Gondola serenade
It has been given many names: Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Bridges and the City of Light. Call it what you will, Ray Bugeja found Venice to be an enchanting city offering an unprecedented experience.
Two, three days would be enough. But one can never boast of being a seasoned traveller unless one has been to Venice. Just make sure that before leaving Malta you top up your credit card...
A weekend visit to Venice at the invitation of Air Malta, which has just launched twice weekly direct flights to the city located on the northern tip of the Adriatic, brought back memories to a member of the small group of Maltese "tourists", including four journalists.
The jovial man, who shall remain unnamed, was determined to buy a miniature gondola similar to the one, he vividly recalled, that used to be given free of charge when one bought a TV set from a particular retail outlet in Hamrun in the good old days.
Walking along the main canal after a sumptuous lunch, John M - let's call him that - quickly spotted what he was after. He rushed into the small shop and in no time had forked out the €15 demanded by the shop owner and the gondola was his.
Out he sped, looking for the rest of the group waving the prize frantically. "Look what I got. Just what I wanted and it only cost me €15. Am I not lucky? My wife will love it!"
One of the girls in the group reacted: "Isn't it just like that one over there," she asked John M, indicating a small gondola displayed on a stall closer to the dirty canal. "Only this one costs €9!"
I could notice a tinge of disappointment on John M's face and, having just been given some details about the gondolas that ply the Venetian canals, I decided to lift his spirits. "I still think you did a very good bargain considering that a gondola costs something like E60,000," I told John M. I immediately realised I had put my foot in it; he did not seem too pleased with the comment.
A hospitality specialist accompanying us did his best too to boost John M's morale: "Look at it this way. Really, you can't do anything with a life-size gondola. At least, you can take the small one you bought with you in the bath..."
The moral of the story is simple: Don't rush into purchases when you're in Venice, as anywhere else, for that matter. Always bear in mind that Venice is a city built by merchants for merchants and they did it successfully for a good 11 centuries.
Given the influx of migrants we Maltese face every summer, it is worth noting that the first people to inhabit Venice were refugees from Roman cities in search of safe havens given the successive waves of barbarian invasions. They preferred shelter on islands, arguing that once the barbarians were not seafaring they would be safe there.
Given the muddy waters and silt in the area, the first inhabitants used long, closely-spaced wood piles to build on and to reinforce the structures. Of course, over the years the rising tide and high water caused havoc to this jewel of a city and experts are constantly devising ways to save it.
The enterprising inhabitants of Venice did their utmost to succeed, in every sense, whether commercially, politically, socially and even from a religious point of view.
The region's financial situation was such that even the lower classes were more than able to make ends meet. In other words, there was enough for everybody.
Though complex and cumbersome, with no one structure trusting another, the political system worked. The top man was known as the Doge, from the Latin term dux, meaning chief. Our guide stressed the point that Doge should not be confused with Duce, or duke, even if literature on the history of Venice does make this connection.
The Doge was really a figurehead. In fact, in most of the paintings he is featured kneeling down and next to him stands a queen, representing Venice and its people. In the Doge's place, off Piazza San Marco, I did spot a painting of him standing up, next to a Pope. That's exactly the point, our guide told me. The message was that the Doge would look down on the Pope. Although it generally remained Roman Catholic, Venice had frequent conflicts with the Papacy.
There was one Doge who wanted to have his own voice and say. He did not last long. Behave or behead, was the maxim and, true to form, the man was beheaded for trying to change a system that was working so well.
Once Rome had St Peter, Venice too had to have a high profile saint. So, in the year 828, two Venetian merchants reportedly stole the relics of St Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria and these can now be found in the basilica. Or do they?
A painting records the ploy used to smuggle the relics out of Alexandria. Knowing that Arab Customs officers would be checking their cargo, the two merchants put the evangelist's body at the bottom of a big container made of cane and covered it with pork. There was no way the Muslims would touch the pork and off the merchants went with their holy merchandise.
But, there are two theories which, if proven, would make a mockery of the supposed audacity of the two merchants.
One theory has it that the body of St Mark taken to Venice did not include the head. The other, promoted by a Cambridge-based researcher, is even wilder. He insists that what the two merchants took to Venice were the remains of Alexander the Great not St Mark!
Opening the casket containing the remains at St Mark's Basilica and conducting DNA tests would set the record straight but, apparently, there is no way the Holy See would allow that to happen. Perhaps the Venetians should be thankful to the Pope...
Two major historical events changed the lot of Venice and its inhabitants. The Turkish invasion of Constantinople in the 15th century had a debilitating effect on Venice as a business centre. And almost 400 years later, Napoleon Bonaparte administered the coup de grace. After almost 1,100 years, the Venetian Republic lost its independence when the French general conquered Venice on May 12, 1797.
Venice was down; the city fell into serious decline and many of the imposing palaces and buildings were abandoned. It did not however disappear. Far from it. It is still there, a magnet attracting people, including big names, from all over the world. Galileo Galilei was there, as was Madonna and Tom Cruise, to mention just three.
Venice remains a city of dreams. The hospitality specialist in our group, could claim he was a big Hollywood star on a weekend break there. He even convinced a waiter at a wine bar to keep his mouth shut when the attendant insisted he was sure our compatriot was a popular person. Oh well!
John M, suddenly enters the scene, presenting himself to the waiter as the star's bodyguard. "It's time to go," he told his "employer".
How I wish it was never time to leave Venice...
The Venice connection
Flight KM656 to Venice leaves Malta every Monday at 8.30 a.m. arriving at 10.20 a.m. The return flight, KM657, departs Venice at 11.05 a.m., landing at 1 p.m.
