Venice Underwater

Grand Venice

There is no doubt about it.  Venice is a unique and wonderful place.  The mere idea of it seems unbelievable - an ancient city, floating on water.  No roads, only boats.  Historical buildings, treasures, incredible beauty and character. The history of it is fascinating.  It started as a Roman city, because it came into existence as residents from nearby Roman towns fled from Hun invaders and escaped to the swamp lands.  The exact year is unknown.  However, the first church is said to have been dedicated in 421AD.  And so, out of the swamps, this remarkable city began.

More immigrants entered in the 568, and from the 9th to the 12th century Venice developed into a city state.  It also became the wealthiest city in the world for a considerable time.  This was solely because Venice controlled all trade routes coming through Europe, the Middle East and Asia.  The incredible architecture and interiors of the churches, piazzas and palaces all reflect an enormously wealthy city.  That was until Christopher Columbus brought the Americas into the equation, and the Portuguese navigated a new trade route around the Cape of Good Hope - remember Magellan from school history class - the one with scurvy who ate rats and leather when supplies ran out?   Following this, Venice's influence began to wane, and it's wealth began to fade.  Although it remained an exporter of agricultural products, it was no longer the wealthy centre of world trade.

The four images above were taken at 6am before tourists (by Chalky - as if I'd get up then)

Mock funeral 2009

And this is how Venice appears today - a once rich and vibrant city frozen in the past.   Wandering through the streets alongside canals, walking over bridges, and boating along it's grand canal and waterways, you feel as though you are in one huge museum.   There are certainly the tourists to prove it's attractiveness to the gawker in all of us.  Twenty million people spill into Venice each year.  The streets are jammed packed with tour groups and visitors from every nation of the world.  Absolutely jammed packed.  And it wasn't even high season when we were there.  In fact, there are so many tourists, and Venice is so attractive to foreign investors, that very few Venetians live in Venice anymore.  Most of the population has moved to the mainland.  Residents held a mock funeral for the death of their city in 2009, when the population numbers declined to under 60 000.  Shops essential for day to day living have long since been replaced with stalls selling Venetian masks, coloured glass trinkets and Pinocchio marionettes.   Despite the media attention Venice's "funeral" attracted, nothing was done.  The tourists keep on flowing, and the residents are pushed further and further out, as yet another historical home becomes a B&B.

Another bunch of suckers shell out 100 euros for a gondola ride

Don't do it, please don't do it!

Venice is frequently referred to as the World's most beautiful city, and also the most romantic city.  It is both of these things.   Even when you are shoved out of position by Russians wearing carnival masks while you're trying to gaze out over the Rialto Bridge you still get misty in the eyes.  Even when your daughter is sticking a chewed up piece of sausage in your hair whinging "I don't like it" while you're trying to admire an incredible facade, Venice affects you.  It is so incredibly photogenic, so special that you want to capture it in your mind's eye forever.  Which explains all the visitors.  There is so much to see there, so many things of beauty, art and culture to gaze upon, so that it's impossible to get round all the wonderful places in a mere three days.  And if you just want to wander the streets, that is sometimes more enjoyable.

Walk you little terrorists, walk

Oldest teahouse in the world - nearly 300 years of operation

Venice back streets

We gave it a good try though.  And I thought we were extremely optimistic dragging a couple of three year olds around palaces and museums.  Surprisingly, they were amazingly well behaved.  It also helped that I finally discovered the secret weapon, beloved by parents for generations, who are skilled in the art of child control.  Santa Claus.  I now completely understand why parents made up the big fat gift giver, and even more so why they keep it running for as long as they can.  I remember when Angie Boden dealt the crushing blow to my parents by filling me in on the Santa Claus thing.  My Mum even denied it, so desperate was she to keep some sort of control over me.  It was no use.  The death knell had been sounded.  The jig was up.  I clearly remember my fury.  Not that Santa wasn't real, but that I'd been good for so long for absolutely no reason at all.  By god I was pissed off at my parents.  These days of course it all makes sense.  Just one threat to call the "Christmas Father" and tantrums and tears are transformed to sweetness and smiles.  It's addictive.  Apparently these days I have the big fella on speed dial, but I suspect I may have gone too far.  Every time I picked up my phone they start screaming "Noooooo Mummy Nooooooooo, I'll be good I promise".  It's a little embarrassing.  I started singing them "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" the other day.  That song is evil.  It was obviously written by a parent who was completely over the little prick they brought into the world.  How about the bit that goes "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake" - that's pretty creepy stuff really.

Looks cute?  She's just shoved her sister out of the frame - see the stink eye?

