tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38432510170843703772024-03-13T09:20:01.248+01:00Italy to Los Angeles and BackAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-74144665665473195242015-10-23T11:31:00.000+02:002015-10-23T11:31:16.790+02:00Venice, Italy: Gondoliers' New Brand Logo to Safeguard Trades and Traditions that Surround Gondoliers and the Gondola<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXDTPElvMvkbqhLXI4cM6m5LQqrRVd935_UUiqvQODgHr-Sh4VhZERj-oZZDNuycTOy1f7EAW1u_CEUkdC5LleNbLVhzFVzeqKp91OFNL8DS9Dgn-VCzit5461NKwZyBLwG5tEfCipWWQ/s1600/huff+post+gonduniform4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXDTPElvMvkbqhLXI4cM6m5LQqrRVd935_UUiqvQODgHr-Sh4VhZERj-oZZDNuycTOy1f7EAW1u_CEUkdC5LleNbLVhzFVzeqKp91OFNL8DS9Dgn-VCzit5461NKwZyBLwG5tEfCipWWQ/s400/huff+post+gonduniform4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For the first time in more than 1,000 years, the Gondolier Association of Venice - which represents Venice's 433 licensed gondoliers - has a sponsor. Al Duca D'Aosta, the Venetian clothing group founded in 1902 by Emilio Ceccato, and the Gondolier Association have created an official logo and <em>Enter the Dream</em> uniform brand to symbolize the trade the world recognizes as<em> the symbol of Venice...</em><b>read more & please follow me on The Huffington Post: </b><i> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marie-ohanesian-nardin/venice-italy-gondoliers-n_b_8335958.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marie-ohanesian-nardin/venice-italy-gondoliers-n_b_8335958.html</a></i><div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-11392812856899548292015-08-02T08:55:00.000+02:002015-08-02T08:55:51.318+02:00Venice, Italy: Vacation More as a Traveler & Less Like a Tourist<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_X09bEWR1YbdtOfoSGatHVz-BsTPFT_X7Fvs63rVFf1Z3hKcHw_H9S8eXxXcQ-o4zf-ou198LQ5E-jqC6J-TfwqUjbEDs9940gYnf9szS65hwK3lc1XbbYFtG4tDpMh4X7zP3lfm_Twf/s1600/s.+lorenzo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_X09bEWR1YbdtOfoSGatHVz-BsTPFT_X7Fvs63rVFf1Z3hKcHw_H9S8eXxXcQ-o4zf-ou198LQ5E-jqC6J-TfwqUjbEDs9940gYnf9szS65hwK3lc1XbbYFtG4tDpMh4X7zP3lfm_Twf/s400/s.+lorenzo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rio San Lorenzo, Castello - Venice, Italy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Recently, I've read a lot about Venice, Italy, and tourism in the town that's played an important role in my life for close to three decades. Many writers, bloggers, journalists speak about what attractions you should avoid, where not to eat or what not to buy when visiting. They seem to paint the town I love as a tourist trap with few qualities to offer visitors or residents. Though there are some truths in these articles, I think by only pointing out the negative these travel experts have overlooked the many fine things Venice offers.<br />
<br /> But first, let me agree that in recent years 'trinket shops' have steadily squeezed out some of Venice's authentic artisan shops. One reason why these establishments struggle to survive is because of the National government's decision to free up the market and stop controlling what type of shop opens up when another one closes. There was a time when the number of licenses issued to operate mask shops, glass shops, greengrocers, bakeries, butcher shops, hairdressers and all the rest were monitored to balance competition while providing adequate services. That's no longer the case. P<i><b>lease continue reading my post as published in The Huffington Post-Travel: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marie-ohanesian-nardin/venice-italy-help-local-a_b_7874982.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marie-ohanesian-nardin/venice-italy-help-local-a_b_7874982.html</a></b></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPD0FiWJEn4ld6ZkSxKKn5hPssmIj0_haQc0EfrB1NA_0V4Oa3RnVgEqylMxA-X3F7_K28nYIYw0IkJq8fjcIFQjmmEiZns8lAK5M-7YwyMsqSIWmnKWvhofQZ0HKieTgqBJLEq_3kCdD/s1600/Villa+Fini+entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPD0FiWJEn4ld6ZkSxKKn5hPssmIj0_haQc0EfrB1NA_0V4Oa3RnVgEqylMxA-X3F7_K28nYIYw0IkJq8fjcIFQjmmEiZns8lAK5M-7YwyMsqSIWmnKWvhofQZ0HKieTgqBJLEq_3kCdD/s400/Villa+Fini+entrance.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the tornado's rage: 17th century Villa Santorini Toderini Fini <br />Photo by Dario Rigoni</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Just after 5 p.m. on July 8, 2015 the sky over Mira, Italy, turned charcoal-grey and thunder rumbled in the distance. The storm we had been told would break the insufferable humidity and high temperatures that had suffocated the Veneto Region and most of Italy for days was on its way. <br />
<br />
I tucked the garden chairs under their table, quickly watered my precious potted lemon tree, hoping the wet soil would anchor it against possible winds. I'd experienced harsh summer storms in the past in Mira--my hometown for the last 28 years...<i><b>please continue reading my post as published in The Huffington Post - Impact:</b></i> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marie-ohanesian-nardin/tornado-in-veneto-italy-s_b_7779302.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marie-ohanesian-nardin/tornado-in-veneto-italy-s_b_7779302.html</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixsU8df3Vpx-8jKauVtRz_jvwid8ebk3V3Crv9JE_8pKUDkAeFpL_Dt7YNszZlrT0JuHPiqtm4K3Hfx5ok4VpjGXAFN3sMARQGVAtuiUk9nnGihyysEA2Yay1BIExK70nWzLKGioy2cMw7/s1600/armgen100-3%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixsU8df3Vpx-8jKauVtRz_jvwid8ebk3V3Crv9JE_8pKUDkAeFpL_Dt7YNszZlrT0JuHPiqtm4K3Hfx5ok4VpjGXAFN3sMARQGVAtuiUk9nnGihyysEA2Yay1BIExK70nWzLKGioy2cMw7/s1600/armgen100-3%5B1%5D.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">
<br />Gentile Presidente Obama,<br />
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Domenica 12 aprile io, assieme ad altri armeni arrivati da tutto il mondo,
ero seduta nella cattedrale di San Pietro nella Città del Vaticano e ho ascoltato
Papa Francesco definire il massacro degli armeni del 1915 come il primo
genocidio del 20° secolo. Parole subito sentite in tutto il mondo, parole che
hanno acceso una discussione, parole che hanno spinto l'umanità più vicino alla
comprensione e al riconoscimento della verità. Ho partecipato alla Santa Messa
perché sono un’armena-americana di seconda generazione e, essendo stata
cresciuta conoscendo la verità sul genocidio armeno, ho voluto assistere a questo
pronunciamento storico.<br />
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Negli anni 90 del 1800, i miei nonni sono nati ad Ankara e a Malatya, Turchia,
e a Van, Armenia. Nei primi anni del 1900 hanno perso i familiari, le loro
case, il loro paese, il diritto di culto della loro religione cristiana e la
loro libertà di parlare la lingua armena—a chi lo avesse fatto i turchi
avrebbero tagliato la lingua. Quello che non hanno mai perso era la loro
dignità e la memoria di quegli atti terrificanti commessi dai Giovani Turchi
contro il loro popolo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Siccome i giovani armeni erano i primi a essere mandati nell'esercito
turco, e pochi se non nessuno ritornò, nel 1908 all'età di sedici anni mio
nonno materno e il suo fratello gemello lasciarono Malatya, Turchia, per andare
negli Stati Uniti. Il mio bisnonno, preside di una scuola a Malatya, aveva in
precedenza visitato gli Stati Uniti, e decise di mandare i suoi figli maggiori
prima del resto della famiglia a vivere con lo zio a Philadelphia. L'intera
famiglia, dieci in tutto, prevedeva di trasferirsi in America l'anno successivo.