The Friday flight leaves Malta at 11 a.m. arriving in Venice at 1.50 p.m. and the return flight leaves at 1.50 p.m., arriving in Malta at 3.45 p.m.
http://www.airmalta.com
A weekend visit to Venice at the invitation of Air Malta, which has just launched twice weekly direct flights to the city located on the northern tip of the Adriatic, brought back memories to a member of the small group of Maltese "tourists", including four journalists.
The jovial man, who shall remain unnamed, was determined to buy a miniature gondola similar to the one, he vividly recalled, that used to be given free of charge when one bought a TV set from a particular retail outlet in Hamrun in the good old days.
Walking along the main canal after a sumptuous lunch, John M - let's call him that - quickly spotted what he was after. He rushed into the small shop and in no time had forked out the €15 demanded by the shop owner and the gondola was his.
Out he sped, looking for the rest of the group waving the prize frantically. "Look what I got. Just what I wanted and it only cost me €15. Am I not lucky? My wife will love it!"
One of the girls in the group reacted: "Isn't it just like that one over there," she asked John M, indicating a small gondola displayed on a stall closer to the dirty canal. "Only this one costs €9!"
I could notice a tinge of disappointment on John M's face and, having just been given some details about the gondolas that ply the Venetian canals, I decided to lift his spirits. "I still think you did a very good bargain considering that a gondola costs something like E60,000," I told John M. I immediately realised I had put my foot in it; he did not seem too pleased with the comment.
A hospitality specialist accompanying us did his best too to boost John M's morale: "Look at it this way. Really, you can't do anything with a life-size gondola. At least, you can take the small one you bought with you in the bath..."
The moral of the story is simple: Don't rush into purchases when you're in Venice, as anywhere else, for that matter. Always bear in mind that Venice is a city built by merchants for merchants and they did it successfully for a good 11 centuries.
Given the influx of migrants we Maltese face every summer, it is worth noting that the first people to inhabit Venice were refugees from Roman cities in search of safe havens given the successive waves of barbarian invasions. They preferred shelter on islands, arguing that once the barbarians were not seafaring they would be safe there.
Given the muddy waters and silt in the area, the first inhabitants used long, closely-spaced wood piles to build on and to reinforce the structures. Of course, over the years the rising tide and high water caused havoc to this jewel of a city and experts are constantly devising ways to save it.
The enterprising inhabitants of Venice did their utmost to succeed, in every sense, whether commercially, politically, socially and even from a religious point of view.
The region's financial situation was such that even the lower classes were more than able to make ends meet. In other words, there was enough for everybody.
Though complex and cumbersome, with no one structure trusting another, the political system worked. The top man was known as the Doge, from the Latin term dux, meaning chief. Our guide stressed the point that Doge should not be confused with Duce, or duke, even if literature on the history of Venice does make this connection.
The Doge was really a figurehead. In fact, in most of the paintings he is featured kneeling down and next to him stands a queen, representing Venice and its people. In the Doge's place, off Piazza San Marco, I did spot a painting of him standing up, next to a Pope. That's exactly the point, our guide told me. The message was that the Doge would look down on the Pope. Although it generally remained Roman Catholic, Venice had frequent conflicts with the Papacy.
There was one Doge who wanted to have his own voice and say. He did not last long. Behave or behead, was the maxim and, true to form, the man was beheaded for trying to change a system that was working so well.
Once Rome had St Peter, Venice too had to have a high profile saint. So, in the year 828, two Venetian merchants reportedly stole the relics of St Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria and these can now be found in the basilica. Or do they?
A painting records the ploy used to smuggle the relics out of Alexandria. Knowing that Arab Customs officers would be checking their cargo, the two merchants put the evangelist's body at the bottom of a big container made of cane and covered it with pork. There was no way the Muslims would touch the pork and off the merchants went with their holy merchandise.
But, there are two theories which, if proven, would make a mockery of the supposed audacity of the two merchants.
One theory has it that the body of St Mark taken to Venice did not include the head. The other, promoted by a Cambridge-based researcher, is even wilder. He insists that what the two merchants took to Venice were the remains of Alexander the Great not St Mark!
Opening the casket containing the remains at St Mark's Basilica and conducting DNA tests would set the record straight but, apparently, there is no way the Holy See would allow that to happen. Perhaps the Venetians should be thankful to the Pope...
Two major historical events changed the lot of Venice and its inhabitants. The Turkish invasion of Constantinople in the 15th century had a debilitating effect on Venice as a business centre. And almost 400 years later, Napoleon Bonaparte administered the coup de grace. After almost 1,100 years, the Venetian Republic lost its independence when the French general conquered Venice on May 12, 1797.
Venice was down; the city fell into serious decline and many of the imposing palaces and buildings were abandoned. It did not however disappear. Far from it. It is still there, a magnet attracting people, including big names, from all over the world. Galileo Galilei was there, as was Madonna and Tom Cruise, to mention just three.
Venice remains a city of dreams. The hospitality specialist in our group, could claim he was a big Hollywood star on a weekend break there. He even convinced a waiter at a wine bar to keep his mouth shut when the attendant insisted he was sure our compatriot was a popular person. Oh well!
John M, suddenly enters the scene, presenting himself to the waiter as the star's bodyguard. "It's time to go," he told his "employer".
How I wish it was never time to leave Venice...
The Venice connection
Flight KM656 to Venice leaves Malta every Monday at 8.30 a.m. arriving at 10.20 a.m. The return flight, KM657, departs Venice at 11.05 a.m., landing at 1 p.m.
The Friday flight leaves Malta at 11 a.m. arriving in Venice at 1.50 p.m. and the return flight leaves at 1.50 p.m., arriving in Malta at 3.45 p.m.
http://www.airmalta.com