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| Something important is missing from this photo taken this morning: at least, from Richard Wagner's point of view |
They say that the famous metal nose of the stone figure embedded into the corner of one of the buildings on Campo dei Mori in Cannaregio--the figure known as "Sior Antonio Rioba"--was first attached in the 19th Century, so it's entirely possible that Richard Wagner might have seen it during one of his sojourns in the city. Considering the recent act of vandalism in Castello's
giardini pubblici that has deprived Wagner's statue of its own nose, I hope the famous composer never made too merry at the expense of Rioba's unfortunate appendage, as his own statue is now in need of one itself.
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| Wagner, left, attempts to brazen it out without a nose; Rioba, right, long ago succumbed to a brass one |
When I first noticed that Wagner's nose was missing, I wondered if someone might have been trying to make a statement about the composer's anti-Semitism and reactionary politics. But, in fact, as I later noticed, the nose of Giuseppe Verdi was also partly hacked off by the same vandal or group of vandals.
Sandro, whose regular observation of the insane way underage Venetians tear around the lagoon in their boats--as well as the way they break playground equipment meant for young kids--has led him to a general disapproval of their age group, immediately attributed the act to "
teenagers" (scornful emphasis his). Perhaps he's right.
In any case, given the budget shortages the city already faces--there are public schools here in which parents are responsible for supplying the school's toilet paper--who knows how long the statues will be noseless? Though their visible location in a park, near a major tourist draw (The Biennale), will likely speed up their repair.
