Venice-Art-Tours Blog

The Calatrava Bridge...and other items

You may recall that in August I blogged about the fourth bridge over the Grand Canal, temporarily called the Calatrava Bridge after its Spanish architect. At that time the city fathers and mothers announced all was on target for an end of year opening. I expressed some scepticism, being in Italy and Venice and guided by experience, but, like all Venetians, I hoped for the best.

Well, the best is yet to come, it seems. It was announced yesterday that the the opening will be delayed by 145 days (5 mos). Quelle Surprise! The reason given is that the glass steps cannot be cut until the bridge's metal supports are properly fitted and/or have expanded and been adjusted. To cut them in advance would be too risky, they say. Of course, the obvious question is: if the bridge was scheduled to finish December 31, why did they not start cutting glass steps 5 months ago? Answer has to be that the bridge at that time was not ready for the steps, as it still is not. Therefore, the builders knew five months ago that the bridge would miss its target date...but they informed Venice last week. Liquidated damages? Forget it. Law suit? haha.

The photo below shows the current state of play. Sure glad no friends of ours are flying over for a bridge opening party for New Year's Day. And, let's be honest, if you plan to come for the opening on May 21, 2008, check with me first...and get a flexible airline ticket.

Other news is that the city is very quiet after an excruciatingly crowded year. Last week and this week are two of the quietest weeks of the year in Venice, between the end of the tourists and the onset of Christmas. Weather cool but sunny...

A presto, Howard...............P.S. below.

You may have seen today the following story which is proof positive of the idiocy of the radical Muslim block: 

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher, teaching in a private school in Sudan, who convicted of insulting Islam for allowing her students (who were Muslim) to name a teddy bear "Muhammad."

The protesters streamed out of mosques after Friday sermons, as pickup trucks with loudspeakers blared messages calling for the death of Gillian Gibbons, the teacher who was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in prison and deportation. She avoided the more serious punishment of 40 lashes, unless the mob gets to her. They massed in central Martyrs Square outside the presidential palace, where hundreds of riot police were deployed. "Shame, shame on the U.K.," protesters chanted. They called for Gibbons' execution, saying, "No tolerance: Execution," and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad."

Obama File:

And since I am being splenetic, here is a photo which explains why Obama will never be president of the US: it's the company he keeps.

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

Next week is Laurie's 60th birthday and, it being a significant zero birthday, one should come to grips with the future. So recently we have tentatively projected various scenarios as we grapple with the onset of dotage.

Stay in Venice?  A few negatives:The tourist crowds have at least doubled, maybe tripled, in the past four years; 550 cruise ships arrive annually, each disgorging thousands of people. Eastern Europeans have taken advantage of cheap flights, new found wealth, and freedom to travel, and they come to Venice in huge numbers. Neighbourhoods which never saw a tourist now daily have hordes of them streaming through. Water buses which were crowded only at peak times are now almost always jammed. And this is November! Late October was when traditionally Venetians got their city back...forget that. This morning we were having our usual caffè and brioche outside in Campo Santa Margherita when a tour group assembled directly in front of us...about 150 people! Yikes!

In addition to the crowds, another negative consideration is one's physical failings, for me principally knees and ankles which reproach me every time (avg. 3 per day) I climb the 78 steps to our apartment.

But...the alternatives are daunting. We both agree we could never live in England again: political correctness and reverse discrimination is rife in education, employment, politics. Plus drunken yobs make evening constitutionals unpleasant and dangerous (not just London or Liverpool, but everywhere). And, of course, the weather is a problem.     Ireland, where my daughters live and which is my former home, is attractive but ridiculously expensive, and there, too, you have ...the weather.           America, whose son I proudly am, has many attractions: a large country with great variety and where, compared to Europe, personal freedoms still exist. Also, America is probably affordable (somewhere). Negatives? Of course. Can we live with Starbucks being the last word in coffee, with television the reigning cultural medium, and with junk music in every public venue? Hmmmm.

All of which seems to lead us back to ...Italy, i.e., we do nothing. Great weather, some gentility and civility remaining, occasionally even formality (jacket & tie rule at La Fenice), easy travel to Vienna, Munich, London, Dublin, Paris, etc.  Agreed, not perfect, trains don't run like the British ones despite Mussolini's efforts, endemic bureaucracy at every level of life, left-wing unions calling strikes weekly, over-pricing, especially in Venice. But what place is perfect, we ask.

Venice...But certainly there is perfection in entering St. Mark's Square on an early Sunday morning and seeing it's beautiful Byzantine church, or riding on a traghetto across the Grand Canal,still the main street here, or walking through the deserted medieval streets late at night, getting a feel of the original Venice, or sipping an evening prosecco on our terrace while pondering the Frari Church across the way.

Life could be worse.

Coda: Having said all of the above, England is not the only place with yob violence...In Italy the football fans frequently get violent against opposing fans, other humans in general and especially the intervening police. Yesterday, a fan was accidently shot by a cop at a riot involving Juventus and Lazio "fans". Next week's matches have been cancelled.  

The other major violent group are the so-called Disobbediente, led by a middle aged anarchist called Luca Casarini. These Disobbedienti demand free travel from riot/protest venue to riot/protest venue, many sleep rough with their dogs, and their politics is anti - all of the following: government (any), police, church, authority of any kind, corporations, laws, grooming, civilisation, and similar nouns. Their modus operandi is staging protests, occupying government buildings, etc., which, by design, become riots.   

Frari Church