Italia | Janet Davis Explores Colour

Poor Venice. I saw the news about this week’s catastrophic acqua alta event that brought heavy rains and record-breaking high tide water into parts of the city. Tourists carried their suitcases above the flooded squares and shopkeepers used buckets to bail out water in the fourth worst flooding event ever, with 150 cm (5 feet) in places. The worst flooding in November 1966 brought 193 cm (6.3 feet) of water to vulnerable places. Autumn, of course, is also when it rains in Italy and Venice has no way to drain away rain or tidal water, which conspires with waves in the wind-swept lagoon to create disastrous conditions quickly. We were in Venice in November eight years ago when the famous acqua alta sirens awoke us before dawn in our pretty room….

… with the lace-curtained windows……

… at the lovely and convenient Hotel Flora.

But that year, the flooding was manageable, and even a little thrilling. We were given rubber boots by the hotel and proceeded to walk around the city.

We visited Piazza San Marco, the venerable St. Mark’s Square, where the 15^th century Doge’s Palace or Palazzo Ducal…..

….and St. Mark’s Basilica merely looked beautiful reflected in the water in the square.

Pigeons and seagulls fought at the edges of the water for the crumbs thrown their way.

Nearby, Venetians and tourists walked purposefully along tables set up above the water beneath St. Mark’s Basilica….

…. as unconcerned as if they were strolling down Madison Avenue or the Champs Elysee.

The tables are simply part of the tourist experience in Venice and easy to negotiate, as long as you don’t overindulge in grappa or Chianti with your lunch.

If you climb the Campanile…….

…. which is a 1912 reproduction of the 16th century original on this spot where Galileo…..

…. on August 21, 1609, showed the Doge of Venice his new spyglass, a refractor telescope which was….

….. a grandfather of these modern binoculars…….

….. which provide a wonderful view of the city over the domes of the basilica.

From the campanile, you can see where Venice meets the lagoon shore…..

….. and how vulnerable the piazza is to acqua alta……

….. when the tide brings the sea right up onto the paving.

Even if it rains, you can still put on a colourful slicker and line up for a gondola…..

….. though the gondoliers never look very happy in the pouring rain….

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…. and squint up at the palazzos from under your umbrella.

But native Venetians take acqua alta in stride……

…. including the letter carrier, who finds high ground to keep the mail dry.

Here you can see the ravages this beautiful old palazzo has suffered as a result of its hundreds of years on this small canal.

Another great idea for a rainy day is to cross the Grand Canal on the Ponte dell’Accademia…..

….. and spend a few blissful, quiet hours in the Gallerie dell’Accademia, as I did, gazing up at the spectacular works of the Venetian School, including Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese.