Venezia

     We arrived in Venice on Trenitalia.  Our instructions from our airbnb host were to take the water bus to San Marco square.  Of course, like any American, I know what Venice is, but not really.  I realize this when I see it.  It has become more of a tourist attraction now than a city, but the depth of history here is evident at every turn.  Piazza San Marco, I thought was just another piazza.  As I struggled across it with our suit cases in tow, chasing the fast walking host and my wife, I realize that this is no ordinary piazza, even by Italian standards. 

     I remember reading once that Venice was founded by  Romans fleeing the advancing armies of Attila the Hun in the fifth century.  I knew it was sinking and that it was built in the water, and that there were gondolas.  I did not know that it breaths power and wealth. Its glory is that of another age, but it still stands.  It could be Disney World, but it is not.  It was not built to be a tourist attraction.  It was for centuries the heart of a dynamic creative and prosperous economy and society. 

     

We only planned one night in Venice.  Our main destination was Florence.  We arrived late in the day and checked in just after dark.  There were boats and gondolas just outside the windows.  Trash, we were told was picked up in the morning by a boat.  And we were told by our host that in a real high tide the first floor would fill up with water, at least up to small internal dams just inside the doors. 

     

We went out to find a place to eat knowing nothing about where we were, except we knew how to find our way back to Saint Mark’s square.  We found an osteria and The food was good and we sat for a while and had a bottle of wine.  The head waiter talked to us for a while.  He was Philipino but spoke English, Italian, Spanish, French and some German, as well as Tagalog. We had heard him easily slipping into the language of whatever table he was working on.  He told us he owned land in the Philippines and supported most of his family at home.  He planned to retire there someday. 

     

     The next day we had an outdoor breakfast in Saint Mark’s square and marveled at the architecture.  About midday we caught the train to Firenze.  It is interesting pulling out of the dense and ancient city of Venice, crossing over water for a ways and seeing the industry and shipping spread out over the wide Adriatic coast, with all of Europe to the immediate north and all of Italy to south.