THE PIGEONS IN VENICE

Venice is setting its sights on its pesky pigeons again after new reports showed the risks the birds pose to its health and heritage.

”We must do more to get rid of these troublesome animals,” local councillor Alberto Mazzonetto told ANSA.

The pigeon population of St Mark’s Square has been reduced from an estimated high of 20,000 to barely a thousand, authorities claim.

The blitz began in May, when the lagoon city banned the vendors who sold grain to tourists wanting to feed the birds.

Pigeons were eating away at centuries-old statues and buildings by pecking at nooks and crevices to reach for scraps of food that had lodged inside. Their highly acidic droppings also damage brickwork and marble.

“Just a few months after the feed ban most of the square is free of the animals who have moved off to find food on the islands,” said (more…)

MARCO POLO

     Marco Polo was born in Venice in 1254 into a family of merchants. The father Nicholas and his uncle Matthew had already made a long journey for commercial purposes between 1260 and 1269 in Central Asia until the city of Bukhara. In that place, far more than 5000 kilometers from their hometown, they had stayed for 3 years by continuing their trades. Until the dignitaries of the Great Kublai Khan contacted them, inviting them to meet their lord, the Emperor of China. The Polo brothers went to Persia and then across China to Beijing, where they met, finally, the Great Khan. Kublai was the grandson of Genghis Khan, but did not have the same spirit of fierce warrior. He asked the two brothers to deliver a letter to the Pope with a request that 100 monks were sent to convert the Mongols to Christianity. The two brothers returned to their hometown after a long journey, but the demands of the Great Khan were not heard by the Pope.

The brothers Polo then decided to take another trip to China but this time accompanied by the young Marco who was only 17 years old. They set in November 1271, Marco Polo could not imagine that his trip would last 24 years. The three Venetians had many adventures and dangers to face, it takes 30 months to arrive in China for some stretches along the Silk Road. Marco Polo got in S. Giovanni d’Acri, and then went on to Persia, then to the highlands of the Pamir, Turkmenistan, the Gobi Desert and was finally in Beijing where he was welcomed with all the honors by Kublai himself. The Great Khan was in sympathy with Marco Polo. At the Great Khan service for 17 years, Marco Polo had a great opportunity to travel along China while the father and his uncle continued their trade. He could know so distant lands such as Tibet, Siam, Burma and the Indochinese peninsula as well as many Chinese provinces. He was able to speak five Asian languages correctly. After all those years spent away from home Marco Polo asked several times for permission to return, but it was always denied. Finally got the big opportunity. Kublai entrusted to him one last task: to accompany to Persia a princess that had to marry the king of that Country. It was prepared a fleet of 14 ships that departed in January 1292 from the port of Zadon, Marco spent nearly two years to get there. Marco Polo sailed to the coast of China, then down to Indochina, Malaysia, Sumatra and India. He arrived in Ormuz and from there reached Tabriz, Trabzon, Istanbul and finally Venice. The three travelers were not recognized when returned, too much time had elapsed since their departure. But finally they were celebrated and honored by their family for the wealth that had brought from China.

After returning Marco Polo continued its merchant activities, until in 1298 he was made prisoner by the Genoese army in the naval battle of Korcula. The period of imprisonment of Marco Polo was only one year, but was for him a fortune. Marco Polo knew in prison Rustichello da Pisa to which dictated “The Million” , the book that would have handed down in history as the greatest traveler of all time. In this book, he told his extraordinary adventures and described the places he had visited during his long journey. For many he was not believed. At that age was not easy to imagine that could be real the “stone burning” (coal) or the “black water that burns” (oil). However Christopher Columbus almost two centuries later was inspired by Marco Polo. He was convinced that it could reach the great sea of China (Pacific Ocean) traveling to the West, and ended up arriving in a continent (America), which was unaware of its existence. Who asked him to retract his allegations of forgery, Marco Polo said that he had not told even half of what he had seen. Marco Polo died in Venice in 1324.

