The Isola di Sant’Erasmo (St. Erasmus) is the largest island in the Venetian lagoon, but it’s only sparsely populated. For years this has been Venice’s countryside, the agricultural zone which produces the fruit and vegetables consumed by the hungry city. Among its produce, particularly renowned are the artichokes (carciofi). The landscape is flat, and dotted with farms and rural small-holdings. It couldn’t be more different from Venice, whose bell-towers and churches can be seen on the skyline.

Travel

The Sant’Erasmo ferry is the number 13 which departs from Venice’s Fondamente Nove stop on a roughly hourly basis. The boat calls at three stops along the shore of Sant’Erasmo: Capannone, then Chiesa, and finally Punta Vela. The journey takes 30-50 minutes, depending on which stop you get off at. Note that not all the services run the full route; check a timetable. It’s also advisable to note the return times before you set off to explore the island.

Walking around the island

The island is a long strip of land running from the south-west to the north-east. The three ferry stops are all on the north-western ‘inner’ shore, looking over the lagoon rather than towards the sea. This long stretch faces across the water and mudbanks towards the islands of Burano, whose coloured houses can just be distinguished, and San Francesco del Deserto. One of the island’s only notable buildings, the church, is on this shore. Another, the Torre Massimiliana, is down in the bottom corner of the island. This building is a nineteenth-century fort surrounded by a stagnant moat, started by the Napoleonic regime and finished by the Austrian. Its name recalls a time when Archduke Maximilian (Massimiliano) took refuge here. Recently the fort was restored and it is now open to the public, housing occasional exhibitions (opening days are limited).

Our walking tour of Sant’Erasmo
We got off the boat at Chiesa, the stop by the island’s church. This is one of the island’s landmarks, but it’s a fairly recent building with nothing to grab the visitor’s attention. We then set out along a lane next to the church, which headed across the width of the island, away from the northern lagoon shore. This route passed various allotments and fields, a new housing development, and Sant’Erasmo’s little cemetery. A farmer, stripped to the waist, laboured in one field, while another buzzed past in a little Ape (one of those tiny three-wheeled lorries) with his mother squeezed in next to him.
Reaching the other side of the island in a few minutes, we turned right and continued for a short distance before we came to a path leading out to the shore of the lagoon, where a comfortable track led along a bank. Down to our left were picturesque mud flats and shallow lagoon waters, where three people were wading in search of some delicacy for supper. Even on a peak holiday (Easter Monday) this part of the island was quiet - for whole stretches of the shore path we didn’t see anyone. The views over towards the mouth of the lagoon were interestingly dotted with boats and sandbanks; inland we passed more fields and gardens. Several battered rowing-boats were drawn up on the mud below us, and a couple of wading birds strutted about in a pool of water. If you’re interested either in boats or birds, it would be a good idea to bring binoculars on this excursion.

Finally, as we approached the tip of the island and the restored fort, we came upon hordes of Italian day-trippers, obviously not very keen to leave the vicinity of their fellow-Venetians or of the humble little bar-trattoria. Some - children and adults - were doing their best to pretend the muddy slope leading into the water was a proper beach. Gaggles of little boats had pulled up for socialising and refreshments. The bar, mostly peopled by old men speaking an indecipherable dialect, made a welcome break with its cheap wine and pleasant outdoor tables.

From the fort behind the restaurant, a small road leads back, past canals and ditches, towards the ferry stop of Capannone. The outing - including a break for refreshments - took us around an hour and three-quarters.

From 18 Juli 2009 to 19 Juli 2009

Redentore Fireworks Festival 2009 - Venice

The Redentore festival is close to the hearts of Venetians, and is celebrated on the third Sunday of July, with a grandiose fireworks show on Saturday night as the main attraction. The Venetians take in the spectacle of the fireworks right from their boats which are usually decorated with balloons, festoons and lights. Starting before sunset, the boats make their way to the Saint’s Mark basin and to the Giudecca Canal. The waters sparkle with the reflection of boats and lights. On the boats, among song, dance and typical food, people wait for the fireworks that begin at 11.30pm and go on for almost an hour. Along the banks thousand of people also wait for the fireworks at long tables set up for the occasion. The origins of the festival dates back to the horrible plague that devastated Venice between 1575 and 1577. In three years the plague killed 50,000 people, more than a third of the population. In 1566 the Senate for the Republic decided to erect a church in honor of the Redeemer, hoping that a divine act put an end to the plague. On July 13, 1577 the plague was declared finally over and from then on Venice has been marking the event on the third Sunday of July with a religious celebration and a popular feast. During the days of the Redentore festival a bridge of boats, 330 meters in length, straddles the Giudecca Canal. The bridge allows Venetians to easily access the Redentore basilica, where the faithful take part in religious celebrations. The most important one is the Votive Mass presided by the Patriarch. When: July 18-19, 2009

Venice’s newest art gallery, the Museo Vedova, by celebrity architect Renzo Piano has put a 21st century twist on the art of picture hanging.

