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| San Michele, Venice's Island of the Dead - Photo: Cat Bauer |
(Venice, Italy) A heavy mist engulfed Venice on All Hallows' Eve, adding a mystical element to the Hallowmass season. Enhanced by the light of the full Blue Moon, the air was so thick that it seemed to swirl with the phantoms of the ancestors. Now is the time of their annual journey through the veil that divides the realm of the dead from the world of the living.
San Michele, the cemetery island, is where Venice buries her dead. Each year thousands of Venetians make the pilgrimage to tend the tombs of their families, friends and loved ones. The ancient Christian festival to honor the dead includes All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween on October 31; All Hallows' Day, or All Saints' Day on November 1; and All Souls' Day, or the Day of the Dead on November 2. It is a time to reinforce the spiritual bond with those who have gone before.
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| Dante's Barque by Georgy Frangulyan - Photo: Cat Bauer |
The vaporetto that carries the living to the island of the dead passes by "Dante's Barque," the haunting bronze sculpture that Russian artist Georgy Frangulyan created after he saw a vision of Virgil and Dante standing in a boat on the water of the lagoon. This year, Dante's outstretched arm pointed through the dense calìgo to an otherworldly island blanketed in a white cloud, an island where souls could easily slip from one dimension to another. I wrote about the sculpture last year when a floating bridge connected the Island of San Michele to Fondamenta Nuove, a bridge which has not been constructed in these coronavirus times. Follow the link to read the post:
Honoring Death in Venice - A Bridge Across the Lagoon
Surrounded by cypress trees and birdsong, freshening up the graves of
the ancestors with flowers and candles is like having a conversation
with the wise minds of the past. Venice can seem supernatural even on sunny days, but when the town is immersed in fog the connection to another level of existence feels more powerful. It almost seemed as if the phantoms of the ancestors had managed to visit the Rialto Bridge...
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| A foggy Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge - Photo: Cat Bauer |
"What thou lovest well remains,
the rest is dross
What thou lov'est well will not be reft from thee
What thou lov'est well is your true heritage."
---Ezra Pound, The Pisan Cantos
Ezra Pound is buried in the Evangelical section of San Michele next to his long-time companion, Olga Rudge.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
A heavy mist engulfed Venice on All Hallows' Eve, adding a mystical element to the Hallowmass season. Enhanced by the light of the full Blue Moon, the air was so thick that it seemed to swirl with the phantoms of the ancestors making their annual journey through the veil that divides the realm of the dead from the world of the living.
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