Il Milione

On their return from China in 1295, the family settled in Venice where they became a sensation and attracted crowds of listeners who had difficulties believing their reports of distant China. According to a late tradition, since they did not believe him, Marco Polo invited them all to dinner one night during which the Polos dressed in the simple clothes of a peasant in China. Shortly before the crowds ate, the Polos opened their pockets to reveal hundreds of rubies and other jewels which they had received in Asia. Though they were much impressed, the people of Venice still doubted the Polos.

Marco Polo was later captured in a minor clash of the war between Venice and Genoa, or in the naval Battle of Curzola, according to a dubious tradition. He spent the few months of his imprisonment, in 1298, dictating to a fellow prisoner, Rustichello da Pisa, a detailed account of his travels in the then-unknown parts of China.

His book, Il Milione (the title comes from either “The Million”, then considered an extremely large number, or from Polo’s family nickname Emilione), was written in Old French, a language Polo did not speak, and entitled Le divisament dou monde (“The description of the world”). The book was soon translated into many European languages and is known in English as The Travels of Marco Poloo. The original is lost and there are now several often-conflicting versions of the translations. The book became an instant success — quite an achievement at a time when the invention of the printing press was two hundred years away in Europe.

Piano devises ‘flying art’ gallery for Emilio Vedova’s works

 

 

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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The 35th edition of Vogalonga will be on May 31st 2009

                                                                                 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

SECRET ITINERARY OF THE DOGES PALACE

   The secret itinerary of the Doges Palace begins on the upper floors of the Doges Palace. As you climb up the lavishly decorated Golden staircase that expresses the great wealth that the Venetians once possessed you come to a tall wooden sturdy door that’s always locked, except for those lucky enough to have reservations to enjoy a very different tour of the Doges Palace.

The secret itinerary of the Doges Palace literally takes you into the inner sanctums of the brain of Venice. Rooms and chambers that were previously off-limits to everyone, except the most trusted members of the Venetian government. Behind the vast expanses of the grand halls and chambers of the public-face of the Doges Palace lay a warren of offices, corridors and other rooms where the secret work of the Venetian Empire took place.

On the secret itinerary of the Doges Palace you will visit the Chancellor’s Office, a powerful position in the days of the Republic. Like the position of the Doges, was an appointment for life. All state processions were led by the Chancellor, and the Chancellor was the man responsible for writing all the secret documents of the state. Typical of the Venetians mentality, they ensured that all critical  members of  their government remained loyal to the state by paying them generous salaries. The Chancellor of the Republic was earning the equivalent of 600,000 € a year back in the 14^th Century! For such a powerful position you’ll note his office was extremely small.

Next you’ll visit the upper Chancellors Offices where over twenty secretaries worked assisting the Chancellor in the preparation & storage of secret documents. These workers also enjoyed privileged positions and high salaries. The interior of the Chancellors office has the form of a ship, and in fact most of the rooms on the secret itinerary were constructed of wood and built by workers from the Arsenale.

The famous ship-building yard of the Venetian Republic where they once boasted they construct a ship in just one-day. The office is split into two-levels like a ship with railings separating each part, and the doors that you see throughout the secret itinerary of the Doges Palace are again in the style of one’s you would find on a ship. Self closing doors, with special hinges that closed them air-tight to prevent any over hearing things from the corridor outside. The secret documents were stored in the cabinets that line the rooms and along the top of these cabinets you’ll see the family crests of previous Chancellors. The Venetians did such a good job of protecting their secret documents that Venice now possesses the 3^rd largest collection of documents of antiquity in the World.

The corridors between the rooms are of simple wooden construction, narrow and dimly-lit it feels as if you are walking through the confines of the hull of a great ship from ancient times. The next stop on the secret itinerary of the Doges Palace is the gruesome torture chamber. Here the three state inquisitors would torture prisoners with one simple device. The prisoner would have his hands tied behind his back and the rope would push-out and disjoint the poor prisoners shoulders and back-bones as he was propelled towards the ceiling. For added theatrics, prisoners awaiting to be tortured would be in cells either side of the ropes were they could see and hear their colleagues being tortured. The torture chamber is illuminated by a single window that would project light into the eyes of the person being tortured so that he wouldn’t be able to see his inquisitors.