Invece, una sera, mentre seduti al tavolo della sala da pranzo a casa, furono tutti
massacrati. Questo è accaduto nel 1909 e, a quanto pare, il mio bisnonno era
uno di quegli intellettuali che i Giovani Turchi volevano togliere di mezzo. A
causa del destino, e di una decisione astuta da parte del mio bisnonno, mio
nonno e suo fratello sopravvissero. Solo a causa di tale decisione oggi io sono
qui. Pertanto, è mio dovere come armena e come americana raccontare questa
storia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBShLv2058Y_6S1ncwQQ2j3kwc6ngoOxZ3p1WBEboZ3iDJtiSqB-OWDmejlgh_s0L2P0Kh4Jco_HJg6p5lkMnXKGipzf6cY98sSasswP5Sr9Q0WM03PtUpvc5WEz8oJ2HxCLYPS7_Rav_/s1600/Pope+Francis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVBShLv2058Y_6S1ncwQQ2j3kwc6ngoOxZ3p1WBEboZ3iDJtiSqB-OWDmejlgh_s0L2P0Kh4Jco_HJg6p5lkMnXKGipzf6cY98sSasswP5Sr9Q0WM03PtUpvc5WEz8oJ2HxCLYPS7_Rav_/s1600/Pope+Francis.JPG" height="320" width="154" /></a></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Fra la fine del 1910 e gli inizi degli anni ‘20, uno a uno, gli altri miei
nonni sono emigrati anche loro negli Stati Uniti. Hanno creato piccole imprese
a Philadelphia e a Los Angeles. Hanno lavorato duro e non hanno mai chiesto un
sussidio. Mio nonno materno è diventato un sarto, e ha spesso pressato le uniformi
militari per i soldati americani. Era un uomo religioso, e ha ricevuto una
lettera dal Presidente Truman che lo ringraziava per le note d’ispirazione, foglietti
di carta, che lasciava nelle tasche delle uniformi dei soldati. Lui amava
l'America tanto quanto gli mancava la sua famiglia e la sua terra madre. Si è
aggrappato alla sua fede e ad un modo democratico di vita e di pensiero. Morì
nel 1966 senza aver mai sentito un solo paese riconoscere ciò che sapeva, che
le sue perdite personali erano dovute al genocidio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tuttavia i miei nonni guardavano al futuro e mandavano i loro figli alla scuola
pubblica. Mio padre si è arruolato in Marina Militare e ha combattuto nella
seconda guerra mondiale, e poi è diventato un vigile del fuoco della contea di
Los Angeles. Mia madre era una segretaria degli Ufficiali della Marina a
Philadelphia. Dopo sposata e fino a quando lei è andata in pensione, ha
lavorato per la contea di Los Angeles nei servizi sanitari. Ora, all'età di 90
anni, è la Democratica più democratica che io abbia mai conosciuto. Ha
insegnato a me e ai miei fratelli di onorare la nostra cultura armena e di
amare e credere negli Stati Uniti d’America. Abbiamo capito quanto siamo stati
fortunati a vivere in un paese che ci ha dato libertà e opportunità. Una vita
che 1,5 milioni di altri armeni non hanno mai avuto.</span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Signor Presidente, anche se vivo in Italia, nel 2008 instancabilmente ho
fatto campagna elettorale per lei sia con il gruppo Americans in Italy for
Obama che con il <i>phone banking</i> presso
il vostro ufficio della campagna a Norristown, Pennsylvania. Nel 2012 ho fatto
campagna elettorale per lei con la sezione di Venezia dei Democratici Americani
all'estero. L'ho fatto perché lei era il candidato migliore che avessi mai
avuto l'onore di poter votare. Ho creduto in lei, cosi come oggi. L’ho
sostenuta ogni passo del suo percorso da Presidente, e sono venuta a
Washington, D.C. per la sua seconda inaugurazione. Ero lì, in mezzo al
pubblico, festeggiando con orgoglio la sua vittoria. Tuttavia, durante le due
campagne elettorali, molti dei miei familiari e amici armeni-americani non
erano così convinti di votare per lei come lo ero io. Ho lavorato con loro,
parlato con loro, discusso con loro. Ho postato sul social network; ho organizzato
il video YouTube “Gondoliers in Venice for Obama” che è subito diventato virale.
Comunque, la cosa che ha convinto quegli amici e familiari armeni a votare a
favore e non contro di lei era la sua promessa di riconoscere la “Questione Armena"
come genocidio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Il 24 aprile 1915 segna l'inizio delle uccisioni di massa degli armeni; un
giorno in cui diverse centinaia di intellettuali armeni sono stati arrestati e
successivamente giustiziati. Precedenti massacri di armeni sono avvenuti, tra
cui quello del 1909, quando i membri della mia famiglia ne sono stati vittime.
