City of Masks

08/11/2020 Seamus Comments 0 Comment

Venice in the time of Covid

Shop window with metal bars in front, doll on left, white mask with moustache on right, Venitian mask with feather head dress in centre, Venice, Italy

I’ve just died and flown to seagull heaven! The Oldies surprised me – and I think themselves too – by taking a trip to Venice. I’d often heard them say that, much as they’d love to visit, they had no intention of going anywhere that was suffering from so much mass tourism. The current situation made them think again. No regulations preventing going there, but not many people actually doing so. And boy, am I glad they did!

Seamus the Seagull in foreground, Bay of Venice with St. Mark's Square on right below in background, cloudy sky above, Venice, Italy

I’ve been to the Venice of the Dordogne and, lovely and all as it is, it can’t hold a match to the Venice of Italy. Wow, wow and wow again! First off, just look at the basic statistics. Elevation: 1 metre. I had recently being remarking on how much in favour I am of cities by the sea, but a city on the sea. That’s the city for me! Venice is built on 118 islands, has over 400 bridges and basically no roads. Yes, water, water, everywhere… and plenty of drops to drink. Especially now that the water is so much cleaner than it used to be!

Rows of cafe tables, some with parasols, all empty, on square in front of old building with arches, 2 waiters in white coats standing among tables, St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

And it is so quiet you could hear a pin splash! Even St. Mark’s Square was quiet. The cafés on the square that I am sure would normally be packed were practically empty. I don’t know how they are keeping their heads above water! There was hardly a customer be seen in the famous designer shops either, and I bet this is a rare sight too: gondoliers sitting around twiddling their thumbs, or rather swiping their thumbs across their smart phones. They weren’t exactly run off their feet. No. Business was slow. Real slow.

One gondolier in red and white striped shirt and black trousers standing on left looking at phone, two more in black and white striped shirts sitting down on bench on right, one looking at the other who is looking at his phone, gondolas in background, St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

The only time I saw a bit of a crowd on St. Mark’s Square was when the graduation ceremonies of the local universities were taking place. But masks were the order of the day and the diplomas were being handed out without a handshake. Yes, Venetians are excellent at social distancing … although they appear to be quite poor at maths …

Glass display case with glass items on shelf, sign on wall to the right stating E obbligaoria usare la mascherina use of mast is mandatory, pictogram of two people 1 metre apart, text reads mantenere la distanza di 1m Keep phzsical distance of at least 1 meter (6 feet), Venice, Italy

Graduates, graduates everywhere and not a mathematician to be had when you need one!

Bald man wearing white mask with pattern of red lips on its, sitting on boat, old buildings and church in background, Venice, Italy

And so we were able to explore this glorious city at a most relaxed pace. My favourite way of getting around was by vaporetto of course. Even Her Ladyship didn’t complain – much – about all the boating around. Masks were compulsory almost everywhere and we even had to wear them on the open deck of the vaporettos, with the wind whipping through our respective hair, stubble and feathers. Of course Venice is famous for its masks, so it was no surprise to see them wherever we went – in all shapes, sizes and designs. I even saw some made of pizza dough!

window of pizzeria with seven pizza dough circles, each cut into a different face, Venice, Italy — Edible masks!

I could have spent the entire week on the water, but the Oldies were not going to miss out on this once in a lifetime chance to see some of the famous sights, the Doge’s Palace being their first port of call. I braced myself for a long drawn out, exhausting tour but it couldn’t have gone at a more relaxed pace. We only had to queue briefly for tickets. I saw notices posted up everywhere stating the maximum number of visitors allowed in each room at a time, but they were quite unnecessary. We often had the entire rooms to ourselves.

Woman with blonde hair in ponytails standing at opening in building, looking out, holding onto wrought iron bars in flower like pattern, Venice, Italy

There were so few visitors we were even able to linger on the Bridge of Sighs for as long as we liked. I was fascinated by the story behind the name. Legend has it that prisoners crossing this bridge got their last glimpse of Venice before being locked up in the cells below. I’d definitely be sighing if that was my last sight of Venice!

Carving of face on wall, inscription below, de nontie secrete contro chioccvltera gratie et offical o collvder per nascon der la vera rendite d essi, Doge's Palace, Venice, Italy

I was horrified by the so-called ‘lion’s mouth’ letter boxes which were used to post anonymous letters denouncing others for supposed wrongdoings. How nasty is that? What a pity those stone faces couldn’t bite the hands of the tattletales that fed them!

All those massive paintings depicting wars, coronations and all that sort of ancient historical stuff were totally over my head, but I have to say that the artists were quite good. You know, chaps like Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. The subject matter doesn’t do much for me, but I have to say they were very skilled at capturing human facial expressions.

detail of old painting showing woman in long blue dress with white apron, large puffy sleeves and black veil, talking to young boy on his knees wearing blue tunic and cream trousers, Doge's Palace, Venice Italy

I loved this mother giving her little boy a talking to, for example. Some things never change.

painting showing two men wearing long curly white wigs and long red cloaks, one on left holding book, one on right holding rectangular item with picture of angel on front, Doge's Palace, Venice, Italy

After all those bigwigs in the Doge’s Palace, I found a bit of light relief in the Museo Correr/Marciana National Library. Whilst the Oldies were gazing at the admittedly beautiful maps and books, my gaze fell on a mummified cat and rat which was almost a carbon copy of the pair I’d seen in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. What is it with those cats? How careless can you be? Imagine meeting your end just when you’ve caught yourself a nice big tasty treat!