I had arranged a private taxi to be at our disposal for the day. We were taking it out to the lagoon islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello and coming back to “Venice proper” after lunch.
Murano was first found by the Romans but became a permanent settlement in the 6th century. Along with Torcello and Burano, there have been people living there longer than in Venice proper. They had their own Ducal Council, controlled a bustling port while Venice was still “growing up” as a city and even minted their own coins. Decline came in the 11th century when residents began moving to what is now the Dorsoduro area (where I am staying) and Venice annexed the island grouping into the Republic's control.
The island became known for glassmaking after the furnaces were all moved to the island in the 1290s after series of fires in the foundries burnt down sections of the city. In a city of wooden structures crowding one another, keeping the ovens away from housing is important to prevent constant disaster and displacement.
We visited the Basilica di SS Maria e Donato and its wonderful byzantine mosaic flooring and the church of San Pietro Martire with its paintings by Bellini. We visited the world famous Seguso factory to see a glass blowing demonstration and did some shopping before island hopping over to Torcello.
Torcello is where the story of Venice truly began. I've written previous entries about the history of the island, but the micro version is that people from the mainland kept getting overrun by barbarian hordes so they would escape to the islands in the lagoon. The attacking boats couldn't navigate the shallow waters. After a few hundred years of this they permanently settled the islands in the 7th century officially by building a church there. Nothing says “we are here” like building a church, right? Thus, the history of Venice begins...
We toured the churches of Santa Fosca and Santa Maria della Assunta and made our way over to Burano for lace shopping and lunch at Il Gatto Nero da Ruggiero.
I arrived back home at 4PM just in time to hear a Festa di Laurea happening below my windows in the courtyard below. This is the post-graduation “parade” that University students celebrate in receiving their degrees and doctorates. My house is very close to three different campuses here in the sestiere of Dorsoduro so I get to hear them going past. One at a time, the graduate is brought before their department chairs and given a final questioning (even though they have already tested out and completed their classes – it's all formality.) After their passage they are presented with a wreath of bay leaves around their neck for the men or laurel headpiece for the ladies. Friends and family are present and then they take to the streets to celebrate. Their friends are in charge at this point. They have already prepared a large poster with a caricature of the graduate and written an epic poem citing their adventures and experiences at University. In tiny typeface. They dress the grad up in a funny costume relating to their degree and put them through a ritual of walking through the streets singing “Dottore! Dottore! Dottore del buco del cul. Vaffancul! Vaffancul!” They are announcing the new Doctor in a derogatory way to the masses, but it's all in love, as they are essentially making fun of all the hard work put into their studies now makes them superior to those still in school. Direct translation: The Doctor, the Doctor, the Doctor is an asshole. Fuck you, Fuck you.
Isn't that sweet?
They stop somewhere, put up the poster, strap a bottle of some alcohol in their hand, tie their arms partially behind their back so they have trouble reaching their mouths with their now-TRex'ing style arms and make them read the poster aloud to everyone. If they mess up they all shout “Beve! Beve!” - Drink! Drink! - and they have to start the paragraph over. In the meantime they are trying to distract the grad by throwing flour on them, sillystring, making them eat bizarre foods, like Nutella on a (new) toilet brush or cucmbers dipped in spices and condiments, giving them more adult beverages, etc.
I filmed this kid who was in the courtyard below, dressed as a cross between Pinocchio and Harry Potter who was a Laureate in Agricultural Studies. He was very slow in his reading and filming the 50 minute reading made my hands go numb. I'll edit it all later on "when I have time..." It was cold out there. And they were kind enough to put down a plastic dropcloth to catch the mess.
Video clip of Andrea's festa di laurea
Finally. Our farewell dinner for this group. We went to Ai Gondolieri and had a wonderful dinner. I tried their lamb with blueberry sauce, as recommended by some of my foodie friends. It was heavenly, and I'm not a big fan of lamb. I am done with this tour, except for dropping them at the airport in the morning.
Marco called me at 10PM, just after I got back home. He just finished work and wanted to stop in to say hello. I hadn't seen him in a week. I was finally able to give him a present I had brought over as a belated Christmas / early birthday gift. A Flip digital video camera. I know he likes filming the firework celebrations the city holds every year at Redentore and New Years. He's used a digital camera he has that's the older style of a Sony DV mini-disc and has edited them very well. I have a couple of DVDs he's made over the years. I've had a Flip for a while now and am a huge fan – I'm on my second one, an HD version that came out this year. The editing software that comes with the camera is very easy to use requires minimal techie knowledge. I gave them to Mark's and my families for Christmas this year. No, I don't own stock in the company, I got a great deal and am happy to share, that's all.
He was very surprised and didn't want to accept it at first.”Too much of a gift. Too expensive. No no no.” I told him it wasn't too expensive and to try it out while I was here. If he didn't like it he could give it back to me when I leave the country. But I know he will like it and not give it back.
I showed him the basics of using it and started editing from the Festa di Laurea I had filmed earlier in the day. You can grab a still shot if you want, edit sequences together, fade ins and fade outs between scenes, mix the volume, add music if you want and titles. Pretty much just about everything the aspiring filmaker needs. He was hooked pretty quickly. Yeah, I'm not going to be bringing this camera back home, it's safe to assume.
I kicked him out just before midnight. I have an early boatride to the airport with the clients and am picking up my friends Luke and Charlene who are coming in for a week. Yay!
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