An Evening in Venice

There are actually people who don’t like Venice.  Go figure! They find lots of things to complain about – the steps, the crowds, “smelly” canals, tour groups, cruise ships, pickpockets, the prices.  I feel bad for those people; they are really missing out.  With a little careful planning, an off-season arrival, and basic street smarts (canal smarts?) Venice is a wonder.      

Venice in mid-October. Lively but not terribly crowded.

 I recently spent one day in Venice, visiting from my base in nearby Padova.  Most of the day was spent at the Biennale Art event.  After seeing some of the exhibits, my friends and I took an almost-dusk evening stroll through Venice followed by dinner.

 We did not encounter big crowds other than in two spots.  First, on arrival, at the ticket booths for the vaporetti outside of the train station.  Definitely a spot to watch out for pickpockets.

The Bridge of Sighs

Next, in the early evening, in the area around the Bridge of Sighs and into Piazza San Marco.  The viewpoint near the Bridge of Sighs is where everyone stops for a photo. Other than those two spots, Venice was busy but not jam packed. Even Piazza San Marco, always a busy spot, wasn’t bad.

Piazza San Marco. As Venetian crowds go, this was great!

With my passport and credit cards tucked safely into my money belt, and a minimum of cash and a few other things in a small backpack, one whose zipper sits up against my back making it a not so easy target for thieves, I had no worries about pickpockets. This gave me the freedom to enjoy the views and take photos.

There were no cruise ships to be seen, thanks to the new rules which prohibit the biggest ones from docking in Venice. A great old sailing ship and some Naval vessels near the Arsenale were interesting and didn’t tower over the landscape.

Best of all was an amazing sunset view over the Grand Canal followed by a wander through the maze of back streets just beyond Piazza San Marco. 

 After a full day of art appreciation at the Biennale, and a stroll through Venice, we were hungry.  Luckily, we found Ristorante Central Venice, part wine bar and part restaurant. Located on a little side street, the atmosphere was warm, the staff friendly, the menu enticing (fresh seafood!), and the wine list included a good and moderately priced prosecco.  Perfect. 

 After dinner, it was time for a vaporetto ride back to the now uncrowded train station and a quick 30 minute ride back to Padova.  Our day in Venice was wonderful.  No complaints from me!

Steampunk, Italian Style

Steampunk is a type of science fiction that transports us not to the future but back to the past.  Back to an era of Victorian style combined with early industrial era mechanical devices.  

It’s almost as if a person in the 18th century was looking 100 years into the future and imagining what the world would be like.  Machines powered by steam, dark magic, devices made of bronze, time travelers, flying machines, good guys and evil. 

Steampunk fashion reflects this in its elaborate Victorian style costumes embellished with all sorts of mechanical Industrial Revolution era devices.  Think ladies in dresses with corsets, lace, and full skirts.  Victorian, but with an edgy feel.

Picture men in brocade suits, breeches, leather vests or jackets, top hats, and boots.  Men and women both sport goggles - they seem to be hallmarks of Steampunk style

 And it’s not just the adults - Steampunk kids are beautifully costumed as well.

Now, add in the industrial bits: clocks, gears, pocket watches, moveable wings, mechanical arms, metal face masks, fancy canes and weapons.   

One of my favorite parts of Lucca Comics and Games is the Steampunk Italia group which has a big presence throughout the event.  This year, there were 3 separate Steampunk gathering days.  All took place in Piazza San Michele and were followed by a parade through the center of Lucca.    Many of the participants wore different costumes on different days – some days black, other days white, one day even an a Puccini opera theme.

The costumes were elaborate, very individual, and nothing short of amazing. I can’t even guess at the number of hours that go into crafting each one. The little details – mechanical arms, elaborate face masks, industrial style devices strapped to backs, arms, embellished hats, fancy canes – just wow!

Steampunk Italia is one of the most photographed groups during the Comics event.  It’s easy to see why!

The 2025 Edition of Lucca Comics and Games will take place from Oct 30 to November 3rd. It’s not too soon to make plans to attend. 

Venice Biennale 2024

This art installation was suspended from the ceiling in the British Pavilion.