Adesso, cento anni dopo, le parole "Genocidio Armeno" sono espresse
da paesi influenti e venerati e dai leader del mondo. Da quando Papa Francesco le
ha pronunciate domenica 12 aprile, hanno occupato tutti i titoli dei media
internazionali. Le chiedo, signor Presidente, non è il momento di tener fede
alla sua promessa?<br />
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Capisco che la popolazione turca di oggi non è colpevole per le azioni
orribili commesse dai loro antenati e che molti studiosi e civili turchi affronterebbero
più apertamente la verità se fosse permesso loro farlo. Capisco anche che la Turchia
è un alleato strategico per gli Stati Uniti e l’Europa. Tuttavia, quanto può
essere affidabile qualsiasi rapporto se minacciato dal riconoscimento di una scomoda
verità?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">In nome dei miei bisnonni e i miei nonni, in nome di
tutti gli armeni le cui famiglie hanno storie come la mia, in nome delle
popolazioni che ora stanno sopportando atrocità simili in tutto il mondo e
coloro che, a causa del nostro silenzio, rischiano lo stesso in futuro, la
imploro di affrontare questo solenne 100° anniversario con la parola singolare
che onestamente descrive gli eventi che seguirono il 24 aprile 1915. La parola
è genocidio.<br />
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<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Con rispetto e ammirazione,<br /><br />
</span><br />
<span lang="IT" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Marie Ohanesian Nardin<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-90856362059651562392015-04-14T19:08:00.000+02:002015-04-14T22:39:28.417+02:00Armenian Genocide Recognition: an open letter to President Barack Obama<b><i>"We must recognize the full human equality of all our people--before God, before the law, and in the councils of government. We must do this, not because it is economically advantageous--although it is; not because the laws of God and man command it--although they do command it; not because people in other lands wish it so. We must do it for the single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do." Robert Kennedy-University of Cape Town, June 6, 1966</i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Dear President Obama.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtEAXawrdmg8MQ_VBZHmCKjRxP71Hah8HQAJR_m4TXlIhvdANRyaaeSsw7XfBZ3twUZurb7laVxQ54MPcoB2vt7O76GeN0AcYIU8EivX_mimzzCQs1YEKXhhGBG18mQ1HN7mOYu0W8APJ/s1600/armgen100-3%5B1%5D.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhtEAXawrdmg8MQ_VBZHmCKjRxP71Hah8HQAJR_m4TXlIhvdANRyaaeSsw7XfBZ3twUZurb7laVxQ54MPcoB2vt7O76GeN0AcYIU8EivX_mimzzCQs1YEKXhhGBG18mQ1HN7mOYu0W8APJ/s1600/armgen100-3%5B1%5D.png" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Last Sunday I, along
with thousands of other Armenians from across the globe, sat in St. Peter’s Cathedral
in the Vatican City and listened to Pope Francis call the Armenian Massacre of
1915 the first Genocide of the 20</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> century. Words quickly heard
around the world; words that have brought about discussion; words that pushed
humanity a step closer to understanding and acknowledging the truth. I attended
the Holy mass because I’m a second generation Armenian-American and, having
been raised knowing the truth about the Armenian genocide, I wanted to witness the Pope’s historical pronouncement. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">In the 1890s, my maternal
and paternal grandparents were born in Ankara and Malatya, Turkey, and in Van, Armenia.
In the early 1900s, as young men and women, they lost family members, their
homes, their country, their right to worship their Christian religion, and
their freedom to speak the Armenian language—tongues would be cut out by the
Turks for doing so. But what my grandparents never lost was their dignity or
the memory of those terrifying acts committed against the Armenian people under
the rule of the Young Turks.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Because young Armenian men were the first to be taken into the Turkish Army, and few if any returned, in 1908 at the age of
16 my maternal grandfather, Rouben Kashishian, and his twin brother, Benjamin, left
Malatya, Turkey, to live in the United States. My
great grandfather, a school Principal in Malatya, had previously visited the
United States, and decided to send his eldest sons ahead of the rest of the
family to live with their uncle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The plan was for the entire family, 10 in all,
to follow them to America the next year. Instead, one evening, while seated at
the dining room table in their home in Malatya they were all massacred. This
was 1909 and, apparently, my great grandfather was one of those intellectuals
that the Young Turks wanted out of the way. Only because of destiny, and an
astute decision on my great grandfather’s part, did my grandfather and his twin
brother survive. Only because of that decision am I here today. Therefore, it
is my duty as an Armenian, and as an American, to tell you this story. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRzgUcHKR5kVFZVXDDCVG6qWG5QPntTb349EpFL14G8MEllawo5xCA3TJpKnb4ctwTd1FXn8P3D25ukR5myxeZQvMUEIfYAPubiFeF1c__HzHdJJqM3YE0mpULByJYcX0iC5qnmKS4SJP/s1600/Pope+Francis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRzgUcHKR5kVFZVXDDCVG6qWG5QPntTb349EpFL14G8MEllawo5xCA3TJpKnb4ctwTd1FXn8P3D25ukR5myxeZQvMUEIfYAPubiFeF1c__HzHdJJqM3YE0mpULByJYcX0iC5qnmKS4SJP/s1600/Pope+Francis.JPG" height="320" width="154" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">In the late 1910s and early 1920s, one by one, my other grandparents
immigrated to the United States, too. They set up small businesses in
Philadelphia and Los Angeles. They worked hard and they never asked for a
hand-out. My grandfather Rouben became a tailor, and often pressed or repaired military
uniforms for U.S. soldiers. He was a religious man, and received a letter
from President Truman thanking him for the notes of inspiration, slips of paper,
which he left in the soldiers’ uniform pockets. He loved America as much as he missed his family and his mother country.
He held on tight to his faith and to a democratic way of life and thought. He
died in the late 1960s never having heard a single country recognize what he
knew, that his personal losses were indeed due to genocide.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">But my grandparents looked
to the future and sent their children, my parents, to public schools. My father John Ohanesian joined the Navy and
fought in WWII, and then became a Los Angeles County firefighter.
As a single woman, my mother Martha Kashishian Ohanesian worked as a secretary
to Naval Officers in Philadelphia. After she married and until she retired, she
worked for the County of Los Angeles in Health Services. Now, at the age of 90,
she is the most democratic Democrat I have ever known. She raised me and my
siblings to honor our Armenian culture and to love and believe in the United States
of America. Because of the atrocities suffered by our ancestors, we understood
how fortunate we were to live in a country that gave us liberty and opportunities. A life 1.5 million other Armenians never
had. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Mr. President, though I
live in Italy, in 2008 I enthusiastically and tirelessly campaigned for you with
the grassroots group <i>Americans in Italy
for Obama</i> and by volunteering my time phone banking at your campaign office
in Norristown, Pennsylvania, while in the U.S. on vacation. Then, again, in
2012 I helped organize and campaigned for you with the Venice, Italy Chapter of
Democrats Abroad. I did this because you were the best candidate I had ever had
the honor of voting for. I believed in you, as I do today. I have supported you
every step of the way, and I traveled to Washington, D.C. for your second Inauguration.
I was there, in the audience, proudly celebrating your victory. However, during
both campaigns, many of my Armenian-American family members and friends weren’t as convinced to vote for you
as I was. So, while doing my small part campaigning, I worked with them, spoke
with them, and debated with them. I posted on social networks, and I organized
the “Gondoliers in Venice for Obama” YouTube video which received more than
175,000 views. Yet the matter which convinced
most of those Armenian friends and family members to vote for and not against you was
your promise to formally recognize the “Armenian Question” as Genocide. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">As
you are well aware, April 24, 1915 marks the start of the mass killings of Armenians. A day when several hundred Armenian intellectuals were rounded up, arrested and later executed. There were also earlier massacres
of Armenians, including that of 1909 when my family members were victims. At last, one
hundred years later, the words “Armenian Genocide” are being expressed by
influential and revered countries and leaders of the world. Since Pope Francis
spoke them on Sunday, they have occupied International headlines. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">I ask you, Mr. President, isn’t it time to make good
on your promise?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; tab-stops: 408.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; tab-stops: 408.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">I understand that today’s Turkish population is not to blame for their forefathers' horrific actions and that many Turkish scholars and civilians would more openly address the truth if allowed to do so. I also understand that Turkey is a strategic ally to the United States and Europe. However, how trustworthy is any relationship if it is threatened by the recognition of an uncomfortable truth?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; tab-stops: 408.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; tab-stops: 408.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">On behalf of my great grandparents and my grandparents, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the United States and beyond whose families have stories like mine, on behalf of the
populations who are now enduring similar atrocities around the globe and those who, because of our silence, risk the same in the future, I implore you to address this most solemn 100<sup>th</sup>
anniversary with the singular word which honestly describes the events that followed
April 24, 1915. That word is genocide. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">With respect and
admiration, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Marie Ohanesian Nardin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; tab-stops: 408.5pt;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-55029696570245469292015-04-07T20:01:00.000+02:002015-04-07T20:01:56.989+02:00Gondolas4All: Gondola rides in Venice accessible to all<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Helping others bypass architectural
barriers in Venice</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Xoi7WSrmTmfAIwwSKVNqzimI8duxOgyphPdordnDEdyGVkskxCT6d76Fo2bMtmqoviCBowERRexuBKjO7xnQXU2w-udfTQbU96RXusvcVpGGuVscglMC4H34SO-WIkNI7mOYEFp8Odfg/s1600/Gondolas4all+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Xoi7WSrmTmfAIwwSKVNqzimI8duxOgyphPdordnDEdyGVkskxCT6d76Fo2bMtmqoviCBowERRexuBKjO7xnQXU2w-udfTQbU96RXusvcVpGGuVscglMC4H34SO-WIkNI7mOYEFp8Odfg/s1600/Gondolas4all+photo.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Those who have visited
Venice, or other historical centers throughout Italy, know how difficult it can
be to get around town. Lugging suitcases and pulling strollers over bridges or
perhaps touring about in a wheelchair can be trying, if not impossible. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Yet, to have access to and freely move about
is a right for all, and for persons with disabilities it’s a right sanctioned
by the United Nations Organization.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Still, when a person
with disabilities dreams about riding in a gondola the realization of that
desire is difficult and at times out of the question. Like all people who fall
for Venice’s mystery and charm, those whose mobility requires the aid of a
wheelchair yearn to enjoy the beauty of the <i>Serenissma</i>
as seen from <i>the</i> symbol of this most romantic
and rare city, too. But to have that experience they must be carried in their
wheelchairs from a pier to a bobbing gondola by two or more gondoliers. A
situation that’s not always possible, and when it is, there are obvious risks involved.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">So, sensitive to the
needs of these special guests, Alessandro Dalla Pietà and Enrico Greifenberg,
proud seasoned gondoliers who work at the Traghetto Ferrovia gondola station, came
up with a wonderful solution which will make gondola rides through their city’s
historical canals accessible to everyone, including wheelchair users. In 2012 they
shared that solution with the Venice Chapter of UILDM (Italian Union for the
Fight against Muscular Dystrophy). The idea to build an automated footboard which
will safely board a person with his or her own wheelchair directly from a
special floating pier into the gondola pleased the UILDM Chapter so much that
they collaborated by</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqORfLtxapQ7agdjkBM0KwNg3zCGMfpVH-Wbz12zLfLSXNx0WX8kkwciBdHp79_ElSvgAOF4Pk8FJ6_SrQo-z7qOZFCnP8gV5qJrC_aoosaBE9SMjU8oyeMnRglwHxNJou3mUH11ikt3p/s1600/jetty.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqORfLtxapQ7agdjkBM0KwNg3zCGMfpVH-Wbz12zLfLSXNx0WX8kkwciBdHp79_ElSvgAOF4Pk8FJ6_SrQo-z7qOZFCnP8gV5qJrC_aoosaBE9SMjU8oyeMnRglwHxNJou3mUH11ikt3p/s1600/jetty.png" height="400" width="376" /></a></div>
participating in further developing the idea from a technical
standpoint. In addition, they shared the efforts by researching and financing
the initial work, gathering funds together with the gondoliers, and by economically
sustaining the creation of the website <a href="http://www.gondolas4all.com/" target="_blank">Gondolas4All</a><u><span style="color: blue;"> </span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">. The Veneto Region approved the project
and committed 50,000 euros, and V4A-<a href="http://www.villageforall.net/it" target="_blank">Village4All</a>—accessible tourism—joined
this unique project, too. To further qualify the project, twenty-one gondoliers
from the Ferrovia Traghetto attended and passed the <b>Handling, Transporting, and Relating with People with Disabilities</b> training
course which was organized by the Venice Chapter of UILDM. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Now, the wheelchair
accessible floating pier is waiting to be built at the gondola station near
Piazzale Roma, the principle entrance to Venice from the mainland, and begin
service in 2015. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">HOWEVER, funds
collected to date aren’t sufficient to complete the project. Another 56,000
euros are needed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hopeful that this
important project will see its fruition, <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gondolas4all-gondola-wheelchair-access" target="_blank">Gondolas4All</a> has turned to the public via CROWDFUNDING. <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gondolas4all-gondola-wheelchair-access" target="_blank">Gondolas4All</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">All funds collected will
be used for the development and maintenance of this important project. For the
cost of an espresso or a glass of prosecco, we can all be part of this Venetian
journey. A moment of your time and a small contribution will assist others in
making their otherwise impossible dream come true. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Please, click on this link <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RsCz__kRxc" target="_blank">Gondolas4All Video</a> and watch the cheerful video
directed by Aldo Bisacco. Then, if you will, take a minute and donate what
you can. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Grazie! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-77725329473897351712015-01-24T18:19:00.001+01:002015-01-24T18:19:19.840+01:00Mask hunting in Venice: the profane to benefit the sacred <div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCE9TmWLPSMwfQ01q9SbUlRhXmCAH_wx1S2HkkncdITIhktV_kfghlOxcrGfET6JXvILj2TJ-ut_-nT0d-E5Svb8CjShhYfOQl7lqWyOLdWrLhTilgvvNkG7vHG23uIboRFGc7SlJ7pBJl/s1600/the+mask+ii.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCE9TmWLPSMwfQ01q9SbUlRhXmCAH_wx1S2HkkncdITIhktV_kfghlOxcrGfET6JXvILj2TJ-ut_-nT0d-E5Svb8CjShhYfOQl7lqWyOLdWrLhTilgvvNkG7vHG23uIboRFGc7SlJ7pBJl/s1600/the+mask+ii.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful mask from Ca' Del Sol-Venice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yesterday, I went to Venice
specifically in search of the perfect Carnevale mask. On my route through town,
I stopped by every authentic Venetian mask shop along my path. Still, none of
the masks I saw or tried on met what I was looking for. Then, in the late
afternoon, when my walk took me to Ca’ Del Sol—the shop I had most wanted to
visit—I was greeted by a </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Torno Subito-Be
Right Back </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">sign hanging from a hook on the shop’s door. Peeking through
the storefront window and passed a wall of Commedia dell’arte masks, I saw two
electricians doing what electricians do. I knew </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">subito</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> or </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">right back</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> wouldn't
be the case. I also knew I wouldn’t have time to return to Venice for shopping before
Carnevale began. So, I turned my back on the shop, crossed over a narrow bridge,
and entered Ca’ Del Sol’s workshop which sits across the canal from their store. Inside, a mask
maker set down her needle and thread, while another continued to apply light strokes
of gold paint onto papier maché. They listened to my request to visit their
shop, and then gently asked if I could come back the next day. When I told them
I had come in from the mainland, one of the artisans offered to telephone the
owner. Within a few minutes, the owner arrived and kindly accompanied me back across
the bridge, unlocked the door and invited me to browse around. Except for the
electricians, I had this masked wonderland to myself. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJs0Z8IHxfH_UZbTZDeCg63nckpICv2Ngt1KPDR3ST3yHBmUkLQiIqXvZkWFafqUcoWjeoe67XFnliDg-xgs9Jz0HWkaxEWxEKTbLldl4HurCBWx1mBwGi8eGmNRChn3kh9RDlxcCdVk_q/s1600/vetrata+vivarini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJs0Z8IHxfH_UZbTZDeCg63nckpICv2Ngt1KPDR3ST3yHBmUkLQiIqXvZkWFafqUcoWjeoe67XFnliDg-xgs9Jz0HWkaxEWxEKTbLldl4HurCBWx1mBwGi8eGmNRChn3kh9RDlxcCdVk_q/s1600/vetrata+vivarini.jpg" height="360" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vetrata Vivarini - Basilica SS. Giovanni e Paolo-Venezia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dark blue was the tone I was
looking for, and after trying on a few masks decorated with Swarovski crystals,
others with delicate lace, many with colorful plumes, I chose the one in the
photo. I’ll wear it to a benefit Masquerade Ball—Galà di Carnevale—which I’m very
much looking forward to. It’s my first ever formal masked ball, and what makes
it more special is that funds raised during the event will be used to continue
the restoration work on the 15<sup>th</sup> century Vivarini stain glass
windows which grace the Basilica dei SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. <a href="http://www.basilicasantigiovanniepaolo.it/vetratavivarini">www.basilicasantigiovanniepaolo.it/vetratavivarini</a>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">An evening of fun, food, dancing and fund
raising! A profane celebration to benefit a sacred work of art. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Carnevale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I thank Ca' Del Sol for accommodating
me and for being so helpful and professional. I especially thank them for
continuing the tradition of making <i>authentic</i>
Venetian masks. Should you find yourself in Venice, their shop is well worth a
visit. You might want to attend one of their mask making workshops, too! <a href="http://www.cadelsolmascherevenezia.com/">http://www.cadelsolmascherevenezia.com</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-53260199105637253472014-11-22T11:59:00.002+01:002014-11-23T10:45:37.913+01:00Festa della Madonna della Salute: a votive bridge, a cathedral, candles, prayer and delicious mutton soup<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbbKxQbgkFe3VYW_QSJ-En6bUPgty_pwWGTzTFJAuLsFKdFzViVf7a9zCfUMgvyp9HiekIXih0Ep04Y7sK-P0hFVnlxyr6fkMFytKACOzVLgS3wLLtIsmyFQZBEQ4kdAIT2qrYJ5PyazM/s1600/la+salute.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZbbKxQbgkFe3VYW_QSJ-En6bUPgty_pwWGTzTFJAuLsFKdFzViVf7a9zCfUMgvyp9HiekIXih0Ep04Y7sK-P0hFVnlxyr6fkMFytKACOzVLgS3wLLtIsmyFQZBEQ4kdAIT2qrYJ5PyazM/s1600/la+salute.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the Chiesa della Madonna della Salute from the votive bridge</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4bFGVYEqhu2cUaJJ5ewNYoSYbCZXvxum2k6f_OmrEv8nxuTHmsNHGyZZW1m4aX1RcRyfvCSnv7VBXHrBkI5l0e10LMDKvRC4L_vGXmJHmNnb-_ErE9xmpDdbr1OaeBdZOIxoASnOr-JM/s1600/the+service.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4bFGVYEqhu2cUaJJ5ewNYoSYbCZXvxum2k6f_OmrEv8nxuTHmsNHGyZZW1m4aX1RcRyfvCSnv7VBXHrBkI5l0e10LMDKvRC4L_vGXmJHmNnb-_ErE9xmpDdbr1OaeBdZOIxoASnOr-JM/s1600/the+service.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday, November 21st, I joined thousands of others who participated in the annual Festa della Madonna della Salute and paid tribute to this most Venetian tradition. A commemoration dating back to 1630 when the Venetians prayed for an end to the Bubonic plague and Nicolò Contarini, Doge of the Republic of Venice, promised that if their prayers were answered he would have a worthy cathedral built. Apparently, mere weeks later their prayers were answered when the spread of the epidemic slowed down, and then ceased a year later. The government kept their word, and contracted Architect Baldassarre Longhena to build the Basilica della Madonna della Salute--the Church of Holy (Saint) Mary of Health, known to be one of the best expressions of Venetian Baroque architecture.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCMipS_L6cOc8E3zr6QupcqXSOoFtO38Z-Bn3WuNCsRlrCu9neN5RmiWzYQWkmmDyYI5xKnIbe7DcKDVef9Fo4Bgeqs0psQydnPXboQU3vqfi4W43DCfBka_Abs7kQnbJYhyphenhyphenUs6GSfZv-/s1600/salute+candles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCMipS_L6cOc8E3zr6QupcqXSOoFtO38Z-Bn3WuNCsRlrCu9neN5RmiWzYQWkmmDyYI5xKnIbe7DcKDVef9Fo4Bgeqs0psQydnPXboQU3vqfi4W43DCfBka_Abs7kQnbJYhyphenhyphenUs6GSfZv-/s1600/salute+candles.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small section of the many candles lit.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Beginning early in the morning and continuing until late at night, a constant flow of people cross the temporary votive bridge that reaches across the Grand Canal from Campo Santa Maria del Giglio to Calle Lanza and leads them steps away from the church. Candle stands are spread out in the nearby campo and along the waterfront. Thousands of candles, it seems, are purchased and then handed to church volunteers to be lit, one by one. The crowd of worshipers is so thick that it would be impossible for each visitor to light their own. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Holy masses are continuously held throughout the day and evening. Many come to listen and pray, while others come to admire the extraordinary architecture and be part of this special experience. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQhhos8QsB94vYEZeHDG1v1tIzZ_h_FqV4IctI059li6GIa-3xt1edSYDt5ZODWqtgh3JWthmceQ6rIiCkesYtgdLEYHwDpIcHDapMsqnUIw9Ws3u9DlNnuODR4-XZ3droKa0Y3OxOOfF/s1600/main+entrance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQhhos8QsB94vYEZeHDG1v1tIzZ_h_FqV4IctI059li6GIa-3xt1edSYDt5ZODWqtgh3JWthmceQ6rIiCkesYtgdLEYHwDpIcHDapMsqnUIw9Ws3u9DlNnuODR4-XZ3droKa0Y3OxOOfF/s1600/main+entrance.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up at the church's main entrance</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Outside, the crowd slowly
moves through the Dorsoduro neighborhood where the air smells as sweet as the
cotton candy, caramel apples, Nutella crepes and cream filled pastry sold from
white tented stands; confirming that this is also a festive occasion.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVEPgSQSs9IsMIq4FLQMzN2OmIMMT-31v6LlzwsbicgJzGFwAF7ebox0GYPUkRhHH4ErxG0kxg4Dq-Zu0wwiv-YKA6P4s9488yXrFnHIsRkqR5gsINL9mKg7U28G1yqXtmiAhYphjkTgg/s1600/street+fair.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVEPgSQSs9IsMIq4FLQMzN2OmIMMT-31v6LlzwsbicgJzGFwAF7ebox0GYPUkRhHH4ErxG0kxg4Dq-Zu0wwiv-YKA6P4s9488yXrFnHIsRkqR5gsINL9mKg7U28G1yqXtmiAhYphjkTgg/s1600/street+fair.JPG" height="220" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street festival-Madonna della Salute</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijefrO3gpVYP74OEJT7ME4gY-Cuj22rLyFGf_PDnuYXwwIeAcp2j3XTpvETUGPa-SKXxfG5jxw1Wjs7F_-2rOsmU-LS6RBL-KYnCtsIZSdMlPEHZf6UUYeqD7YynIhH-8teoM6lzJ97ZQF/s1600/bewitched+apples+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijefrO3gpVYP74OEJT7ME4gY-Cuj22rLyFGf_PDnuYXwwIeAcp2j3XTpvETUGPa-SKXxfG5jxw1Wjs7F_-2rOsmU-LS6RBL-KYnCtsIZSdMlPEHZf6UUYeqD7YynIhH-8teoM6lzJ97ZQF/s1600/bewitched+apples+.JPG" height="123" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bewitched Apples</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikahR-Rho8H3b-NgHhyGjnkTxBwOJbD-3v66LLubt3XgPDHX3-DYK1WooA5G0HC5GU84Hbi2WizX9huSqCNlZqKWiU899-TGfFuZnjImGLDo7YmCm2zEPErRzDYxvcMkL_6q2QjMqjn3Ce/s1600/castradina.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikahR-Rho8H3b-NgHhyGjnkTxBwOJbD-3v66LLubt3XgPDHX3-DYK1WooA5G0HC5GU84Hbi2WizX9huSqCNlZqKWiU899-TGfFuZnjImGLDo7YmCm2zEPErRzDYxvcMkL_6q2QjMqjn3Ce/s1600/castradina.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Castradina</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, no celebration of the Madonna della Salute is complete without a warm bowl or plate of Castradina. I’ve been told, and I've read, that this tradition is a tribute to the loyalty
shown by the Dalmatians to the Venetian Republic during the very long period
when, because of the plague, Venice was isolated from the rest of the world.
