Sunday, April 30, 2023

All Quiet on the Grand Canal

It was remarkable to see the Grand Canal so still on a Friday night in May at 8:15 pm, but this was taken during the Covid lock down, when even those most weary of tourists would have preferred them--and in huge numbers--to the virus. One source of hope during this very bad time was that it might inspire a new commitment to diversifying the city's tourism monoculture: even Venice's then and current non-resident mayor mouthed such sentiments. But he has turned out to be as committed to such aims as he was to the promise he made during his first campaign to increase the resident population--which is to say, not at all. Napoleon threatened that he would be Venice's Attila, but two centuries later Luigi Brugnaro has actually proven to be just that. (8 May 2020)

 

Thursday, April 27, 2023

The View Over the Basin of the Arsenale

27 April 2014: If you look closely at the upper left corner of the image you'll see that one of the largest objects in the city--larger than the church of Santa Maria della Salute--is a cruise ship

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Via Garibaldi, Compressed

A telephoto lens compresses the length of Via Garibaldi and makes the church of Santa Maria della Salute, though far off in the bacino, appear almost as if it's at the end of the street (19 April 2014) Even larger telephoto lenses are sometimes used in Venice to create the illusion that the Dolomites loom over the historic city.