Fill up and download at free Wi-Fi cafe
Jun 22, 2010 Instructions for Use
Just a note for travelers to Venice (with apologies for not getting this posted sooner):
There is free Wi-Fi to be had at the cafe Tappa Obbligatoria on the Strada Nova between Campo San Sofia and the calle Ca d’Oro. Free. Just show up and connect.
They also have outdoor seating, great panini and tramezzini sandwiches, a few hot primi, and even a small room in the back for hiding out. So, you can fill up while you catch up.
If anyone discovers any more of these gems, please share.
(By the way, it’s just as “obligatory” to grab a refreshing gelato just down the Strada toward Campo Santi Apostoli on the same side…)
Tags: free, strada nova, venice, Wi-Fi
Vogalonga 2010: one for the record books
May 25, 2010 Events & Offerings
Spettacolare. Ideale. Glorioso. Whether you were participating in 36th annual Vogalonga or cheering your pals from the nearest riva or fondamenta, nothing less than superlatives will do when describing the day, the row, the joy, the experience. The thousands of oar-powered boats and thousands more rowers propelling them along the 32 kilometer / 20-mile course from the San Marco Bacino north to Burano, back to Murano and the Cannaregio Canal and down the Grand Canal enjoyed gentle winds, temperate temps, and golden rays…a marked contrast from the near hurricane conditions of the prior year.
As far as we know, we were the only two all-female crews of traditional caorlina type boats. We looked like a set of twins, with bright flowers adorning our grass-green boat, and coordinating kerchiefs; our sister craft had netting that streamed behind it into the water (that’s what we assumed got them into the next day’s journal La Nuova Venezia, and not US).
Little matter…just take in the looks on every rower’s face to see what a grand time was had by all.
Favorite kayaker quote of the day: “They need to make this canal bigger for next year!” Hm….wouldn’t hold my breath.
(We only mowed down four kayaks and two sculls. A much better record that last year. If only they would turn their heads on occasion… )
Tags: row, venice, voga, voga alla veneta, voga veneta, vogalonga
Safet Zec: Powerful Painting at the Correr
May 21, 2010 Events & Offerings
Doors and drapes, boats and baskets, paints and potatoes, Venetian façades: silent, radiant objects speak volumes to viewers at the Correr until July 18th.
Even though he’s acclaimed internationally, has had an atelier in Venice since 1998, and painted for decades in Sarajevo and Pocitelj (near Mostar), you still may not know the engaging, evocative works of Bosnian artist Safet Zec.
If you don’t, this adeptly curated exhibition would be the perfect occasion to make his acquaintance. These engrossing pieces vary widely in subject matter, medium, and presentation; some never before on exhibit. Visitors are routed past intimate watercolor studies and reflective pen and pencil sketches that are not only marvelous in their own right, but as precursors offer insight into the series of rich, almost life-sized watercolor, tempura, and oil depictions that follow.
The abundance of natural light filtering through the white mesh panels on the upper floor of the Correr is particularly complementary to a radiance that seems to emanate from almost every painting. Adding another dimension is the frequent and unexpected use of carta intelata: newsprint or other common paper stock treated to serve as canvas. It seeps and peers though images and brush strokes, incorporating itself seamlessly to become an integral part of the whole.
“I like that something discarded, dirty, and of little apparent value serves as the base for a work with grander intent,” says Zec. The result of his unique approach and intuitive, impressionable eye is a powerful, delicate, fascinating collection of paintings that seem to exude the very essence of their subject matter, making them a pleasure to behold.
Safet Zec: The Power of Painting
Through July 18
Museo Correr
10 – 6 p.m. (last entrance at 5 pm)
Tags: Correr, exhibitions, painting, venice
Siòr Rioba: you don’t deserve this.
May 2, 2010 About Venice, Vita venexiàn
Crossing Campo dei Mori yesterday, on the way home from a magnificent row through the barene north of Burano followed by an abundant fish frittura hosted by the Voga e Para rowing club, I was stopped in my tracks when I glanced up at the familiar Moro merchant with the iron nose eternally perched on the corner of the campo to see that he’d be violently vandalized: someone had removed his entire head.
As reported in yesterday’s Gazzettino:
“The marble head of the statue “Sior [Antonio] Rioba,” a symbol of the long-lived merchant tradition of the Serenissima, was pillaged last night in the Campo dei Mori, Venice. Unknown assailants removed his entire head, cutting it off at the base of the neck.
One of the characteristics of the sculpture is its iron nose; the legend states that touching its face, just like the oldest of three [Mastelli] brothers of this merchant family from the east, will bring good fortune. . . .
At the moment, the act is theorized as vandalism. During the same night, someone also cracked the plate glass window of the Rioba restaurant. At this time there is nothing to connect the two incidents, but investigators are continuing to probe.
Venice’s mayor, Giorgio Orsoni, said he was ‘really struck and offended by this stupid, ignorant act that this night had mutilated one of Venice’s most important and popular depictions. I hope that the Rioba statue’s head is located quickly, and that it will still be possible to reattach it with as little damage as possible. This night’s vandalism reminds us once again of the fragility of our artistic patrimony, with its constant exposure to the ignorant and the boorish making it so difficult to protect.’”
This is such a heartbreaker. I’d write an entreaty for his return, but I somehow doubt whoever perpetrated this crime reads this silly blog. I’ll just go on hoping they find him.
For a more of photos of the statue before and after its defacement, see the the Facebook group Cercasi Rioba disperatamente (Desperately Seeking Rioba):, and Rioba.it.
Tags: Campo dei Mori, Mastelli brothers, Rioba, vandalism, venice
Razzle Dazzle
Apr 29, 2010 Events & Offerings
On the off years of the art (as opposed to architecture) edition of the Venice Biennale, contemporary art fans can find themselves a bit lost here. There’s the Guggenheim, of course, and Pinault’s collection at Palazzo Grassi plus the works housed his restoration of the Punto della Dogana; and Ca’ Pesaro at the opposite end of the Grand Canal. Come of the smaller private galleries can get overlooked, unfortunately, because they don’t necessarily present Venetian-themed things, but nonetheless exhibit works that at least for contemporary art enthusiast would be worth seeking out.
One of these galleries is Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea, located in the luminous Palazzo da Ponte in the Calle del Dose, just off Campo San Maurizio. Caterina, in collaboration with Grainne Sweeney of the National Glass Centre in the UK, is currently hosting works by glass artist Richard Marquis until July 3rd.
photo Allegretto
These two series of marvelous, fanciful works have the unlikely inspirations of wartime razzle-dazzle ship camouflage, and the bubbly race cars that blistered the Bonneville Salt Flats in a bygone era. I wouldn’t dare delve into further explanations; suffice it to say that the show is easy recommendation for anyone from enthusiast to collector.
Richard Marquis – Razzle Dazzle Man
until July 3rd
Tue – Sat, 10 – 1, 3 – 7:30
Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea
Tags: art galleries, contemporary art, Untitled, venice