Continuing on through a warren of rooms and corridors we arrive at the famous prison cells of the Doges Palace that are one of the highlights of the Secret Itinerary of the Doges Palace. The same prison cells in which Casanova was imprisoned and from where he later escaped. Casanova was a very popular man with the women of Venice, but unfortunately not-so popular with the powerful men whose wives Casanova had conquered. After several attempts to arrest Casanova on trumped up charges, his enemies finally got their way when books on magic were found in Casanovas rooms. Possession of such books could lead to the death penalty, but fortunately for Casanova the law had been changed just six-months earlier and so he received a prison sentence instead.

The cells with low ceilings were not very accommodating for a man some two-metres tall. But, having good connections Casanova was granted an armchair, exercise time in the attic of the Doges Palace, as well as food brought to him from good-wishers from outside the prison. The “I Piombi” prisons, were so called because they lay directly below the lead roofs of the Doges Palace. These wooden cells beneath the lead roofs would be intolerably hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter months.

Casanova attempted twice to escape from the prisons. The first attempt failed as he was transferred to another cell just before he had a chance to escape via a whole in the floor he had made with a piece of marble and iron that he found while taking exercise in the attic of the Doges Palace. His second attempt from another cell was more successful and after a meandering route through the Palace he actually walked through the main entrance of Doges Palace, “La Porta Della Carta” to his freedom. You’ll see both cells as well as the attic of the Doges Palace on the Secret Itinerary.

In fact, for some, the stroll along the narrow gangway directly beneath the roof to admire the incredible beams and structure of the timber framing that dates back to the 16^th century is the real highlight of the secret itinerary of the Doges Palace. The sheer weight of this timber construction would normally require supporting columns, but the Venetians found a way to have them self-supporting so that the vast expanses of the “Sala Maggiore” where up to 2,000 elected officials of the Venetian government would conduct their business is not cluttered with columns and pillars supporting the roof. The wooden beams with bathed in salt water for several months which fossilized them making them as hard as stone. And the residual salt prevented woodworm from destroying them!

The Last two rooms on the Secret itinerary of the Doges Palace are the offices of the state inquisitors and the offices of the judges of the infamous council of ten. Each chamber boasts works by a famous Venetian artist. The first with works by Tintoretto, and the second with works by Veronese. These are the only rooms on the secret itinerary of the Doges Palace with original decorations and furnishings. The chamber of the three judges shows another method of maintaining secrecy in that the cabinets that were used to store documents each had 3 locks. Each of the three judges had one key each and so it was impossible to open one without all three being present.

After the secret itinerary of the Doges Palace you re-enter the public areas of the Palace where you can take a tour of the other parts of the Palace including crossing the bridge of sighs and admire the works of other Venetian masters on display, as well as other works by Sansovino, Palladio, Antonio Da Ponte & many others. Combining a tour of the Doges Palace with the secret itinerary of the Doges Palace you can expect to spend around three-to-four hours to see everything!

VENICE MARATHON 2008

The route for the Venice Marathon 2008 is definitely one of the most appealing. The run starts in Stra on the 26th of October, a village situated some 26 miles from Venice, outside the beautiful Villa Pesani. The route winds its way through the Riviera del Brenta before setting up for a spectacular finish along the Venice waterfront at Riva dei Sette Martiri, past Saint Marks Square and dash home at Palazzo Ducale. The end of the race is particularly difficult as there are 3 big hills just as the athletes are reaching their breaking point. If you would simply like to watch or support someone else then you will have 26 miles of beautiful scenery to choose to spectate from. Venice itself would be an obvious choice as it marks the end of the run and is it will be home to a large number of site events to entertain the crowd as they wait for the runners to make their way to the city.

These side events are taking place inside San Giuliano Park under the banner of Exposport. The events being run include a Family Run, a Pasta Party, an African Village and the sports interactive areas managed by the sports Federation participating in the CONI (National Italian Olympic Committee). Aside from this you could also just take a look around the city which is full of historic landmarks.

How to get there: Venice is located in north-east Italy on the coast of the Adriatic. If you are travelling from Rome you will need to head north through Florence and Bologna; if you are coming from Milan you will need to head east through Brescia and Verona. Stra the start point for the race is about 26 miles west of the city and should not be difficult to find.