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Venice - A Feast for the Eyes


One too many gondolas on a narrow canal spells traffic. This is the scene during the busy summer months. Trying to find a quiet corner can be challenging. 

"But come back in November or December, February or March, when the fog, la nebbia, settles upon the city like a marvelous monster, and you will have little trouble believing that things can appear and disappear in this labyrinthine city, or that time here could easily slip in its sprockets and take you, willingly or unwillingly, back." Erica Jong, A City of Love and Death: Venice


Love is in the air. We congratulated the bride and groom of this wedding party whom we saw cruising the Venetian canals. On our way to Dorsoduro, we discovered these love locks on the Ponte dell'Accademia. Yes, love may be eternal but the lock is only good till it rusts. Good luck with that! Speaking of love, every year during the Festa della Sensa (Feast of the Ascension), Venice renews its wedding vows with the sea. These are the words the Mayor (formerly the Doge) recites during the ceremony: "We wed thee, sea, in the sign of the true and everlasting Lord."  The Mayor then throws a ring into the Adriatic Sea. Venice is indeed for lovers!

Campanile of Santo Stefano

The leaning campanile of Santo Stefano, a wizened palazzo, a bonbon shop, a door handle, a lace curtain: these are tableaux I fondly associate with Venice.


An exquisite lace curtain drapes down the side of an old palazzo. Lace was one of the main handicrafts of Venice (along with glass), a once thriving industry on the island of Burano. Lace making a la Veneziana is sadly a dying art with the influx of machine made lace.


The Carnival of Venice originated in 1162 when Venice celebrated its victory against the Patriarch of Alquileia. It was then banned in 1797 during the reign of the Austrian monarch and was not resurrected until 1979, an absence of nearly two centuries. The mask is one of the main components of the Carnival and a competition is held towards the end of the festivities to find "la maschera piu bella", the most beautiful mask.


Colorful fruit-shaped marzipan cookies look as good as it taste. How Venice plays with our senses - an appetizing treat, a feast for the eyes, a musical note echoing along shaded canals, the scent of freshly baked bread in the early morning hours, a brush with Titian!

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Images by Charie

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