Dedicated entirely to the work of the Venetian abstract art pioneer Emilio Vedova (1919-1996), paintings at the Museo Vedova don’t hang at all - they float.

Suspended in the air by a fleet of robotic shuttles moving along a track fixed to the ceiling, the paintings glide through the exhibition space at various heights, periodically coming to rest at strategic points under the lights before floating away to a different position.

The paintings are brought out together in series according to their chronological or thematic contexts and then whisked away to a storage space at the back of the museum to be replaced by others.

The public can view the paintings from the floor or from an elevated wooden mezzanine along the wall.

Set to open on June 3 for the 53rd Venice Biennial art exhibition, the Museo Vedova is located in the artist’s former studio, a renovated warehouse at the historic Venetian salt docks.

Explaining how he came by the idea for the museum, Renzo Piano explained, ”the warehouses are narrow and long and so it made sense to imagine that down at the far end, a bit hidden in the shadow, would be the storage facility, and out of this, as if by magic, the works would appear in a certain order. From this came the idea of mobility, whereby it’s not the spectator who goes to the artwork, but the artwork that comes to the spectator”.

Piano was introduced to Vedova in the 1980s by the composer Luigi Nono, with whom the two collaborated in designing the set for the premiere of Nono’s opera ”Prometheus” at the 41st Venice Biennial in 1984.

A frequent visitor to Vedova’s studio, Piano said, ”there was always the feeling that one day that imposing warehouse, a rather magical place or kind of cavern, could be the home for his works. He had always imagined this…and it was obvious that it wasn’t a question of hanging works the way one normally does”.

Emilio Vedova was a seminal figure of the post-war avant garde, emerging from the anti-fascist art group ”Corrente” in Milan to co-found the ”Fronte Nuovo delle arti” in 1947, a short-lived but prominent movement which looked to the neocubism of Pablo Picasso as the model for a modern new aesthetic.

His career exploded in the 1950s with a solo show in the prestigious Catherine Viviano Gallery in New York followed by his inclusion in the landmark exhibition ”Gruppo degli otto pittori italiani” at the 26th Venice Biennial in 1952, which established him among the foremost abstract artists in Italy.

Vedova would return to the Biennial eight years later to claim the Grand Prize for painting.

From the dark geometries of his experiments with cubism, Vedova’s work from 1950 onward grew increasingly abstract, placing him in league with the European ”Art Informel” movement that paralleled the work of abstract expressionists in America like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning.

”My [works] are not creations, but earthquakes,” Vedova once said.

”They are not paintings, but breaths”.

Vedova’s experimenting would eventually carry his work off the canvas altogether into the groundbreaking new terrain of artificial light play and installation art, for which he was featured in the Italian pavilion at the 1967 International and Universal Exposition in Montreal.

Vedova died in 1996 at the age of 87.

In addition to the cutting edge new Museo Vedova, his works are also on display at the nearby Peggy Guggenheim collection as well scores of other galleries and museums around the world.

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                                                                                          Biennale Art
The 53rd International Art Exhibition opens on 7th June 2009
The 53rd International Art Exhibition, titled Making Worlds // Fare Mondi // Bantin Duniyan / Weltenmachen // Construire des Mondes // Fazer Mundos…, directed by Daniel Birnbaum, will open to the public from June 7th to November 22nd 2009 in the Giardini and the Arsenale exhibition venues, as well as in various other locations around the city. (The press preview will take place on June 4th, 5th and 6th 2009).

Two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement will be awarded to Yoko Ono and John Baldessari – two of the most important artists of our time. 53rd International Art Exhibition
2009  Press accreditation
print media, broadcast media, Internet media  Biennale Art
53rd International Art Exhibition
The 53rd International Art Exhibition will run June 7th to November 22nd, 2009.
A renewal project will be in place on the occasion of the 53rd Exhibition: the Arsenale area will be linked to the city via a new bridge; in addition, the former Italian Pavilion in the Arsenale will become the “Padiglione Italia”, and the former Padiglione Italia in the Giardini will become the “Palazzo delle Esposizioni” of the Venice Biennale.

The history of the Venice Biennale began in 1895, when the first Art Exhibition took place. Accreditation for the Preview days
In order to get press accreditation to the Preview of the 53rd International Art Exhibition (June 4th, 5th, and 6th 2009), Press crews (newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, television networks, and Internet-based media) should follow the regulations for press accreditation. Deadline: May 16th 2009.