Cordi - making the most of centre stage

Anyway, armed with Santa on speed dial, and a handful of mini mints from the hotel bowl at concierge, we were able to do grown up activities, instead of spending three days buying Pinocchio puppets, re-tying on masks, eating gelati and sitting in tourist pizza restaurants like many other poor suckers we spotted.  What was even grander, was that it was my sweatheart's birthday on our last night in Venice.  A babysitter was booked, the colouring books were removed from my handbag and the parents were released from their shackles.  Oh my god, it was great.  Dinner was so relaxing.  We didn't have to worry about keeping water glasses way back from the edge.  No fellow diners gave us the side eye of hatred.  We were free, free, freeeeeeeeeeee!  Following our charming meal at a little restaurant chosen by moi, we walked around the corner and down the canal to our second surprise - the Venice Jazz Club.  Chalky loves jazz.  It was exceptional.  However, I couldn't help reflecting and commenting to Chalks, that while we were sitting with a bunch of old people, sipping on amarettos, wearing woollen jackets, and listening to music from 1950; a large chunk of our friends and relations were at the north Queensland eclipse festival in their undies going mental, off their heads, and acting all young and shit.  How times change.  Oh, and what total nerds we are.

Romance of the Nerds

From our hotel room - meant to be a street down there

As we walked home through the streets we couldn't help but notice that many of the streets had been replaced by raised wooden platforms.  "It's the aqua alta (king tide) Senora", the hotel manager informed me on later questioning.  "This happens in Venice during the winter form time to time, Senora, but don't worry, it will be back to normal by 11am, in time for your departure tomorrow".  We awoke to wind, rain and a king tide like no other.  Venice was even more underwater than normal.  The water levels had climbed to their highest point in over 20 years.  The entire lobby of our hotel was underwater, and outside people were wading through the streets with garbage bags tied all the way up their legs.  Shops were flooded.  The boats couldn't pick anybody up, as they weren't able to fit under the bridges due to the extremely high water levels.  It was fucking chaos.  The rising waters did not stop the flow of the tourists though, who were still trying to sight-see their way around the now underwater city.  They were compressed onto tiny raised platforms around the edge of the piazzas, pushing and shoving each other, and terrified that they were going to fall in the water.

This platform washed away not long after Chalks took this one

Pissed or mental?

I could not believe the people who had stripped off and decided to take a dip.  For one, it was freezing cold.  And secondly, the water was filthy and it stunk.  There is no chance I would let a drop of that seedy liquid near any one of my orifices.  Yuk.  The trouble was however, the waters weren't receding.  We wanted to leave.  It was no place to be hanging out with a couple of shorties.  But the boats still couldn't get in.  We were stuck for the time being.  The hotel's ground floor restaurant was also flooded.   Unfortunately we had optimistically checked out - I was hungover and could have done with an extra nap.  So the girls and I were stuck on the first floor peering over the balcony into the lobby while Chalks went out to see if there was another option.  There wasn't.  There were also a lot of hotel guests trying to get out of Venice like us.  Everyone was sloshing around the lobby, the staff were trying in vain to sweep out some of the festy water.  Again, fucking chaos.

The hotel had never flooded like that before - they were caught unawares.  We managed however, to get a lucky break.  A boat made it up to the hotel door, we were there, the doormen grabbed our bags, we carried the kids, managed to get all our stuff into the water taxi, and we were off. Our boat went under the bridge - the driver crouched right down and we made it under there with a centimetre to spare.  Out of there.  I think we were extremely lucky.  Apparently 70% of the city still remains under water.  It's a strange concept - the flood of a flood.  Because that's basically what Venice is normally- a flood.  Lots of the water that flooded the city on Sunday morning comes up through the drains and pipes.  No wonder it stunk.  People are now stuck there, and still the bad weather continues. I think tomorrow will be worse.  Poor poor Venice.  Floating in the refuge of a bunch of filthy tourists.  It is heartbreaking.

Taken by us the day before

Same place same photographer post flooding

It got worse

As we arrived back at our car parked in a multi-level carpark on the outskirts of the city I had a few tears.  As much as I was fascinated by the history and beauty of Venice, I couldn't shake that uncomfortable realisation that I was also further contributing to the rape and eventual demise of such a wonderful place.  With the residents all but gone, and those left who are catering solely to the needs of the tourists, what is to become of Venice?  It will remain beautiful that's for sure.  But a city without it's people loses it's flavour, it's culture, it's vibrancy and it's soul.  All it will be is a beautiful relic.  No longer functioning and alive, but forever an historical artifact to be gawked over by the hoards that flock there.  Will it be allowed to continue?  Will Venice finally meet it's demise at the hands of millions of oblivious murderers with cameras round their necks?

Murders! Filthy murderers!

As we drove away, leaving the flooded city behind, we talked about how strange it felt to be driving again,  and back in the "real world".  Going to Venice really is like a break from reality.  It's so quiet for a start.  There are no cars, no regular shops - like supermarkets, and not much nightlife once the tourists hit the sack.  It's an unreal world.  And despite the floods, and the uncertainty, and the tourist trashers, it is still a magical treasure.  Of course it will recover from this latest setback, but as to how things develop in the long term who knows.   I hope the city planners and officials have the interests of the city and it's original residents at heart, so that the Venice doesn't lose it's own heart, forever. It would be such a waste, and even more of a terrible tragedy.

Canaletto's “Venice, a View of the Churches of Redentore and San Giacomo”