning of the Serenissima rule over the Mediterranean island. (please see more pics in the travelogue as well as extra pics here)
The traditional points of reference for the Venice historical regata are the spagheto, a rope stretched across the starting point in front of the public gardens in the Castello sestiere of Venice; the Paleto, a pole driven into the centre of the Grand Canal in front of the Church of Sant'Andrea de la Zirada, around which the boats must turn before going back up the Grand Canal to cross the finishing line. The finishing line is indicated by the Machina, a construction erected on a wooden raft richly carved, painted and gilded, and where the prize-giving ceremony is held.

I was so glad to witness this colourful affair in Sept. 2005, despite the heat and crowds.

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1. First is the regatta for the very young on the 'pupparini' boats, with two oars.
2. Second is the regatta for the women on the 'mascarete' boats, with two oars.
3. Third is the regatta for men on 'caorline' boats, with six oars.
4. Fourth is the regatta for champions on 'gondolini' boats, with two oars.
The races start from 'Giardini della Biennale'. They cross the basin of Saint Mark's, then enter the Grand Canal. They row all along the canal as far as the Church of Santa Chiara, near the railway station. The first place is awarded the red flag , the following three the white, green and blue flags, these are the awards that in Venice take the place of medals.

It can get crowded on the Grand Canal as visitors and locals alike watch this colourful event. best to pick out a spot in good time - Note Rialto Bridge and Accademia briges are policed during the races and people are NOT allowed to linger here, must keep walking and pass over. Also the Gondola stations put seating out at extortionate prices - up to 50 euros to sit on a gondola on the Grand Canal for the best views. So my advice is:
pick a good spot that is free to stand at
have a meal in restaurant on the Grand Canal
or makes friends with the owner of a Grand Canal Palazzo!

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I'm sure you'll have noticed all those poles in the venetian lagoon, marking out safe chanels deep enough for the boats to navigate through. Ever wondered what they are called? well thery are called"briccole", and are made of wood of False Acacia (or Locust-Tree, "robinia" in Italian). No better material has been found for them, things like concrete don't last much in these waters. They made at atmospheric shot at sunset don't you think :-)

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