Off-season Venice is poles apart from summer bustle

MomSeattle · DadSeattle · SPI · MySeattlePix · My account

Local

US/World

Sports

Business

A&E

Life

Comics

Photos

Opinion

Blogs

Buy Ads

Jobs

Autos

Homes

Rentals

NWsource

Getaways

November 20, 1997

Off-season Venice is poles apart from summer bustle

By By MEKI COX
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VENICE, Italy -- To spend an evening drifting through placid canals, wandering along endless empty walkways or listening to the stillness of an antique city on a Mediterranean lagoon -- that is the charming winter drama of Venice.

Lovers who know the secret of Venice in the winter have discovered that this is when the city of canals finds itself again, bare of the summer's roaring heat and jostling tourists.

This is when real Venetian life is revived, where the quiet Venetian life remains.

The winter skies may seem permanently damp and gray, but it is easy to lose the notion of time among the mist-veiled 118-island town that sits away from the sound of zooming traffic, the views of skyscrapers and the loom of big-city crime. It makes life a tranquil voyage of discovery for a few tourists.

The main events of the water city can be seen from what is said to be one of the most beautiful streets in the world, the Grand Canal.

Along the 23-mile stretch of winding water, morning vendors can be seen flitting by on motorboats carrying fresh vegetables to the town market, busboats gliding under bridges taking people to work, and every now and then, a gondola floating by with a singing gondolier in a red-ribboned hat.

The surrounding lagoon forced Venetians of centuries ago to build their homes on every inch of land available. So, the maze of narrow walkways makes the city's center square, Piazza San Marco, a luxury of open space.

Piazza San Marco is the historical site of the city's political center, the site of the old 15th- and 17th-century administration buildings and clock tower, the cathedral of San Marco, the old state church and the Doge's Palace, which housed the state government and the Venetian head of state.

Although the square can be lost in the summer to a caricature of a typical tourist spot, the museums, shops and tourist-fed pigeons can be enjoyed at this time of the year with only a few people around.

Nevertheless, through every season of the year, the original enchantment of the square is never gone. In just one of the two dozen museums around town, one can see the gothic Venetian palaces, centuries-old religious art and archaeological pieces of early Venice.

Couples can also be seen having a cup of coffee in the oldest cafe in Italy, Caffe Florian, which opened in 1720.

The maze of alleys can lead curious visitors along a variety of medieval-looking buildings that seem to sink right into the natural streets of Venice. Right past the fantasy of palaces and a few bridges away from the spectacle of window-dressed shops, visitors can find themselves in the unobtrusive and quiet area of the common people, the former Jewish quarters.

This is where thousands of persecuted Jews were driven before the 17th-century fall of Venice. The neglected cement and brick tenements still line the streets where 5,000 people used to live. Today the community is almost empty -- only about 650 people live in the area.

This area is void of the extravagant Catholic cathedrals of the main squares of Venice. Hidden behind modest houses are the simply-built synagogues of the community.

When heading back to the heart of the city, stepping into one of the many cheerful taverns on each block along the way can be a pleasurable venture out of the chilly mist.

Here, customers can stop in for a glass of red wine to warm the body and soul and to sample Venetian fish specialties before heading out again to the city's other wonders.