Ca' D'Oro: Then and Now (A Renewed Emphasis on Masks)

Days of wine and poses: Biennale party at Ca' D'Oro, May 7, 2019

With Covid-19 infections starting to rise, the Italian government has issued a nation-wide mask mandate, saying they must be worn whenever a person is out and about. Here in Venice, after turning something of a blind eye to violations of social distancing regulations for the city's nightlife during the summer, authorities have declared their enforcement will once again become a priority.

I've observed none of the cynically-politicized backlash against the requirement that one must wear a mask when entering a store here in Venice--which has been in effect without interruption since late last February--that I've read and heard about in my native country of America. Aping the demagogic and fatal buffoonery of the current occupant of the White House, Italy's own right-wingnuts have, at least in Venice, had little success in whipping up the dimwitted and sociopathic to violent and sometimes deadly demonstrations of their "freedom."

But the less I say about my native land, currently struggling beneath a ruling party which is not only malicious, corrupt and incompetent but also overtly authoritarian, the better. The image at the bottom of this page showing the Coronavirus status in that country as of October 7, 2020 sadly speaks for itself.

Really, no matter where you live, wear a mask when you go out and do practice social distancing.

The scene at Ca' D'Oro on August 26, 2020 is markedly more sober

These signs have been up in every store for months, and are followed.

Meanwhile, my native country--alone among all the developed nations of the world--has ingeniously (and disastrously) avoided falling victim to a second wave of the virus by remaining mired in the first one. A recent order from the once-respected Center for Disease Control that would have required that masks be worn on planes, trains, buses, and in airports was blocked by the White House.