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| Paolo Ganz (center) with Marco Centasso on bass Photo: Elena Cadamuro |
(Venice, Italy) A touch of Greenwich Village wafted through Venice on Thursday evening, February 28th, when Paolo Ganz lit up Salisada San Giovanni Crisostomo with his words, accompanied by Marco Centasso on bass. The evening was called, "Serenissima Hotel," or "The Most Serene Hotel," amusingly inspired by Venice's former title, "La Serenissima Republica," or "The Most Serene Republic." In the little square outside the Marco Polo bookshop, the author read tales filled with Venetian passion and longing about young love consummated in the shadows of the streets, and boys who want to cross the bridge and become somebody -- stories that captured the heart of growing up in Venice.
Claudio, the owner of Libreria Marco Polo, set out two jugs of wine and some nibbles, and we were told to help ourselves. Libreria Marco Polo is an independent bookshop with a large selection of English-language books. The little square is located right outside the Malibran Theater, and is a thorough-way for local foot traffic passing from Castello to Rialto, so in addition to the invited guests, people out to walk the dog or hurrying home to prepare dinner were treated to a refreshing break in their daily routine. That's why it reminded me of the Greenwich Village years ago -- it was like an old-fashioned community event where you would drop by a little club on Bleecker Street or West 4th to see your friends perform back in the days when the Village was filled with artists, poets, writers, musicians and actors.
Unlike many authors, Ganz is also a performer, and he put on a good show with humor and wit. He commented that his publisher said the title of his next book,
Perché a nessuno piace il mio caffè or Why Doesn't Anyone Like My Coffee was too long, but I disagree. He finished by blowing some wicked blues on the harmonica, a perfect finale. I always say you can tell a lot about a man by the way he blows the harp, and Paolo Ganz is a cool guy.
It was a special evening, aptly titled -- in that moment, Venice truly felt like La Serenissima once again.
"[Venice] is, in our day, the only home of justice, peace, and liberty,
the only refuge for the good, and the only harbor for those who seek to
lead a quiet life after being beaten about by war and tyranny.
A city rich in gold, but richer in fame; powerful in arms, but more powerful
in virtue; built on solid foundations of marble, but also upon the still more
solid base of civil concord; girdled by the waters of the sea, and better
still by the counsels of the wise."
--Petrarch writing to Pietro da Bologna, 1364
“Nowadays,
the very noble city of the Venetians is the only home of liberty, peace
and justice, the only refuge of the good people, the only harbour where
the ships of those willing to live well and safely arrive”, wrote
Petrarch in a letter dated 1364 - See more at: http://www.deanstalk.net/deanstalk/ie_business_school/page/3/#sthash.jrPpQ2lN.dpuf
“Nowadays,
the very noble city of the Venetians is the only home of liberty, peace
and justice, the only refuge of the good people, the only harbour where
the ships of those willing to live well and safely arrive”, wrote
Petrarch in a letter dated 1364 - See more at: http://www.deanstalk.net/deanstalk/ie_business_school/page/3/#sthash.jrPpQ2lN.dpuf
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
A touch of Greenwich Village wafted through Venice on Thursday evening, February 28th, when Paolo Ganz lit up Salisada San Giovanni Crisostomo with his words, accompanied by Marco Centasso on bass.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cat!
ReplyDeleteI like it!
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