Venice: tranquil and tragic

Story by Zeynep Tanıtkan. Photos by Recep Peker Tanıtkan

The grand dame of Italy, the princess of the Adriatic, the finest drawing room in Europe, an Eastern jewel, a city of glimpses… Venice has many names and many faces – and masks - to match. With such a long history, there is much to remember and much to forget.

No traffic jams; no noise, no exhaust fumes – only the rule-abiding gondolas bobbing and floating on more than 150 canals. Everybody has heard of Venice: la Serenissima, the city of tranquillity, built on 118 islets linked to one another by 400 bridges. The gondoliers, humming arias in their original sailor tops and ribboned straw hats, need no introduction. It is a fairy story that has been told over and over again – and which will lose none of its magic for one more telling.

Grand and Grander

Once upon a time - between the 9th and 13^th centuries - Venice became a wealthy merchant empire and a treasure house of architecture and art. It was not until the 16^th century that it started to succumb to major powers, and even then it remained a centre of artistic and musical achievement. The main street is 30-70 metres wide - and 3-5 metres deep. It is called the Grand Canal. On either side, the waters lap the walls of decorous houses beneath flower-decked windows. From time to time the houses make way for the gates of subsidiary waterways, or demur to impressive palaces like the Palazzo Corner, Palazzo Pesaro and Ca d’Oro. A serpentine four-kilometre vaporetto (water bus) trip finally brings you to San Marco Square, a riot of the Gothic and the Byzantine, site of the Doges’ Palace, St Mark’s Basilica and the Sansoviane Library.

The Palazzo Ducale, some-time residence and headquarters of the doges or elected chief magistrates, is known for its façade of white Istrian and pink Verona marbles, and for its innumerable sculptures and paintings including Tintoretto’s huge Paradiso in the hall of the Grand Assembly. The Basilica - constructed between 1063 and 1073 to preserve the supposed bones of the apostle Mark, “rescued” from Alexandria – has nearly 4,000 square metres of golden mosaics.

Travelling horses

The bronze horses on display are only replicas of the ones which the Crusaders who sacked Constantinople in 1204 brought back to Venice among their plunder. The originals, briefly transported to Paris by Napoleon in 1797, are now kept in a nearby museum to prevent decay. Outside is the contrastingly plain yet dominant tenth century bell tower, 99 metres in height, rebuilt after its collapse in 1902. On the nearby clock tower, two male statues continue to hammer at the large bronze bell as they have done for 500 years. Columns to left and right of the square uphold sculptures of Theodora, the Byzantine queen, and of the bronze Venetian lion, the city’s emblem.

All this is just the beginning of the Venetian legend. Headed by the Accademia, there are some 450 museums and other buildings of historical, architectural or artistic interest. The canals are complemented by a maze of medieval streets full of surprises and – thankfully – signposts.

Revelling to forget

But why are the gondolas black? Tradition has it that they were once bright and colourful, but were painted black during the Plague, when they were used to carry off the bodies of the dead. The end of the plague in 1576 is commemorated on the third Sunday of July every year with a religious festival. Festivals dot the calendar. At Carnival time, citizens of all stations are free to celebrate, and revellers still wear masks which hide their identities, relieve them of their status and enable them to enjoy themselves away from the pressures of daily life.

The masks are indispensable souvenirs. Leather shoes and handbags and Murano glasswork - named after the holiday resort of the aristocrats - are equally ubiquitous. The charming Rialto Bridge - the oldest conduit over the Grand Canal, and one of the two most famous bridges of the city - is at the same time a lively shopping centre. The fare here includes puppets, fruit and vegetables, sweets, pastries and much more.

Unhappy ending?

No European wishes to die, they say, without seeing Venice. As you listen to the jazz and classical music in the cafes around the Piazza San Marco on a summer evening, it is not difficult to understand why. Yet the darker side of life is never far away. Hundreds of years ago, the Ducale was a place of torture and the adjoining piazza the scene of public executions. In the 17th century, the Ducale, where suspects were tried, was connected to a new prison by a covered bridge of Baroque style. This is Venice’s other most famous bridge. From here, prisoners would obtain a last glimpse of the beauty of Venice, causing them to sigh regretfully as they crossed.

That, at least, is the world-famous explanation for the name given to the Ponte dei Sospiri – the Bridge of Sighs. A sense of tragedy lingers on. Venice’s buildings are suffering from damp and sinking into the underlying Lagoon. Here are the two masks of the drama side by side: a thriving, splendid setting rich in history and life – or a relic of a bygone age, lonely and unhappy?