The Hindu Business Line : When romance overflows

It was heartbreaking to watch on December 1 images of that beautiful and romantic Italian city, Venice, being ravaged by floods once again. But the painful fact is that the city with its famous St Mark’s Square and the adjoining breathtaking Basilica is completely encircled by the Venetian lagoon. This is Italy’s largest natural lagoon, with shallow brackish water, which floods Venice whenever the tidal flow of the Adriatic Sea pushes extra water into the lagoon.

Consider this frightening fact: Venice suffers flooding in some form or the other for a whopping 200 days in a year!

As we watched images of St Mark’s Square and other Venice streets being engulfed in water — this was Venice’s biggest flood in over 20 years and the water level had risen 5 ft above normal — and tourists and locals walking in green and yellow plastic “boots”, it was difficult to believe that this was the same gorgeous city we visited barely three weeks earlier. And all that we had experienced were some wet patches under our feet caused by the early morning tide!

It was on a rather cold November morning that we boarded the train from Rome to Venice for a scenic and comfortable five-hour ride. Venice’s only railway station — Venezia Santa Lucia — is a modern structure when you compare it to the historic buildings that you find all over Venice, or for that matter elsewhere in Italy.

Underground treasure

In Rome, as our Italian friend Franco Oliva told us, when they were excavating earth to put up a third Metro line they stumbled upon some historic artefacts underground and so the work has been halted. “In Rome we say that if you keep digging, you’ll find at least seven different layers of civilisation under the ground.”

Watching us gasp and gape, as he took us around stunning churches and breathtaking basilicas tucked away in the most unpretentious corners of Roman streets — after all, he had begun his career as a guide in Rome — this former journalist said: “In Rome, we say there is a church for every day of the year.”

Well, we would have to wait for a while and more visits to discover all of them.

But getting back to Venice, with dreams of its narrow canals and romantic gondolas in our hearts, we alighted at the Venice station, and asked a kind soul for directions. All we had was the name of the Hotel — Apogia Sirio — and its address. “But your hotel is in Mestre, you should have alighted at the earlier station,” said the man in impeccable English.

The law of odds had certainly favoured us and we had chanced upon somebody who spoke good English. Or else the trip to Mestre would have cost us heavily. He asked us to buy a €1 ticket and take the train back to Mestre from the adjoining station, and then take a cab to our hotel.

Lesson No. 1

When travelling by Euro Rail, always ask your travel agent for the nearest station to your hotel. And in bigger cities like Rome, insist on booking a hotel close to a Metro station. Rome’s Underground, just as in London and many other larger European cities/capitals, is extremely convenient, comfortable, fast and cheap. What more can a tourist ask for?

Anyway, we spent the first evening at one of the quaint squares of Mestre, where one tucked into delicious crepes stuffed with a generous dose of Nutella — the handsome Italian making it asked me if I wanted powdered sugar sprinkled on top — and delicious gelato! One is not too sure if one savoured that delicacy or enjoyed more the finesse and flourish with which he made, and more importantly, packaged and presented the chocolate crepe. But then whatever the Italians do — from dressing up their showroom windows to dressing themselves up — it is style and elegance personified.

The next day was reserved entirely for Piazza San Marco or St Mark’s Square, the adjoining St Mark’s Basilica and a boat-ride in the canal. This Piazza is the heart of Venice and what catches your eye first, apart from the waters of the lagoon and the imposing buildings at the other end of it, is the striking manner in which this large square is paved. According to Wikipedia, in late 13th century it was paved with bricks laid in a herringbone pattern, with “bands of coloured stone running parallel to the long axis of the main piazza. These lines were probably used in setting up market stalls and in organising frequent ceremonial processions. This original pavement design can be seen in paintings of the late Middle Ages and through the Renaissance”.

But later the designs were changed, and the Square was also elevated to prevent flooding. The December 1 flood reiterated the point our guide Maria was making all the time… because St Mark’s Square is the lowest point in Venice, it is vulnerable to flooding and every design and layout change at this Piazza has been carried out with an eye on the best way to drain out rainwater. The design has always provided for an imperceptible slope towards the centre to drain the water.

But this becomes useless when the waters of the Venetian lagoon rise, thanks to a combination of factors such as high tide in the Adriatic Sea, strong winds and heavy rains. And hence you have what locals dread… aqua alta… flooding caused by high tide. Venice is particularly susceptible to flooding for a few months from November. However, work is on to construct an underground dam to take care of the floodwaters and this should be completed by 2011.

Sigh!

The main attraction of this Piazza is of course the magnificent and opulent St Mark’s Basilica, the biggest and most famous church of Venice built in Byzantine style. Originally the Chapel of the Doges (the aristocratic rulers of Venice in mediaeval times), it was built at its present site in 832; since 1807 it has become the seat of the Archbishop of Venice, and over the centuries it was expanded, rebuilt and embellished with all kinds of decorations and additions brought from around the world by Venetian ships. Exquisite carvings on marble, colourful mosaics and decorations in gold, bronze and a plethora of stones make this one of the most imposing architectural delights. But the problem about visiting churches and cathedrals in Italy is that each one seems to be more exquisite and magnificent than the other.

Another attraction at St Mark’s Square is the gothic Doge’s Palace, where you get to hear juicy stories about the whims, fancies and also cruelty of these rulers. Mark Twain had visited Venice and this palace in 1867, and described it in detail in The Innocents Abroad. The palace is linked to the prison by the Bridge of Sighs, so named later by Lord Byron because the prisoners would sigh at their last glimpse of beautiful Venice before being thrown into their cells!

Before leaving for Venice I asked Franco what we should do there, and in his inimitable style he said: “Oh, you don’t have to do anything in Venice. It is the most romantic place in the world. Just hold your husband’s arm and walk around.” We did a lot of that till the feet protested and the evening chill started getting to the bones!

On December 1, it was sad to see the Mayor of Venice telling tourists who were planning to visit this romantic city to “think again”. And this in a city where the major revenue grosser is tourism. But then, watching pictures and youtube videos of people wading through water with knee-high rubber boots and even elegantly dressed mannequins in designer showrooms wearing these boots or garishly coloured plastic shoe-covers, gave one an idea of the extent of the problem and the headache the flooding must have created for the local administration. The situation was complicated by a transport strike on December 1 affecting the city’s vaporetto, or water buses, which transport you to the island of Venice.

But wait a minute; that sounds very familiar. Even on the day we went to St Mark’s Square — November 10 — there was a “public transport strike” by these worthies and we were advised to return to our hotel as early as possible. That brings us to Lesson No 2 in Italy.

Across the country, you can’t just hop onto a bus and ask the driver for a ticket. He’ll frown, shrug his shoulders and mutter something that you can’t understand anyway. You can buy these tickets costing €1 per ride at your hotel or cigarette shops or Metro stations in Rome. And these are called ‘trainbus’ tickets, which means that you can take a ride on the Rome Metro, and then continue on a bus if the journey is within 70 minutes. We too became wiser after our first ticketless bus ride in Venice when we sent up a prayer that no ticket-checker should board the vehicle. Later, when he did, on a bus in Florence, a prayer of thanks was sent up once again! Or else we would have had to shell out a hefty fine of €160 per passenger! Not very romantic!

Response may be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in

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