Carnival came to Venice this weekend – and even Covid restrictions couldn’t spoil the fun. Last week it was noticeable how venetians stuck to the regulations over the wearing of masques and showing ‘green’ vaccination passes in shops, cafes and hotels.
On the vaporetto water buses everyone wore masks – in contrast to the London Underground. “The problem is that we have had Covid on every television news -- all the time ,” says Giovanni who runs the fabric shop opposite the Doge’s Palace , founded by his aunt in 1934.
“A lot of businesses have shut down, and quite a few of them won’t come back. But the sun may bring back the tourists.” A weekend ago the table were crowded at Caffè Florian. The coffee is as frothy as ever, and your spoon stands upright in the thick chocolate, of a recipe Casanova would have known.
Venice has been no stranger to plague and pandemic . The glorious basilicas of Santa Maria della Salute at the neck of the grand canal and Il Redentore – the masterpiece of Andrea palladio -- were built in thanks for deliverance from plagues in the 17th and 16th century -- one of which killed more than 45,000 people.
Possibly there couldn’t be a better time to visit Venice than now in these brilliant early days of spring. There are now traffic jams of tourists – a growing problem in recent years. The city looks glorious, its churches and palaces along the Grand Canal. One of the most remarkable signs is on the wharf opposite the island of Giudecca.
A wall bears the legend ‘Venice Terminal’ – which is now empty. This used to be the where the monstrous cruise liners tied up for a night or two’s stopover. The liners caused huge damage to the lagoon and caused the sinking city to sink even faster. After several failed attempts, the authorities have now been banned the liners from the old city since last August.
The last bad flood, acqua alta, struck in November 2019 – a month or two before Covid hit Italy so hard. “It was really bad, and destroyed everything here,” explains Federico, 28, barrista at the café by the Royal Gardens, which had to be restored over again – with input from UK gardeners. Neglected for years, the gardens which sit between the Grand Canal and the Piazza San Marco, are one of the most welcoming and tranquil of public places.
We were in Venice for the annual gathering of British and Italian journalists known as the Venice Seminar. This year, again interrupted by Covid, it was held at the Cini foundation sitting in the former convent on the Island of Sand Giorgio – whose church is another Palladio masterpiece.
Much of the discussion was of Italy’s Recovery Plan executed with astonishing results by the coalition of Mario Draghi. There was also frank discussion of the aftermath of the Cop 26 climate conference, which Italy co-chaired and the outlook for global gas and energy with the worsening Ukraine crisis. Italy is very much in the eye of the storm being EU Europe’s biggest consumer of Russian gas after Germany.
All was done with enormous flare and generosity – a sign of a country and community that is very much on the up and outward looking. Venice, too, is on the up and looking outward -- symbolized in the recent discovery of the family home of Marco Polo, greatest travel guide author of all.
“We like to do things our way in Venice,” mused Federico, the barrista. “Under Covid rules we can’t have big formal gatherings – but when the doors and shutters are closed, we will still have our Carnival parties.”
