This Sunday, January 27th, to do their part to inaugurate Carnevale, the area remiere will form a Corteo (procession) of traditional Venetian rowing craft, from caorline to mascarete, cruising up the Grand Canal. The procession will commence at 10:15 at the Punta della Dogana, and will have at its center una peata, one of the largest barche a remo there are (see the video of the frozen canals in the post below). For the procession, the peata will serve as a floating stage for acrobats, musicians, and even flamethowers. As is the tradition, all us vogatori will be in costume and si fermeranno along the way for refreshments, at the Salute or the Accademia or the Rialto, until they reach the Fondamenta Cannaregio around midday, where they’ll halt public transport for the festivities. There’ll be bancarelle serving traditional Venetian Carnevale fare. (Fritelle, anyone?) Head that way yourself to take part in the festivities, boat or no boat, it will be as Venetian as you can get these days, and a great contrast to the subsequent 17th century reenactments to follow as Carnevale progresses.

On a recent Sunday morning I rowed on the Canal with friends (no corteo), and it was perfect: few taxis and no transport boats, only the normal vaporetti and other vogatori taking advantage of Canal quiet.) In contrast, this should be quite a spectacle; keep your fingers crossed that the weather holds.

Do take lots of photos (I’ll be the one in the costume).

A footnote: Out of respect for the families of the two workers that suffocated in the hold of a freighter in Porto Marghera a few days ago, the Saturday morning festivities that normally launch Carnevale in Piazza San Marco have been rescheduled. I understand that the volo del Angelo (which won’t be an angel at all, as you may have heard) will fly instead on Sunday. Mi par giusto.

For official Venice Carnival 2008 info, check the official Venezia Carnevale 2008 website.

If you’re a frequent visitor to Venice or are coming for an extended period of time (a month or more), you may want to look into applying for the new imob smart-card pass with a tessera di abbonamento.

Here are some to-the-best-of-my-knowledge application FYIs.

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I must let anyone know who might be in town and might be interested, that the two excellent musicians who exhibit such extraordinary patience while instructing us to sing, and accompanying us while give it our best efforts will be performing in their own right this Sunday at 9p, in the beautiful Palazzo Ca’ Zenobio. The Palazzo is behind and down the fondamenta from the Campo San Margherita; its spacious gardens, grounds and palace are worth a tour with or without music. And the music? Mozart, Schumann, Rossini, Bellini. The usual stuff…extraordinarily performed. It’s free, but if you’d like to attend, best reserve a spot by calling +39 347 421 5867; here’s a map to the Palazzo.

A friend who saw the last post just sent this article, describing it as “compelling, well-written, and of course, terrifying;” it does seem an appropriate addendum to the fountain rant. So many travelers are curious as to whether the lagoon water here is “clean”…this article seems to put things in perspective a bit:

www.bestlifeonline.com

Don’t worry, we’ll be back to cats and cicchetti very soon…

. . . and not only can you drink it, it’s quite tasty, actually.

The other day, I was on the way to the San Marcuola vaporetto stop, following a traveler down the broad rio terà that runs behind the Ghetto. He was outfitted for the day with a medium-sized backpack filled with, oh who knows, traveler stuff; but on opposite sides of his sparkling-new, expertly-engineered pack were hoisted two 1.5 liter bottles of water, pronte to relieve his thirst at a moment’s notice. They made my packless back hurt just looking at ‘em.

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Tonight, at 6p, if you’re not headed for one of the many Biennale suorées, inaugurazioni, and other festivities held throughout the city, you might enjoy stopping by San Leonardo at 6p. The opening there is for a show with works painted by the students of a course offered by Professor Maurizio Favaretto. Sara Bardino, an extraordinary mezzosoprano (and my voice instructor) along with Davide Sibilla will be performing a variety of selections, lyric and otherwise (Voi che sapete…). Nothing amateur about this, my friends, you’d be doing yourself a favor by stopping in.

• Friday, June 8, 6p
• San Leonardo
• Rio Terà San Leonardo, just below the Guglie bridge.
• No charge
• From the San Marcuola stop, head toward the main Rio Terà and turn left. San Leonardo is at the back of a big campo on the left.

About the school (if you can’t read Italian, just look at the illustrations):

www.liceoartistico.ve.it

Oh, and Sara’s students have upcoming concerts on the Thursday the 21st and Monday the 25th, at the Scuola Grande di San Teodoro, across from the Chiesa di San Salvador near the Rialto bridge on the San Marco side. These are free concerts, all locals (I am the only import), including one night of lyric opera selections (Rossini, Bellini, and more), another consisting of plethora of delightful Handel duets. Details to follow!

