Ca' Pesaro - Foto di Giovanni Porpora courtesy Comune di Venezia |
None of this is anything new. Way back in 2008, out of frustration with the tourist flow, I wrote a piece called TIPS FOR MOVING AROUND VENICE, a condensed version of which was picked up by the Financial Times and published in their Weekend Magazine. In an article called That Was Then, This is Now: Venice, my words were paired with comments from John Evelyn's Diary, dated 1645:
1645: from John Evelyn, Diary “...add the perfumers & Apothecaries, and the innumerable cages of Nightingals, which they keepe, that entertaines you with their melody from shop to shop, so as shutting your Eyes, you would imagine your selfe in the Country, when indeede you are in the middle of the Sea: besides there being neither rattling of Coaches nor trampling of horses, tis almost as silent as the field.”2008: from “Venetian Cat – Venice Blog” by Cat Bauer “Tips for moving around Venice:1. Stay to the right when walking (even if you are British). Pass slow-moving creatures on the left.2. Do not sit on the bridges, under any circumstances whatsoever. One person sitting on a bridge can cause a traffic jam for miles.3. Before stopping, look both ways, plus, in front and behind ... Do not stop short. Someone could rear-end you.”
Henry James used to stay on the top floor of Pensione Wildner on the Riva degli Schiavone, which was thick with tourists even in the 19th century. Here is what he had to say about Venice back in 1881:
...The barbarians are in full possession and you tremble for what they may do. You are reminded from the moment of your arrival that Venice scarcely exists any more as a city at all; that she exists only as a battered peep-show and bazaar.
There was a horde of savage Germans encamped in the Piazza, and they filled the Ducal Palace and the Academy with their uproar. The English and Americans came a little later. They came in good time, with a great many French, who were discreet enough to make very long repasts at the Caffè Quadri, during which they were out of the way.
The months of April and May of the year 1881 were not, as a general thing, a favourable season for visiting the Ducal Palace and the Academy. ...They infest the Piazza; they pursue you along the Riva; they hang about the bridges and the doors of the cafés....
Photo: Savvy Backpacker |
So, not only have local residents been pushed out of Venice by foreigners buying properties and renting them out to other foreigners, we are also bombarded on social networks by opinionated foreign marketers who link their names to unsuspecting local individuals and organizations, trying to gain legitimacy for their superficial "Venice" brands. As the late Martin Roth said, "You see how art and culture can be controlled for political purposes without you realizing it."
Forbidden Behaviours from the Venice Comune |
On Ferragosto, August 15, I decided to head over to Ca' Pesaro, Venice's International Gallery of Modern Art because I had missed the opening of David Hockney - 82 Portraits and 1 Still-Life exhibition. On my way over, I witnessed with my own eyes five out of six of the Forbidden Behaviors, including a bicyclist zooming down the Zattare. The only forbidden behavior missing that day was that no one happened to be diving off a bridge -- at least, not that I saw.
When I asked a father sitting on a bridge with his three kids to get up because they were blocking foot traffic -- specifically an elderly Venetian man with a cane and his wife who needed to use the handrail -- the father glared and ignored me until I took his photo. It is a €200 fine to sit on a bridge and block the flow of traffic, which, to me, is a rule the Comune should strongly enforce. In about 45 minutes I would have collected €3000!
Larry Gagosian by David Hockney
"I've known Larry for forty years,
since he had a poster shop in Westwood.
Now he's a big art dealer." |
Cat Bauer in the David Hockney chair |
You wander into the end room, where there are six different patterns to choose from for your pose, and two different angles of the chair. You settle down at one of the two tables stocked with colored markers, scissors and glue. It is up to you to color in the figure, which is blank, cut it out, and then glue it in the chair.
Cat Bauer - work in progress |
Cat Bauer Hockney finished product |
Portraits inspired by Hockney |
Later, Brugnaro completely flipped his attitude and supported the painting -- it had a starring role in an exhibition called Around Klimt - Judith, Heroism and Seduction in the Candiani Cultural Center in Mestre on the mainland, with Brugnaro posing next to the painting. I wrote a post about it, which you can read here:
Klimt's Judith II (Salomè) Stars at Centro Culturale Candiani in Mestre (Venice)
After the exhibition ended, Judith returned to her home inside Ca' Pesaro, but in a more prominent location. I found Judith beautifully framed by a prominent doorway on the first floor, making her much easier to find.
Judith II (Salomè) by Gustav Klimt - Photo: Cat Bauer |
So, if you are looking for pleasant tourists in Venice, head over to Ca' Pesaro. Not only will you be surrounded by civilized human beings, you will find many other sights for sore eyes, such as treasures by Chagall, Picasso, Kandinsky, Calder, Klee, Rodin, and many, many more.
The Oriental Art Museum is located, oddly, on the top floor of the palazzo (how it got up there is the subject for another post), and crammed with the priceless collection of Japanese art from the Edo period that Prince Henry, Count of Bardi hauled back to Venice from his travels to Asia from 1887 to 1889. The 30,000 exotic artifacts -- swords, daggers, silk-dresses, rare porcelain, Chinese art, Indonesian shadow puppets and more -- make the Oriental Art Museum another kid-pleaser.
Go to Ca' Pesaro for more information.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
The Oriental Art Museum is located, oddly, on the top floor of the palazzo (how it got up there is the subject for another post), and crammed with the priceless collection of Japanese art from the Edo period that Prince Henry, Count of Bardi hauled back to Venice from his travels to Asia from 1887 to 1889. The 30,000 exotic artifacts -- swords, daggers, silk-dresses, rare porcelain, Chinese art, Indonesian shadow puppets and more -- make the Oriental Art Museum another kid-pleaser.
Go to Ca' Pesaro for more information.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
Venice has been in the international news lately with reports about Tourists-Behaving-Badly: having public sex, jumping into canals, sitting on bridges and blocking the flow of foot traffic, riding bicycles, wearing beach clothing, etc.
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