The Dalmatians were the only ones who supplied the residents with food. And they
supplied them with what was on hand: mutton and cabbage. Therefore, the
Venetians ate little more than castradina during those eighteen months of the
plague. So, to remember those difficult times, Venetians have maintained the
tradition of eating castradina during the Salute festivities. I enjoyed mine at a bustling trattoria our family has frequented for generations: Trattoria Alla Rivetta. Mario, the chef, exceeded my expectations. Buonissima!</span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com7Venice, Italy45.4408474 12.31551509999997145.0841069 11.67006809999997 45.7975879 12.960962099999971tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-46152699691690549162014-11-01T19:44:00.001+01:002014-11-01T19:44:17.106+01:00You might add Procida Island to your travel destination list<h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyPLj5kdaEcJEV-VGdKpAEDUrPrm2r3kMHp81XvjW5VpWuNX0PLzCEfvYci9D7lOIgd-TP2rN1DjKi0T8zgZS0z97ww8E9eNkm5KLjKRkiVee3hNbqjkTGeRBITIKFIeUk7dSjP-OdZSS/s1600/sunset+balcony.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyPLj5kdaEcJEV-VGdKpAEDUrPrm2r3kMHp81XvjW5VpWuNX0PLzCEfvYci9D7lOIgd-TP2rN1DjKi0T8zgZS0z97ww8E9eNkm5KLjKRkiVee3hNbqjkTGeRBITIKFIeUk7dSjP-OdZSS/s1600/sunset+balcony.JPG" height="190" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marina Corricella at sunset</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Procida, a small island forty minutes by motorboat off the coast of Naples, Italy, is a place many visitors to the Amalfi Coast have never heard of. That's probably the reason it's held onto its authentic feel and has attracted filmmakers for decades. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtScm3la6NUkrZSe6ZWtHUn-64Kkx4cjf5tyF4aNH7yjdOFCuL9csNyvrLMV882ymB3vi8vJeORlaOBqx56oDlafzISoe0x4qyRrRA2AhTrUWgr5M-wJQVCA0zEb24TvYVodekGrO_6Bkd/s1600/chiesa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtScm3la6NUkrZSe6ZWtHUn-64Kkx4cjf5tyF4aNH7yjdOFCuL9csNyvrLMV882ymB3vi8vJeORlaOBqx56oDlafzISoe0x4qyRrRA2AhTrUWgr5M-wJQVCA0zEb24TvYVodekGrO_6Bkd/s1600/chiesa.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Capable of welcoming guests with its delicious fresh-seafood restaurants, quaint and colorful marinas, narrow volcanic-sand beaches and moderate but comfortable hotels and B&B's, it's the island I favor over Capri and Ischia. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0cm;">I fell hard for Procida. So much so, that I hesitated before sharing my photos here with you all. But how selfish of me would that have been to keep this to myself? Of course, Procida fills up in the high tourist season, but if you're fortunate to visit in the spring or autumn you'll have the place, almost, to yourself.</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotMH4x226GqztmQWgemgeEFdKMvlcMthcki2lxzn1RO6pQADsjsY_QYyVAAlcQf_jOYAS7KSjGALb0t0qetkxZLNbj_cNgJmpcviW1uIMsM0sYdEe7bRj23YcfQh0AQ4yY2X1J-SReGTH/s1600/blue+capri.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhotMH4x226GqztmQWgemgeEFdKMvlcMthcki2lxzn1RO6pQADsjsY_QYyVAAlcQf_jOYAS7KSjGALb0t0qetkxZLNbj_cNgJmpcviW1uIMsM0sYdEe7bRj23YcfQh0AQ4yY2X1J-SReGTH/s1600/blue+capri.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0cm;">I hope in the years to come tourism will permit this island to maintain it's calm, quiet authenticity. The locals I spoke to said that was their intention. And I hope you enjoy and appreciate the beauty of this special island, as I saw it in early October, enough to think about making your slow-down, take-your-time and get-away-from-it-all vacation there, too.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vz-mdNRiwKEN7QPVWu3XYsh4-YDIEocF1ByyQ8MfrndlFZQozS2KON7-4uWo4f_3tUJzP_T-Qboi0Qs8lS40CmJOCv4A2axsOfgNiJeUCs4TAI_ptRHtU2f5YPC8p3-De-nzByfQhV_c/s1600/cliffs+chiaia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vz-mdNRiwKEN7QPVWu3XYsh4-YDIEocF1ByyQ8MfrndlFZQozS2KON7-4uWo4f_3tUJzP_T-Qboi0Qs8lS40CmJOCv4A2axsOfgNiJeUCs4TAI_ptRHtU2f5YPC8p3-De-nzByfQhV_c/s1600/cliffs+chiaia.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vz-mdNRiwKEN7QPVWu3XYsh4-YDIEocF1ByyQ8MfrndlFZQozS2KON7-4uWo4f_3tUJzP_T-Qboi0Qs8lS40CmJOCv4A2axsOfgNiJeUCs4TAI_ptRHtU2f5YPC8p3-De-nzByfQhV_c/s1600/cliffs+chiaia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 36px;"><br /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vz-mdNRiwKEN7QPVWu3XYsh4-YDIEocF1ByyQ8MfrndlFZQozS2KON7-4uWo4f_3tUJzP_T-Qboi0Qs8lS40CmJOCv4A2axsOfgNiJeUCs4TAI_ptRHtU2f5YPC8p3-De-nzByfQhV_c/s1600/cliffs+chiaia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; line-height: 36px;"> </span></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; line-height: 36px;">Buona visione!</i></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRpMMeXn9BtZO7OMTzo17CVenEpW_LETqZzMsMY5PbCRuOb0epYw10i7ts_F3pPiuUvVKpCVwyk_FHobs4iYS-5gM6prGBnC6wQu7_aGAMJ2TTl8hxUhxoY5toerJOxQzcLMyknXXf3FJ/s1600/navi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRpMMeXn9BtZO7OMTzo17CVenEpW_LETqZzMsMY5PbCRuOb0epYw10i7ts_F3pPiuUvVKpCVwyk_FHobs4iYS-5gM6prGBnC6wQu7_aGAMJ2TTl8hxUhxoY5toerJOxQzcLMyknXXf3FJ/s1600/navi.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bacino San Marco-settembre 2013</td></tr>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Le grandi navi da turismo portano centinaia di migliaia
di turisti a Venezia ogni anno, i quali, in cambio, contribuiscono all’economia
locale e nazionale sostenendo, in parte, i lavori nell’ambito del turismo. Ad ogni
modo, come Gulliver che pesta Lilliput, questi enormi grattacieli su acqua navigano
attraverso la laguna veneziana e il fragile centro storico—il bacino di San Marco
e il Canale della Giudecca—lasciando le loro impronte. Dopo la tragica vicenda che ha coinvolto la
Costa Concordia, nella quale hanno perso la vita trentadue persone sulla costa
toscana nel gennaio del 2012, pochi sarebbero in disaccordo nel dire che le
grandi navi sono una minaccia per la salute di Venezia—una città che rischia il
suo status di U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage site e che troppo spesso viene trattata
come un’attrazione turistica e non il raro gioiello che è. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="IT" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">Il mese scorso, il Comitato Interministeriale per la salvaguardia
di Venezia e della Laguna si è riunito a Roma. Tutti i membri hanno votato a
favore del blocco delle navi che superano 40,000 tonnellate al bacino San Marco.