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The works that comprise this Faces of Art exhibition span 500 years, and are all by artists we’re familiar with. There’s a unique theme, though: each work is an autoritratto, or self-portrait. What’s more, although they’re part of the Uffizi permanent collection, you won’t see them on a normal gallery tour. Read all about here:

SELF PORTRAITS. FACES OF ART FROM THE UFFIZI COLLECTION

The Palazzo Franchetti, by the way, is that stunningly-renovated Venetian gothic on the Grand Canal (just off Campo Santo Stefano) that houses the Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti.

What a treat this is going to be.

I have such industrious pals. Look at this wonderful site, by Andrea Caltroni and his partner Sam. It’s to enable students from all over the world to hook-up with each other. I pretended to be one so I could join (don’t tell anyone). Anyway, if you know any university students, pass the word: zeeya.net

Zeeya!

I got to know Isotta when I first moved to Venice and would visit her mom, Eleonora, who has a B&B near where I was living (we also traded English for cooking lessons for a time). We hadn’t been able to get together nearly as often once I moved to Cannaregio, but when I did finally get by recently, Isotta (not the shy type) came out to say hello. Eleonora and I sat down with a caffè and began catching up, but Isotta disappeared…shortly before emerging in this stunning outfit, obviously a favorite of hers. Couldn’t resist recording it for posterity, so the rest of you wouldn’t have to miss out.

If you’re interested in getting to know this young lady, and it suits you to lodge in San Marco just behind the Teatro la Fenice, feel free to consider Eleonora Agostini’s Bed and Breakfast al Teatro. (Isotta’s blue plastic pumps do make a bit of a clicking sound as she scoots about the terrazzo flooring…but in the end it just adds to her charm. This, and the fact that all the rooms overlook the Fenice canal, makes a stay there very special in my opinion.)

Otherwise, feel free to keep Isotta’s photo handy should you need an effective pick-me-up during your day.

If you’re around town and up for a little local culture, there are two brief concerts Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, at 9p, June 6th and 7th at the ornate 17th c. Palazzo Zenobio (Dorsoduro 2596, Collegio Armeno, near Campo dei Carmini along the Fondamenta Soccorso). Tickets are 5 euro, and you can either pay at the door, or reserve by calling +39 347 421 5867 (in italian). All singers are local, students of Sara Bardino, while and David Sibilla directs and accompanies on the pianoforte.

The Tuesday concert is the Pergolesi Stabat Mater, while Wednesday is All Rossini, including some well-known pieces, the Carità, three delightful arias from La Regata Veneziana, in Venetian dialect…

Non ghe xè mal!

After a week here a Venezia, my friend Cheryl headed back to Paris today on myair, one of those great, intra-Europe discount airlines. She recounts that when the plane pulled up to the gate at 7p, the captain’s voice came over the PA announcing that the ground crew was on strike until 7:10 today, and until then there would be no one to open the door of the plane. Everyone remained in their seats, and at ten after, the doors were opened and the passengers disembarked.

Point taken.

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It’s always been a good idea, but in speaking with AutoEurope last week, and they mentioned they’d received an official affirmation that International Drivers Permits are now a requirement. (You’ll hear the terms license and permit frequently used interchangeably, but a permit is what you’ll end up with). It is, in effect, a translation of your own driver’s license.

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Trying to catch a train leaving in the next 15 minutes? TrenItalia has recently introduced Sportello Veloce, or the Fast Ticket Counter, dedicated to issuing tickets only for trains are leaving in the next quarter of an hour.

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To always reach the person you’re calling, no matter what type of cell you’re using, who you’re calling. in what country or from what country, always dial or program your cell phone number with the plus “+” sign first, followed by the country code and complete phone number:

+ country_code phone_nbr

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You’ve probably heard by now, by Italy recently passed a law that prohibits smoking in all public places. And just like that, there’s no smoking in restaurants, bars, trains…almost anywhere. Combine that with the fact that people fewer people smoke all the time, and sometimes you can barely tell you not in the U,.S. (Ma scherzo – now you know I’m kidding!).

You may still encounter un po di fumo while sitting outside in a cafe or bar, but overall, it makes a big difference. Lots of Italians are pleased as well.

So now more than ever, you can enjoy l’aria fresca!