Sketches of Venuto
By Gary Joseph Cohen
24 Dec 2008
Look at the archipelago of Venice, Burano and Murano from above, and it resembles a mudfish, with the Grand Canal pulsing along the gill line. (An apropos silhouette for a cluster of lagoon cities slowly sinking back into the water from whence it came.) Walking along its marble scales and scalloped fins, however, a buoyant culture bobs and darts from behind the usual flotsam and jetsam of gondolas.
Only days after the worst acqua alta in twenty years, the city and its inhabitants go about their business: alleys ring with the call and response of dogs and church bells; commuters dive into their morning papers; children sell handmade "natale" cookies on the walkways; lanterns swing in the temperate winter breeze.
As I eat my seppie alla nero con polenta, I can't help but imagine San Marco Square sinking into a warm bowl of corn mush. "Please forgive me," I think, wishing not to make light the geological/temporal challenges Venice endures in the face of rising sea levels and errant weather patterns. "Like polenta," I offer, "may the ground firm beneath and stick to the pot; may it hold and lift the city for another thousand years!"
2 responses
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margo sivin said (25 Dec 2008):
This is gorgeous.
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Andrew Tuttle gave props (26 Dec 2008):
You did a great job with this!
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