How is the Banksy Migrant Child Mural holding up after the Venice Flood? (And the Miracle of Church San Giacometto)

Banksy Migrant Child November 16, 2019 Photo by Ed Bulloch for Venetian Cat -Venice Blog

(Venice, Italy) There have been all sorts of reports about the Banksy Migrant Child mural being submerged during the floods in Venice. Last evening, I stopped by to see what condition the mural was in.

Luckily, Ed Bulloch and his wife and daughter, visitors from the United States, were already there, and Ed had a good camera. I asked him to take some photos for me, and he generously obliged -- thank you, Ed. The family had sought out the mural because the daughter was an art lover, and had tracked it down using Google maps(!), which gave them the general vicinity. But they had found the actual location on their own. The family had some great navigational skills, especially because it was already dark.

The photo was taken about 5:30pm on November 16, 2019, and the mural looks in pretty good shape. We wondered what Banksy had used to preserve it so well. I told them that the Fondaco dei Tesdesci at the foot of the Rialto Bridge had once been decorated with frescoes by Titian and Giorgione. Now a DFS luxury shopping center, it was inaugurated on August 1, 1508 as the headquarters for German merchants. Whipped by the sirocco winds -- the same winds that whipped Venice on Tuesday -- the frescoes only lasted a few decades. Let's hope that the Banksy mural -- and Venice itself -- lasts longer than that.

Here is the original Bansky mural from Banksy's site:

BANSKY.CO.UK

It seems that now there are more exposed bricks beneath the child's knees, but I don't know if that had happened prior to the flood. There is a photo on Alamy taken on September 11, 2019, and it looks like the bricks were already exposed at that time. I can't put that image in this post without paying for it, so click over to Alamy if you would like to see for yourselves.

I originally wrote about the Banksy mural on May 25, 2019, which you can read here:

Banksy Crashes Venice and Improves the Neighborhood

Flooded Acqua Alta Bookstore, Venice - Photo: Emiliano Crespi/ANSA ABC News

As most of the world knows, Venice was hit by its worst flood in 53 years on the night of November 12. In less than one week, there have been three exceptional high tides above 140 cm; on Tuesday the tide peaked at 187 cm (6.14 ft), just under the record of 194 cm (6.36 ft) set in the disaster of 1966. It has been an extreme roller coaster ride, with emotions rising and falling in rhythm with the extreme tides of the lagoon. I have gone from rage to tears, to hope and laughter, and then to confusion and questions, and am now waiting for the dust... er... water to settle.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

Many people have asked me what they can do to help. There are lots fund raisers on social media in which you can participate, some more legitimate than others. As usual, there are so-called "experts" who have never lived in Venice -- or even Italy -- trying to grab control of the narrative. I understand that people all over the world want to do something to help. What I would suggest is that unless you are confident about your contribution, just stay Zen and let everyone recover, and then make an informed decision.

Because I am an author, I that feel books, documents and written information are more precious than gold. Reading and culture are necessary for civilized societies to come together and understand each other. So much of our knowledge today is possible because wise thinkers from the past made deliberate efforts to safeguard books and manuscripts.

The fund raiser I will support will go to help restore the book stores and libraries in Venice. It is still being organized because it wants to be completely transparent and accountable -- something that has been difficult to do with all the confusion. People have been spending most of their efforts cleaning up one flood after another, let alone have time to access the damages. So if you are interested in supporting the written word, stay tuned, and I will keep you updated.

Closed Due to Disaster (Thank you, MOSE) Photo: Cat Bauer

On Thursday afternoon, between the Extreme High Tides, I went around town to see how everyone was doing. The water had been very democratic, invading everyone, so there was a feeling of comradery as people cleaned up, along with a sense of fury at MOSES, the flood barrier that has been wracked by corruption and still does not function after 16 years and billions of euro. I suggest you read Why Venice is disappearing by Jeff Goodell in the Rolling Stone to get a better understanding.

"But the tragedy of Venice is about more than climate change and the power of rising seas. It’s about how bad engineering, combined with greed and incompetence, can make the climate crisis we are facing so much worse."

High & Dry - Church of San Giacometto interior during Nov. 2019 floods - Photo: Cat Bauer

I ended my journey at Rialto, and went into the Church of San Giacometto to say a prayer. San Giacometto is the oldest church in Venice, and it is my favorite, along with the Basilica of San Marco. Tradition says that San Giacometto -- which is a nickname; its official name is San Giacomo di Rialto -- was originally consecrated in 421 A.D., the year Venice was born, right at the very spot where Venice was born at noon on March 25.

I was astonished to find the interior perfectly dry and undamaged! It was really like a miracle. At first I thought my senses were deceiving me. I wondered, how could that be?

It just so happened that the Giuseppe Mazzariol, the President of the Acriconfraternita di S. Cristoforo e della Misiericordia was there to answer my questions. He said that under Doge Marino Grimani, the Venetians had raised the floor in 1601 to counter the acqua alta, which is why it was cozy and dry centuries later.

Just think -- 400 years ago the ancient Venetians were wise enough to prevent one of the worst floods in the history of Venice from damaging the precious church far in the future!!! That is some pretty foreword thinking. If only the current leaders of Venice and Italy had the same wisdom...

So there is something you can do -- if you are in Venice, stop in the Church of San Giacometto and say a prayer. It might be the only hope we have.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog