In recent days, I spent time admiring beautiful photos of Venezia taken by Merisi of Merisi' Vienna for Beginners (this is the set I looked at most recently). We also exchanged a couple of emails on the subject and that reminded me of a post I started writing some months ago, on the eve of a trip to my country of origin, and never finished. Thanks, Merisi, for inspiring me to tie up this lose end.
The last time my husband and I visited Venice, it was on a Sunday. It was not my original plan, but bad weather made us postpone the trip and I am glad we did, as the day we were there was made glorious by the warm light of an October sun. At lunch time (ora di pranzo), we went to a ristorante (restaurant) we knew from previous visits, located not far from one of my favorite places in Venice, a detail of which is the subject of the photo on the right, and found it closed. Another place I knew that I wanted to show to my husband was also closed. In both cases, a sign announced:
CHIUSO
domenica
(CLOSED Sunday) Being closed one day of the week is normal for restaurants and stores in Italy, but the knowledge did nothing to console my disappointment that day.
Things have somewhat evolved in recent years: store closure has adapted to a change in the rhythm of life. Monday morning used to be the weekly closure for grocery stores in Milan, but now large grocery stores (supermercati) are open. In Perugia, my home town, the day was Thursday and the time slot the afternoon. Sunday closure is still pretty much observed across the spectrum of stores. Restaurants are an exception, but obviously not all of them. The famous Italian long lunch closure is often no longer in place, but the variability across type of business, part of Italy and big city versus small town is wide. Hence, my recommendation for when you visit is to check the hours of operations posted on the store's door or ask if you are unsure, so that you are not caught unawares.
Back to Venice, the building of the photo at the beginning of the post is called Scala Contarini del Bovolo. Bovolo in Venetian dialect means spiral staircase (scala a chiocciola). If you are in Venice, you may want to climb up to the top for an amazing 360 degree view of the city (the wikipedia entry in Italian has some photos). I particularly like to be there towards sunset, when the light is just magic. The Scala's web site [in Italian] says that the Scala is temporarily closed for restoration. There is no estimated date for the reopening, but it will certainly not be before the end of this year [personal communication].
I am fascinated by the gondola and I like to take photos of parts of one as it floats by me (photo above, on the right). I also like gondole at rest, like in the photo on the left, or undergoing maintenance, when one can see them upside down. One of the best places to hear people speaking the musical dialect is a gondola boarding location, where thegondolieri assemble and exchange banters.
Street signs in dialect are one of the fascinating elements of the city. The one in the photo says: sotoportego e corte de le carozze (under-arcade and court of the carriages). [I decided not to record my reading of it, because I really don't have the right accent.]
I hope to visit Venezia again the next time we go to Italy. I don't think I will ever have enough of this amazing city. Laura of Tiramisù hails from Venice, as you can read here.
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:
cartolina da Venezia: chiuso la domenica
or launch the cartolina da Venezia: chiuso la domenica audio file [mp3].
My ex-boyfriend lived in a tiny apartment across the Scala Contarini or "del Bovolo", as it is known among Venetians, what a magnificent piece of architecture. I never had the pleasure to walk up because it was closed for years.
I once had to be admitted to the hospital on a Saturday for severe abdominal pain. Apparently they couldn't do any testing over the weekend, since nobody works either day, so they would have kept me in laying in bed until Monday. By the time I got to the hospital I felt better so I signed the discharge papers and went home. I was sure happy to be back in the US to get the farther testing I needed.
Speaking of signs...there is a street sign that says "Sotoportego Casin dei Nobili", which means under-arcade of the brothel, or Casin, of the nobles. The building you walk under, through the arches, hosted a brothel for nobility once. The sign was painted over for years, and the place re-named "Sotoportego San Barnaba" because of some prude municipality. Thanks to a municipality that believed more in history than in morality the sign is now restored to its original name.
I miss my beloved city, but it would be hard to get used to certain things that make no sense. Take it or leave it, I guess.
I am counting the months until I go back though.
Posted by: Laura | July 31, 2009 at 11:05 PM
One more things....one of my friends had memorized some pretty amazing stuff he had heard coming out of the mouths of gondolieri, hard core. They are pretty hilarious, but unfortunately for the tourists, most of them speak the local dialect together, so they are hard to understand.
Venice is an amazing place, I am glad to hear you love it so much. Maybe one day we'll be there at the same time.
Posted by: Laura | July 31, 2009 at 11:09 PM
I would love to return to Venezia. Only spent one day there on my way to Parma. It was open but very crowded but I still had a good time there.
Both Merisi's sites are wonderful.
Now I have to visit the link you provided for Laura's site. Love her title. ;-)
Thanks for sharing your memories of Venice with us.
Paz
Posted by: Paz | August 01, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Ciao Simona!
Finalmente anche io sono in vacanza! Se torni a Milano (prima di dicembre) fatti sentire...altrimenti poi dovrete venire in Puglia :)
Un abbraccio
Posted by: Baol | August 02, 2009 at 01:04 AM
Thanks Laura for your notes. I was sorry to read il Bovolo is closed again. I have a dear friend in Venice and owe to him my first visit to it. I didn't know the story you mention of the Sotoportego Casin dei Nobili. It would be great to meet you in Venice. I hope to visit in October, but we have no set plans yet.
Ciao Paz. I hope you can go back: Venice requires time. Though it is often crowded, one can usually manage to find some quieter spot to enjoy the city. I knew you'd like Laura's site's name.
Ciao Baol. Se tutto va bene, saremo a Milano ad Ottobre e naturalmente te lo faccio sapere. Fai buone vacanze! Non mi dispiacerebbe affatto farmi un giro in Puglia.
Posted by: Simona Carini | August 02, 2009 at 09:01 PM
Lovely travelogue, Simona. Venice (along w/ Florence, the Amalfi Coast, and Lake Garda) is on our wish list when we have the time to visit Italy someday.
Posted by: Susan | August 10, 2009 at 01:11 PM
Che bella Venezia! Beautiful pics and post. Thanks :)
Posted by: Marta | August 11, 2009 at 02:32 PM
Hi Susan. I hope that day comes soon.
You are welcome, Marta.
Posted by: Simona Carini | August 13, 2009 at 09:44 AM