Every two years the city of Venice hosts Venezia Biennale Arte, an international art and architecture exhibit.  The 2024 Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa of Brazil, marks the 60th edition of the show. This year’s exhibit, with more than 300 participating artists from 88 countries, opened in April and continues through November 24th.

The Biennale takes place mostly at the far end of Venice, at the Arsenale (where all of the large naval ships are anchored) and in the pavilions of the Arsenale Gardens. Additional works can be found throughout the city of Venice.  The Arsenale Gardens is home to the permanent pavilion of the larger national exhibits. It’s easy to spend hours here, wandering through the exhibits, stopping at one of several cafes, and enjoying the grounds as well as the outdoor art pieces.

The 2024 show’s title is Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere.  An explanation of the theme in the exhibit’s literature reflects the idea that we are all, at some level, a stranger. 

In keeping with the theme, many of the works are by “outsiders”, including artists who have been treated as foreigners in their own lands or cultures.  The foreignness relates to concepts such as indigenous status, sexual orientation or identity, political beliefs, colonization of lands by foreign powers, or immigration status. This theme was especially evident in Spain’s Pavilion which included a Migrant Art Gallery and a Migrant Garden.  

A number of the works are political in nature.  Others portray themes of environmental sustainability, history, migration patterns, and culture. Italian culture and history was represented in several pieces in the Central Pavilion. The one below, titled The Cutting and Sewing School, was particularly captivating. It seemed to show the old ways slowly fading away.

Italy, The Cutting and Sewing School

Belgium, Petticoat Government

The art was fascinating, at times confusing, other times enchanting. Some pieces were uncomfortable or downright disturbing.  All were thought-provoking – and isn’t that just what art is meant to be? 

At a certain point I realized that it was impossible to read all of the accompanying descriptions, much less take notes, and still see as many of the pavilions as possible. For that reason, in this post, I have included photos identified mostly by the name of the country’s pavilion without detailed explanations of the works and with apologies to the unnamed artists.

I leave the interpretations of each work up to you!

Canada.  The background is made up of strands of glass beads.  This light and airy room was a great place to linger.

While some of the darker and more disturbing images gave me much to consider, it was the ones that reflected shared history, hope, unique ways of living, and light that most grabbed me.

I spent a long time looking at one captivating piece entitled The Crucifixion of the Soul, by Madge Gill (below).

The work was a 10 meters (~32 feet) long ink on fabric drawing made up of a series of female faces and intricate backgrounds. All crafted from tiny lines in 4 colors of ink. Her work was so unique that I had to know her story.

I was surprised to learn that she was not a contemporary artist but rather that she lived from from 1882 to 1961. She is considered an “outsider artist” - one who is self-taught and has persisted in their art despite poverty or mental illness. Madge Gill was indeed a stranger in her own world, and a perfect representation of the Biennale theme.

80+ countries participated in this year’s Biennale.  I particularly loved the US one, which was filled with works reflecting Native American culture. It was the first time that a Native American Artist (Jeffrey Gibson) was chosen to represent the United States at the Biennale.

The forms, colors, and beadwork were nothing short of spectacular.

My many years of living in New Mexico made these pieces especially meaningful to me.  I wasn’t alone in my delight in this exhibit - the number of people spending time in this pavilion and taking photos made it clear that these pieces were appreciated by many.

 Moving through France’s pavilion was to take an undersea journey, a reminder of the importance of our oceans and the life within them.

 A few of my other favorites:

Finland - The Pleasures We Choose

 Hungary, Techno Zen. A multimedia installation with sound, light, movement, and a riot of color (below).

This was my first ever experience at the Biennale.  With just one day in Venice, I was able to see many of the exhibits in the Arsenale Garden but ran out of time for the ones in the other Arsenale and city locations.  When the Biennale returns in 2026, I will need to plan two full days!

The Language of Rain

A hint of blue sky and a break in the rain. Still best to bring your ombrello!

The last few weeks in northern Italy have been unusually rainy. Some days have brought intermittent light showers or drizzle.  Other have kept us mostly indoors due to rain and gloomy, dark skies.  It feels as though overnight we packed away our summer clothes in favor of raincoats, scarves, and boots.

Last week an overnight storm brought a good deal of drama.  It started with a sudden heavy rain, followed by flashes of lightning and big claps of thunder – all of which lasted for hours. As I watched the lightening outside my windows, I began to think of all the Italian words that can be used to describe a storm.

