La Serenissima ~ a story of love INTRODUCTION Oh Venice! Venice! when thy marble walls Are level with the waters . . . What should thy sons do? – anything but weep; And yet they only murmur in their sleep. Lord Byron. Being drawn to Venice is nothing new. My own love and interest sparked as a teenager, which was more of a wonder and awe at its ability to still be standing in the sea, presenting us with such history and stories to colour its past – its frailty always a real concern to the majority who work, live and play, or to those who become aware of her as I had. Yet she harbours a great strength, whether it’s in the Venetians themselves, the genius of its architecture and construction or its collection of great works of art. To me it’s more than all of this. She has a spirit, a resilience. It seems she sits well in the sea and the sea accepts her like an old friend – occasionally letting her wrath be known at her door but otherwise a close acquaintance nonetheless. I feel that Venice does belong to everyone. She is a treasure that must be shared. We need to see her, and of course there must be tourists who visit her. She entices crowds from all around the world enabling us get to know her better. This brings our shining star many problems within the natural balance of the Island: she is under constant strain to maintain a harmony and equilibrium that works alongside the ever increasing tourist industry. She has turned into an attraction of mammoth proportions and needs to be brought back into a real living, breathing, working island once again. The ideal solution (to close her down to tourism for half the year) would be beneficial for her to rest, so that buildings that need to be repaired and renovated could be worked on with funds provided by the government, charitable trusts and other organisations. Of course this could happen in an ideal world if funds were readily available and the island could have a preservation order slapped on it for six months of the year. These buildings could be offered to Venetians at a greatly reduced price to encourage local people to renovate and rejuvenate the city rather than waiting on wealthy buyers or funding to save them from dereliction. Having accrued considerable knowledge and history within their families themselves, they have a lot to offer and should be encouraged to stay in their city before the community is broken down and lost for good. Reduced cost to housing would possibly increase work on the Island, opening the doors for traditional work and new greener concepts. By scrapping some of the souvenir tat from the streets to begin with, replacing them with authentic Venetian wares, would be a great start. Whether it’s fresh fish, home-grown foods, jewellery, lace and typical arts and crafts, at least the island can keep its integrity when visitors flock and would like to take home something real from Venice rather than something from a funfair. The next generation of Venetians is paramount to its very existence and could be on borrowed time to establish an economy for the future, I hope that we can encourage them to stay and offer them help at any cost. Its famous Carnevale and annual events that once had depth and meaning are now open to ridicule and seem to have lost their way in the race to keep the island afloat. To many, she is in peril not just because of the yearly floods (the new flood barriers could bring a massive relief to the islands if they pay off in 2014), but because we are losing her soul. Venice is special and needs to be protected: she has a great story to tell us all and we should let her. We shouldn’t smother her in a make believe world. ‘La Serenissima’ is magical. I love her because she was man-made in such a practical way by the earliest of artisans. The whole place is full of creation and she encourages you to be creative. Like a great ship, she still stands in the midst of the possibly permanent decay that is setting in all around her. Don’t let her become an old sea wreck that juts from the lagoon. Invest in her and watch her rejuvenate – not to a former glory, but one that helps to tell her days so far. Clean her up, mend her and let those who know her stay so their ancestors can still speak to them, knowing their struggles were not in vain. I wanted to write a story about her, and this is what came to me. I hope you see her in the same light as I do. Her illumination, her majesty and humble beauty rise from the sea, and she will move you. This simple rare gem of an Island speaks volumes to each visitor. She asked me to make her aware to you too, before it is too late. To me, my story had to be a passionate love story full of struggles with those who tried to stop a pure love. It had to have a supernatural overtone because of her indomitable spirit, reflecting how mysterious and intuitive she really is. This is my story, the best I could come up with and I only hope that you will fall in love with her as I have. Above all else, get to know her – cherish her! Tracy-ann Martin.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 17:47:42 +0000
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