8-1-12 THREE DAYS FROM VENEZIA
Posted by Vincente E. Woodward on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
It is 6:30 a.m.
I have been working since 4:30 a.m.
Time is running out quickly.
I have to catch a flight on Saturday morning to Venezia.
That is Venice, for you provincial types.
Will stay several days at the world famous
Danielli Hotel.
Venezia is the town of Vivaldi.
The guy who makes me snap way
more hairs on my violin bow than
all of the rest of the composers put together.
Got to see a live performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and other Italian period pieces in a Palazzo in this town last time I was here.
Will never forget it.
They had dancers in period costumes dancing up and down the aisles right next to you.
I mean like you had better get out of the way or they will fall over you.
It was nuts!
And unforgettable.
But the thing which I definitely remember the most
was the fiery woman violinist.
She was playing the lead parts in Four Seasons
with a level of ferocity and virtuosity that only an Italiano Gypsy blooded person could possibly have.
"So that is how it is supposed to sound"
I will never forget muttering to myself.
She would make the little red haired priest (Vivaldi) proud.
The cathedral which he played in is several doors down from
the Danielli, with St. Marks square a few doors down in the other direction.
I got badly lost in Venice late one night.
I got an interesting lesson in navigation,
not to mention the night life in the city.
I was using my compass to try to get a north/south or east/west trajectory to find the water.
Well, it seems that Venezia tilts just enough that you don't get to the water by using the cardinal compass points, but must go between them.
It took about an hour of walking in back alleys in the middle of the night to finally figure out what was going on.
Why no water?
When you know you are surrounded by it.
St. Mark's Cathedral is like nowhere you are likely to have ever been.
When you go inside you find that the space is broken up into a series of sacred enclosures, each with monks singing ancient chant, and clanging on things and burning incense, and praying out loud, etc.
It was so moving that none of us wanted to go back outside, once inside.
Next to it is the Doge's Palace.
It turns out that this is very important, as it, NOT THE GOOD OL USA, is the birthplace of the democratic republic.
I was shown a marvelous hall inside the palace where all of the powerful Merchants of Venezia will get together to hold council.
The Doge acted similarly to our President, or as any other executive, except that he was also a religious and hereditary figure.
It was in the chambers of his palace that the merchants hammered out a form of Republican government that actually worked for centuries.
Thus Venezia, Genoa, and Firenze, several of the so-called Italian Republics were in existence for centuries prior to the founding of the USA, and were used as models by the founders of this country.
It is a beautiful walking town.
And the terrace cafe at the Danielli definitely makes the sky high price well worth it.
I can tell you first hand.
The view of the canals from that particular location are about as good as anywhere within the city.
From there I leave by ship off into the ancient world of our Greco/Roman ancestors.
The point of all of this brief dissertation is that I have to finish packing, and getting last minute items, etc.
So that everything will become more hectic by the minute during the next 72 hours.
Will hope for the best.
w/love to all
vw
8-1-12
6:57 a.m.
Ventura, California, USA
I have been working since 4:30 a.m.
Time is running out quickly.
I have to catch a flight on Saturday morning to Venezia.
That is Venice, for you provincial types.
Will stay several days at the world famous
Danielli Hotel.
Venezia is the town of Vivaldi.
The guy who makes me snap way
more hairs on my violin bow than
all of the rest of the composers put together.
Got to see a live performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons and other Italian period pieces in a Palazzo in this town last time I was here.
Will never forget it.
They had dancers in period costumes dancing up and down the aisles right next to you.
I mean like you had better get out of the way or they will fall over you.
It was nuts!
And unforgettable.
But the thing which I definitely remember the most
was the fiery woman violinist.
She was playing the lead parts in Four Seasons
with a level of ferocity and virtuosity that only an Italiano Gypsy blooded person could possibly have.
"So that is how it is supposed to sound"
I will never forget muttering to myself.
She would make the little red haired priest (Vivaldi) proud.
The cathedral which he played in is several doors down from
the Danielli, with St. Marks square a few doors down in the other direction.
I got badly lost in Venice late one night.
I got an interesting lesson in navigation,
not to mention the night life in the city.
I was using my compass to try to get a north/south or east/west trajectory to find the water.
Well, it seems that Venezia tilts just enough that you don't get to the water by using the cardinal compass points, but must go between them.
It took about an hour of walking in back alleys in the middle of the night to finally figure out what was going on.
Why no water?
When you know you are surrounded by it.
St. Mark's Cathedral is like nowhere you are likely to have ever been.
When you go inside you find that the space is broken up into a series of sacred enclosures, each with monks singing ancient chant, and clanging on things and burning incense, and praying out loud, etc.
It was so moving that none of us wanted to go back outside, once inside.
Next to it is the Doge's Palace.
It turns out that this is very important, as it, NOT THE GOOD OL USA, is the birthplace of the democratic republic.
I was shown a marvelous hall inside the palace where all of the powerful Merchants of Venezia will get together to hold council.
The Doge acted similarly to our President, or as any other executive, except that he was also a religious and hereditary figure.
It was in the chambers of his palace that the merchants hammered out a form of Republican government that actually worked for centuries.
Thus Venezia, Genoa, and Firenze, several of the so-called Italian Republics were in existence for centuries prior to the founding of the USA, and were used as models by the founders of this country.
It is a beautiful walking town.
And the terrace cafe at the Danielli definitely makes the sky high price well worth it.
I can tell you first hand.
The view of the canals from that particular location are about as good as anywhere within the city.
From there I leave by ship off into the ancient world of our Greco/Roman ancestors.
The point of all of this brief dissertation is that I have to finish packing, and getting last minute items, etc.
So that everything will become more hectic by the minute during the next 72 hours.
Will hope for the best.
w/love to all
vw
8-1-12
6:57 a.m.
Ventura, California, USA