 In Italian, rain is la pioggia. There are two ways to say that it is raining: the simple piove or sta piovendo.  The first is what is most commonly heard. When it has been raining day after day you might hear someone say, with a big sigh, ancora, piove (it is still raining) or oggi è piovoso di novo (today it is rainy again).  When there is just a light sprinkle of rain, piove quattro gocce means literally that it is just raining “four drops”.

When there is a break in the rain, everything looks fresh and clean. The greens are greener and the flowers brighter. Here, a glimpse into Lucca’s “hidden park” the day after the recent rainstorm.

Colorful umbrellas brightened up my street in Lucca on a dreary day.

 A storm is una tempesta and a thunderstorm un temporale. A temporale is accompanied by tuono (thunder) and fulmine (lightning).  The storm we had here in Lucca last week was preceded by un allerta’meteo, a weather alert. The alert, which came by phone and also on-line, was warranted as this storm was huge! It might have been called an acquazzone (a downpour) or a nubifragio (a cloudburst).  There were floods (alluvioni) in some parts of Tuscany.

There is no Italian equivalent to the American expression “raining cats and dogs”, a direct translation would be meaningless to most Italians.  Rather, sta piovendo a secchiate (it is raining buckets) comes close. 

Quando piove (when it rains) out come the ombrelli (umbrellas) which fill the otherwise dreary streets with lots of color. Without an ombrelli one might have to declare sono bagnata! (I’m wet; or sono bagnato if you are male). 

Little boys and puddles - an irresistible combination. His mamma just laughed as he jumped in.

After the storm passes, the streets are full of – and this is my new favorite word in Italian – pozzanghere (puddles).  

For many years I simply called these laghetti (little lakes) because I didn’t know the correct Italian word.   But now that I’ve looked it up – pozzanghere – it’s just a fun word to say.   

And like children everywhere, there is always one who will sguazzare nella pozzanghera (splash in the puddle). This little guy certainly did!

Since I am not a little one who needs to jump into puddles, the best thing about the pozzanghere to me is how they reflect the architecture of the city. Bell towers, lamp posts, clock towers, and centuries old buildings make for great puddle art.

And sometimes, if you’re lucky, there is also an arcobaleno (rainbow) in the aftermath of the storm. 

 As I write this I am enjoying skies that are cloudy with bits of blue and not a raindrop in sight.  But I did step over a lot of leftover pozzanghere this morning.  And I had my ombrello with me just in case the rain started again.

Street Theater on a Saturday Night in Lucca

Some of this year's special guests at Lucca Film Festival 2024

The busy month of September came to a close with Lucca’s annual Film Festival.  This year marked the 20th anniversary of the event which screens feature and short films and awards prizes in each category. Genres include everything from horror to war to musicals and westerns.

Lucca’s event doesn’t rival the glamour or importance of the film festivals in Cannes or Venice.  There were no red-carpet gowns or tuxedos.  No paparazzi. There were several honorees, Italian premiers of films, cinema related conferences and exhibitions.  This year there was also a fun Saturday evening of amateur theater, dance, and music in the streets and piazzas throughout Lucca. Many bars and restaurants decorated for the event and their employees wore film related costumes.

The Screwdriver Bar turned into a Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.  La Fabbrica di Cioccolato in Italian.

The mild evening was perfect for wandering through Lucca and catching a few of the short performances.   Some were related to well known films, both English language and Italian ones. Piazza San Salvatore was the setting for the Wizard of Oz. Who knew that Dorothy, the Wizard, the Lion, the TinMan, and the Scarecrow all were fluent in Italian?

 Aladdin made an appearance in Piazza Anfiteatro. He even brought some belly dancers.

Can you guess what film these actors represented? Hint - just outside the photo was a grand piano.

Mozart, and not Puccini, was the opera composer on this night in Lucca.

Italian Films were represented too, including the classic comedy Amci Miei. These amateur performers really brought the spirit of this comedy to life.

Other performances seemed to be just for fun.  From roller skaters in Piazza San Frediano to a Macarena flash mob in Piazza San Michele (video on the Two Parts Italy Facebook page) it was the kind of simple local fun that is so much a part of Lucca. 

 And now … on to fall.