Professionals (Chairmen, Directors and Curators of museums, Heads of cultural organizations and other professionals involved in the Contemporary Arts area) should request invitations for the Preview (Deadline: May 2nd 2009; for further information please contact the Organizational Secretariat, Tel. +39 041 2753311).

FOR YOUR STAY IN THIS PERIOD I CAN RENTAL APARTMENTS LOCATED IN THE CENTRE OF VENICE.

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                                                                                 Vogalonga is a boat race that was first organised in 1974 by a group of rowing enthusiasts and has since grown into a hugely popular occasion.
The Vogalonga competition takes part in Venice history since its birth it is one on the main events, especially spring. Vogalonga’s birth is due to a few Venetians and has always been supported only by the participants.

The race course that was laid out has remained virtually unchanged over the years. It covers about 30 kilometers by way of canals and through the most beloved and picturesque parts of the Lagoon of Venice. The boats gather in St. Mark’s Basin in front of the Ducal Palace. 500 boats with nearly 1500 participants meet on the fated day and after singing hymns to San Marco and to Venice, the “start” is given. At the finish line each participant receives a commemorative medal and a certificate of participation, a souvenir of the day. Prizes were also awarded (which in later years were drawn by lots).
More Informations
Website: www.vogalonga.com

Address and phone:
Comitato Organizzatore Vogalonga
S.Marco, 951 - 30124 Venezia
tel. 0415210544 - fax 0415200771
info@vogalonga.it
www.vogalonga.it

                                                                                                      This came about principally due to the diplomatic involvement of Doge Sebastiano Ziani.
Pope Alessandro III, as a mark of his gratitude to the city, gave the Doge a blessed ring, pronouncing “Ricevilo in pegno della Sovranità che Voi e i successori Vostri avrete perpetuamente sul Mare” (Receive this ring as a token of sovereignty over the sea that you and your successors will be everlasting). He then imposed the wedding between Venice and the Sea “Lo sposasse lo Mar sì come l´omo sposa la dona per essere so signor” (Marry the sea as a man marries a woman and thus be her Lord).
 
From this moment, the simple ceremony of the Sensa (N.o.E.) became a major - and very popular - representation of the myth of the Serenissima, “Queen of the Seas”.
Once each year, the Doge would “marry” the Sea, and throw the Blessed Ring into the lagoon as a sign of eternal fidelity.
To consolidate the Sensa as one the major anniversary celebrated in the Republic´s calendar, another Benefit came from the Pope.
 
The Pontiff, indeed, was grateful per la poderosa assistenza e per il cortese ospizio donatogli nella persecuzione da esso patita per Federico Barbarossa Imperatore (for the great assistance and hospitality he was offered during the persecution he suffered under Emperor Federico Barbarossa), and thus granted indulgences to all who visited the “Ducal Chapel” (the Basilica of San Marco), in the eight days (later 15 days) following the celebration.
 
 The religious incentive to get God´s forgiveness brought every year more crowds of pilgrims to the lagoon for the celebration of the Marriage to the Sea.

The venetian character, inclined to combine the Sacred and the profane, carryed to initiate, in 1180, the Fair of the Sensa, with displays of the best local handmade products, and merchandise from the Orient.
 

                                              LAST MINUTE for the month of May we can offer you apartments located in the centre of Venice at only 10 minutes to walking by St. Mark’s Square and Rialto Bridge at the special price

