Just Follow the Yellow-Striped Acqua Alta Platforms…
Written 3/11/18
I
imagined a lot of things in my first Italy imagined post, but I didn’t expect
to find the fountain of youth. After nearly 24 hours of traveling, I’ve come to
believe it’s a shower, a good night’s sleep and cup of coffee, and maybe some
gelato for good measure. I honestly feel 3-5 years younger. All of today was
absolutely incredible and informative. The lecture in the morning was
interesting, and when we went to the Basilica and I looked up and saw the
Byzantine style art we had been discussing only hours ago, the only word I can
use to describe it is: WOW.
Above: Basilica San Marco
Earlier
today when we were at the Correr Museum I was intrigued by the huge map of
map(s) of Venice. It reminded me of Leonardo’s maps as described in Frank
Zollner’s compilation of his drawings. “The artist’s prime focus, however falls
upon the numerous rivers and their identification; clearly recognizable are the
watersheds from where the smaller rivers flow either into the Tiber, the Chiana
valley, or the Mediterranean (536).” I think it is no surprise that a man who
contributed so many earth shattering ideas focused his cartography on the main
channels that new ideas were disseminated in a pre-Industrial Revolution world.
Venice also had printing presses at the time of the Renaissance, and I think
the fact that this city has a legacy of producing and spreading ideas, makes
studying Leonardo’s ideas in it all that more significant.
When
wandering around Venice my group made it a point to get lost. We decided to
wander and walk down as many alley ways as possible to just enjoy our time here
and get a sense of the feeling of simply existing within the unique city of
Venice. Only some alleys were acceptable, and we occasionally had to bypass one
in search of a “dirtier”, “more authentic” Venetian alleyway. In our wanderings
we stumbled across an amazing smell wafting out of a tiny tucked away
restaurant, where we then decided to eat dinner. The tiramisu was amazing and
we then sloshed our way through the Acqua Alta over to the concert.
If
I had to pick one crown jewel of our day today I would choose the Vivaldi
concert. Firstly, the performers were supremely talented musicians. As I sat in
the funky three-person chair apparatus I was struck by how much I noticed the Renaissance influence on our surroundings. From the polyphonous sounds, to the
perspective paintings, to the neoclassical style of the columns behind the
musicians, everything gleamed of the “new” paradigm in which we still mostly
ascribe to today. Deborah Howard describes, “As every concert - goer and opera
enthusiast knows, the impact of the occasion - including the acoustics, the
visual impression and the public reaction - is inextricably entwined with the
musical performance itself (195).” If I was sitting in my room in San Servolo
listening to Vivaldi on Spotify, I do not think I would have noticed, maybe not
even cared, about the ways in which the Renaissance affected music. Because
there was so much beauty and splendor in the concert hall, both aesthetically
and in terms of historical significance, I saw Vivaldi’s work in a new light.
As
I was noticing all these things, I felt like more than a tourist, I felt like a
scholar. While I am a super cringey classic American tourist when attempting to
interact with the locals in my plastic water proof-ish booties, I can almost
feel the boundary between life and classroom blurring when doing the more
historically based tourist activities. I think this allows me to appreciate
this city more and glean a more rewarding experience than a tourist with no
knowledge of the city or its history.
High
tide and good night!
--
Ally
Sources
Howard, Deborah, and Laura Moretti. Sound
and Space in Renaissance Venice Architecture, Music, Acoustics. Yale
University Press, 2009, Pp. 195-203.
Zöllner, Frank. Leonardo
da Vinci The Complete Paintings and Drawings. Taschen, 2011.
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