Venice is a city of surprises, filled with contrasts and apparent contradictions that, somehow, fluidly coexist. It is a city of water and of stone, the most pliant and most solid of natural substances. For much of its history Venice has been guided by BOTH church & state and by both honor & profit. And, like the Roman god Janus, Venice has always faced in two directions at the same time: to the West and to the East.
But most improbable of all is Venice’s amazing historic arc . . . over a millennium Venice went from a marshy hideaway for refugees to one of the greatest economic and political powers in the world.
Whenever I visit La Serenissima and revel in the architectural confection of St. Mark’s Basilica and the Gothic grandeur of the Doge’s Palace I am reminded of the twin pillars upon which Venice built its improbable success: an unwavering faith in a higher being and a more earth-bound faith in the ingenuity and resourcefulness of its fellow Venetians to navigate and triumph in a challenging world.
Venice and all of Italy will bounce back and once again astonish and delight us all.
Andra! Tutto Bene!!
“This is the fairest picture on our planet, the most enchanting to look upon, the most satisfying to the eye and the spirit. To see the sun sink down, drowned on his pink and purple and golden floods, and overwhelm Florence with tides of color that make all the sharp lines dim and faint and turn the solid city to a city of dreams, is a sight to stir the coldest nature, and make a sympathetic one drunk with ecstasy.”
Mark Twain Mark Twain’s Autobiography 1892
“You will begin to wonder what human daring ever achieved anything so magnificent.”
John Ruskin, Mornings in Florence 1875
Florence, and all of Italy, the world’s prayers are with you.
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