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  Cycling champions on the runway in Lido, for the chronometer that on the 9th May starts the Centenary Giro d’Italia.Saturday 9th May is the day when the athletes release all their energies onto the pedals riding the circuit through the streets of Lido, 21 kilometers to Malamocco and back, with a little piece of history up for grabs. And pride. The start of the Centenary Giro d’Italia from the lagoon island forms an example under the amateur profile and, as the Mayor of Venice Massimo Cacciari has underlined represents for Venice ‘the opportunity to offer to Italy and the world an unusual aspect, vivacious and vital’. The Giro d’Italia also opens up the tourist season on the Venetian coast: the celebrations on Lido on the 10th May are followed by another appointment in the Veneto, with the start of the stage of Lido di Jesolo - Trieste.Looking through the records of the pink race, Venice has hosted, before 2009, only eight times an arrival and seven times a start of a stage. Races significantly under the symbolic profile, often beyond their amateur content. This is why the decision to start the Centenary Giro in Venice is particularly important and is eagerly awaited by thousands of fans along the route. The first time the ‘caravan’ came to Venice was in 1936: on the 2nd June, for the sixteenth stage, and a chronometer of 30,5 kilometers was programmed from Padua to Venice. It was won, with a medium speed of 40km an hour, by Giuseppe Olmo riding a Bianchi, with Bartali taking the pink shirt. On the 10th May 1939 the thirteenth stage ended in Venice, 231 km from Bologna. The Giro came to Venice again in 1949, 1951 1952, and then stopped for twenty years until 1972, with the first stage starting in Venice.
or an entire generation of cycling fans the first great sporting emotion in color was the arrival in St. Mark’s Square of the extraordinary Giro d’Italia of 1978: a bridge was built over the Grand Canal to bring the cyclists in front of the Basilica with an individual time of 14 km crowned by the victory of Francesco Moser, one of the most loved champions, with a 14 second advantage on Saroni(and a media of more than 44 km an hour). For their children, instead, it is impossible to cancel the indelible memory of the starting stage of the Giro in 1997, on the Venice Lido: crowded against the barriers to support the speeding group of cyclists along the city circuit, until the sprint finish dominated by Mario Cipollini, the ‘Lion King’ who in a matter of a few years became the athlete with the largest number of victories in the pink race.
To be first in Venice is therefore a prestigious prize even in the showcases full of trophies and plaques: the stages of the Giro d’Italia have an added value in the Lagoon, that push the great champions of cycling to give their all, to legitimize their myths with a victory in the city of the Doges. Even more if at stake there is, like this year, the first pink shirt.

If you wont to stay for this days in charming apartments, located in Venice, please send email at the address:
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                                                                               TRAVELLING IN THE TASTE
Venice is not only the Venetian symbol of Culture and Arts, but
also the one of gastronomy. Venice cuisine comes from rural
origins, but the trades with Far and Middle East, during the
golden Age of the Repubblica have enriched the variety of its
recipes. It can be said that Venice Republic played an important
role for the enrichment not only in local cuisine but even in
the european one,  because after the fall of Byzantium, Venice
became  the Eastern Door. The most of european countries
used  to  add  spices  in  order  to  preserve  the  food,
while Venice used spices to invent  new dishes and
new tastes. When venetian galleons come back home
after a very long trip were full of salt, pepper, ginger,
curcuma,  candy and fresh nutmeg, galanga from India and
even saffron from China: these spices unknown until that period
were able to excite the fantasy of venetian cooks: in this way
was born an art of cooking unique in the world.Venice acted
for many centuries as “mediator of the Universe”, because it
sendable in those years. The city had the trade monopoly on
spices, taking advantage of western people’s desires. Venice
became also the capital for sugar trading.
 
During the celebration of  the“ Ascension day” (festa della
sensa), took place the ceremony of the “Wedding with the
sea” a sort of self-celebration, and a large market in S. Mark
East, and people from over the world came to visit it. Another
product very important for the venetian trades was the olive
oil imported from Crete, Corfù, Zante and Cefalonia, from the
eastern coasts and countries like Tunisia and Dalmatia, then
the oil was exported to the western countries. The eastern
from Po’ valley wich used more fat. The armenians had a great
cook the rice with the “pilaff” method, to grow the
spinach, the aubergine and the apple and to combine
minded to the other cultures and people coming from
Greece, Germany, Spain and Portugal but in particular many
Jewish people lived in peace in this city. The jewish community
used to go and eat at the many taverns, spreading uses and
tastes and promoting a large use of fruit and vegetables. They
“saor” with olive oil and not with the other fats because these
become solid the day after, or stewing the meat together with
the vegetables. The typical sweet-and-sour taste of oriental
cuisine is still present in the dishes of the modern venetian
fruit. Typical place where you can eat the traditional and tasty
venetian food are the numerous trattorie, and the “Bacari”
little bars or taverns which offer a simple service and
you can smell an atmosphere of ancient times, here
you can eat a wide selection of typical hors d’oeuvre
than can substitute a meal – called CICHETI, obviously you
can eat them staying on foot, cause there’s no time to sit
down.

                                                                                                                                                                                            SPRITZ
The typical aperitif in Venice is the spritz, made of carbonated
water, white wine, lemon peel or olive and as you prefer, bitter
Campari, Cynar or Aperol. This beverage is very common also
in Hungary, (frocs), Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and also in
Romania, all the territories of ex-Austro-Hungarian kingdom
(1867-1918).  The story tells us that the Austrians used to
drink the venetian wine with water, because it was too strong
for them, so the Venetians, added a bit of liquor to give to this
drink a new taste.
The  Austrians  called  it“spritz”  that  means  injection.  The
aperitif-time is from 5 p.m., but someone drink spritz in the
morning before lunch. Spritz is a very strong beverage, so you
take care when you drink it.

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