Venice Tip
by Tetreus
All this time I've loved
you
and never known your
face
I've found the one I've waited
for
the one I've waited
for
Load some music on your Ipod
by Trekki
No place in the world made me so much wish to sing all the time (and we kindly neglect the fact that I cannot sing at all, lol). I am not a fan of all kinds of toys and gadgets, so I don’t have an ipod, but while walking through La Serenissima I very much wished I would have one. But haha, maybe it was good that I didn’t, as I would have been thrown into the canales if I would have started to sing.
(Watch out and click the links, if you are in the mood – I have linked the songs and music pieces as I found them on youtube).
All these typical and nice (but sometimes kitschy, as they fill in the perceptions) songs like O Sole Mio entered in my brain, and one day I nearly fell into the canale from laughing too much when suddenly two gondolas passed by with one gondoliere singing exactly O Sole Mio. It was fulfilling so much this image I had before I came to Venezia, but it fitted to the moment.
But Venezia also made me wish to listen to these grand pieces of art from Italian operas, such as Nessun Dorma or E Lucevan le Stelle, where I could not decide which version I like better, Pavarotti’s or Andrea Bocelli’s.
Some more of these lovely Italian songs and aria:
Recondita armonia (also from Tosca) and Torna a Surriento .
Rigoletto’s La Donna e Mobile is very much suitable for walking around, as it reflects the airiness or lightness in La Serenissima.
In my very own personal opinion these arias should be sung by Italian tenors. Not that others are not good enough, but in my opinion it needs to have Italians in their own language to bring out the subtleties of what an aria wants to tell.
Of course not only operas should escort us on our walks through the city. There are just so many sons of Venice who wrote other masterpieces, like Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo or the very much famous Antonio Vivaldi and his Four Seasons by Nigel Kennedy such as Spring, the out of this world Summer, Autumn and
Winter or all as Medley by Ann-Sophie Mutter.
One last one, which will also knock me off my feet if I listen to it when being there (best in a church to listen to in a concert):
Schubert’s Ave Maria, sung by the most magnificent late Luciano Pavarotti. I always get the shivers when listening to this and I want to place it here especially in memory of this masterly tenor. May he rest in peace.
I will definitely have an ipod with me next time, full with all my favourites. And then… when I will sit at Bacino di San Marco, look across the water to San Giorgio di Maggiore, I should better do this in non-acqua alta period, as I would add much water into the lagoon.
If you like to listen to more music, look at my TL “ Oh heavenly music in La Serenissima
The Symbol of Venice
by Jefie
Winged lions can be found all over the city of Venice, in all shapes and sizes. The winged lion became the symbol of the city after the body of St. Mark the Evangelist was stolen and brought to Venice around 828 A.D. The four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are each represented by a winged creature, and St. Mark's symbol is a winged lion. Unfortunately, when Napoleon captured the city of Venice in 1797, he gave orders to destroy winged lions all over the city since they were considered a symbol of the Republic - even the one sitting on top of St. Mark's column was temporarily removed. After Napoleon's defeat, most winged lions were restored to their original locations and copies were made to replace those that had been destroyed beyond repairs. They now stand once again as proud symbols of "la Serenissima".
Overplus gondolieri
by croisbeauty
The question is:
- are there too much gondolas in Venice,
- is the tour price exorbitant?
Any of yours opinion is welcome. There must be something wrong with that gondolas, everywhere one go there is a gondoliere offering gondola tour. You can't negotiate the price, which is in my opinion much too high, and yet most of gondolieri loafing around completely idly.
There must be a hard work sitting there all day long and card palying.
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Community court near the Domina Giudecca Hotel.
Entry for ticket holders on the right.
Quiet Canal
Pink marble & white Istrian stone
