POSTCARD FROM VENICE
Behind the mask
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No place quite like it on earth.
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Photo: Janardhan Roye
Special charm: The waterways of Venice.
THE city of canals, gondolas and unique architecture has been used extensively as the backdrop for umpteen books, movies and television documentaries. So when we landed there on a sunny September afternoon, and stood at the vaporettos sazio, public waterbus stop, many sights seemed familiar. Nearby was the Rialto Bridge and ahead was the Canal Grande, the Grand Canal. It was a picture postcard setting: blue sky, shimmering aquamarine water, and scores of multi-coloured marble palazzos, palaces and elegant homes of the rich and famous, with doorways and windows opening out onto the water.
To get to our hotel we wheeled our suitcases across cobble-stoned paths, over bridges, and past magnificent buildings with balconies with hanging flowerpots, chic shops, and winding canals. Gondolas passed close by, the gondoliers sporting blue and white striped shirts and wide-brimmed hats. Over the pedestrian traffic and chatter of tourists, a distinct sound filled the air: the churning of the vaporetti, the wash of waves on the quaysides, the ringing of the church bells, and the cries of the gondoliers. An approaching gondola had a tenor belting out "O Solo mio"!
Famous landmarks
After checking into our hotel, we set out for the famous Piazza San Marco or Saint Mark's Square and its Byzantine heritage. Despite the late afternoon, the piazza teemed with people touting cameras and shopping bags ... and pigeons. The Square's expanse is bordered on three sides by weather-beaten palazzos, one of which houses a museum. This square was once grassy and filled with trees, vines and orchards. The verdant space disappeared due to political and commercial compulsions in the 12th century, when Venice was a Serenissima Republica, "serene, sublime republic".
Our walk brought us to the 1,000-year-old onion-domed Basilica di San Marco, St. Mark's Basilica. Onion-domed? Yes, that's the Ottoman influence in the architecture. The facade has five doorways with the central entrance resembling a Roman triumphal arch. On top are replicas of the evangelist's four famous gilded bronze horses — brought from Constantinople in 1204 amid much protest from its Coptic Christians. One of the façade mosaics shows the body of St. Mark being smuggled past guards in Alexandria under slices of pork. Above the undulating mosaic floor, there are priceless Renaissance paintings, sculpture and other objets de art. The ceiling has stunning austere imagery from the scriptures. Amid the swish of darting pigeons, flashing cameras, and cell phones, there are tourist guide commentaries in more than one language.
Near the Basilica is the familiar landmark of Venice: the 98-metre-tall Bell Tower, the Campanile. This Renaissance building, with coloured enamel and gold, was built on an existing Roman foundation in the 9th century. The final appearance, as it is today, came about around the 16th century. The building was restored and renovated in 1912. Adjoining the Basilica is the Palazzo Ducale, the Doge's Palace and its adjoining prisons. This pink marble building was home to the Venetian rulers, the Doges, and their offices, and is described as "a triumph of Gothic architecture". You need more than half a day to explore its richly decorated chambers and halls.
The next morning we left touristy Venice in search of the "real Venice". In the narrow passageways and alleys, we passed boats carrying veggies and fruits and crates of wines. Vendors were doing their rounds and housewives leaned over to examine the fish. There were meandering canals, punctuated by delicate bridges, and smartly dressed children being taken to school by their mothers.
Life inside
Around the corner from the Rialto Bridge is Campo San Giacometo — the young Venetian's hang out. There they laugh and talk, uncork bottles of wine, and wave out to friends commuting in the waterbus. Close by is a fascinating old world market with all manner of spices, condiments, fish, fruit and vegetables and other household essentials.
You see masks everywhere in Venice — in shop windows, with street vendors, everywhere. Masks are very much part of the Carnevale, carnival, festivities. Earlier carnivals went on for months. Today, Carnevale is only the last 10 days before Lent, and is a relatively quieter affair. And yet it "bursts with sublime art, countless theatres and opera houses, gaming places and casinos, to say nothing of whole regiments of courtesans".
February 9 is generally celebrated as Venice Day. The entire city gets decked up and residents dress up in colourful costumes and masks. Entertainers on stilts, clowns, fire-eaters and other performers fill St. Mark's Square and elsewhere. Music, ballet, theatre, circus, dancing, and "all the arts dear to people's hearts", become part of the centuries' old festivity. The merry-making winds down on February 20 with a firework display on the waterfront.
To relive those Venetian days of masks and costume balls during the carnival, the Hotel Luna Baglioni organises an elegant ambience in its spacious lounge. The experience (cost Euro 60) promises to transport you to romantic 17th century Venice, complete with frescoes, music, and exquisite cuisine including frittelle, galani, and other specialities.
Memorable music
Apart from the carnival, the music in St. Mark's Square on most evenings is bound to knock your socks off. Competing bands from the surrounding restaurants set out to lure guests with many upbeat numbers. Invariably these evening performances draw huge crowds. On the night we were out rompy music from the old days was hitting the airwaves: Brazil, Funiculli Funiculla, and Fascination.
As we prepared to leave Venice, it struck me that there are few places on earth quite like it in sweep and history.
JANARDHAN ROYE
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