Solo il comune di Mira—i cui confini includono una bella fetta della laguna
veneziana—ha votato contro la soluzione favorita dal comitato, che dirotterebbe
le grandi navi da crociera attraverso la Canale Sant’Angelo—Contorta; un canale
stretto, poco profondo e naturale (largo circa 30 metri al punto massimo) che
vira dal più grande Canale dei Petroli, utilizzato dalle navi industriali per
entrare nella Porto di Marghera e nella direzione dell’esistente porto
turistico di Venezia. La proposta del progetto Canale Sant’Angelo-Contorta
stima che ci vogliano diciotto mesi per implementare i lavori necessari per
estenderlo, allargarlo, ed approfondirlo prima che possa essere pronto per il
traffico delle navi da crociera. Gli amministratori di Mira, assieme a
movimenti locali e frequentatori abituali della laguna, credono che scavando e
prolungando questo canale verrebbero causati danni irreparabili e gravi conseguenze
ambientali alla laguna e alle sue aree periferiche. I giornali riportano che questo
progetto è stato inviato </span><span lang="IT" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">alla Valutazione di Impatto
Ambientale</span><span style="text-indent: 0cm;">, mentre anche altri progetti sono sotto valutazione.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">Uno di questi progetti, Porto Novissimo di Lido, è stato
proposto dal Comune di Mira e sviluppato da Luciano Claut, architetto e
Assessore all’urbanistica per il Comune. La proposta prevede un molo
galleggiante di 600 metri, costruito offshore all’ingresso della laguna, che
verrebbe costruito con moduli collegati da cerniere e ancorati al fondo. All’inizio,
questo porto galleggiante potrebbe accogliere quattro grandi navi da crociera e
sarebbe autonomo. Una volta completata la costruzione del M.O.S.E.—le barriere
contro l’alta marea—il molo galleggiante verrebbe integrato con l’isola del
M.O.S.E. per formare un porto pienamente funzionante. La prima fase del
progetto dice sia eco-compatibile, a basso costo e potrebbe essere pronto e
operativo in poco tempo.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i><i style="text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sembra interessante</span></i><span lang="IT" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">, ho pensato mentre ascoltavo gli amministratori
del comune di Mira, dopo che mi avevano contattata e chiesto se ero disposta a
scrivere un articolo sul mio blog sul loro progetto—per spargere la voce in
inglese. Mi hanno spiegato che il molo galleggiante e l’isola del M.O.S.E.
verrebbero usati come punto di rifornimento e punto di dogana per le navi.
Cibo, carburante, approvvigionamenti, bagagli e reflui verrebbero trasferiti da
e alle navi attraverso trasporto merci mentre ormeggiate offshore, ed ogni anno
migliaia di crocieristi verrebbero trasportati via barca da e per il centro
storico, la stazione della ferrovia e l’aeroporto di Venezia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">A quel punto le immagini del </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">motondoso </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">sono apparse nella mia mente e la parola</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">continuava a tornarmi sulle labbra.</span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><i style="text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Motondoso </span></i><span lang="IT" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">(moto ondoso) è il termine usato dai
locali per descrivere il danno perpetrato dalle onde che lacerano le fragili
fondamenta di Venezia, principalmente causate da barche a motore che eccedono
il limite di velocità.</span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">E’ facile capire che un porto offshore aumenterebbe l’uso
e il traffico di barche a motore, ferryboats, vaporetti, taxi acquei, gran
turismo, trasporto merci, carburanti e reflui. Riuscite ad immaginare quale minaccia
potrebbe essere per Venezia, e la laguna, un possibile versamento di reflui e/o
carburanti durante il trasporto dal porto offshore alla terraferma? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">In una città dove è difficile trovare polizia
locale per controllare il già pesante traffico acqueo e rallentare le barche a
motore, un porto offshore non moltiplicherebbe i problemi e i rischi che
Venezia sta provando a risolvere?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">Non sono un ingegnere o un architetto o un amministratore
locale ma, come qualsiasi persona che abbia passato del tempo a Venezia,
capisco i problemi del traffico acqueo e delle grandi navi che sovrastano la
città. Come altri che tengono alla salute di Venezia sono contenta che il
governo si stia finalmente muovendo per trovare una soluzione reale a questo
problema.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">La mia unica speranza è che, viste queste scelte—che definisco</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> il male minore</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">—non facciamo più male
che bene a Venezia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;">Cosa ne
pensate?</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-10653528840749045162014-09-14T20:58:00.001+02:002014-09-16T11:13:06.427+02:00The lesser of two evils: An offshore touristic port for Venice or more canal digging?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWliBxc22Fai1KognqzkS3b0KCcwQDfAWVgUnzZIlOSj5Rjqh1mGZq1m9U4a_pZqZXmmxxGh-8ethDLNx15QOU0SnAmTKaSSbwde4d0Qw0t4yID_GjHQJdSqBjl3MdYvd8wqL7dA8O3k1j/s1600/navi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWliBxc22Fai1KognqzkS3b0KCcwQDfAWVgUnzZIlOSj5Rjqh1mGZq1m9U4a_pZqZXmmxxGh-8ethDLNx15QOU0SnAmTKaSSbwde4d0Qw0t4yID_GjHQJdSqBjl3MdYvd8wqL7dA8O3k1j/s1600/navi.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Mark's Basin-September 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Cruise
ships bring hundreds of thousands of tourists to Venice each year who, in turn,
contribute to the local and national economy by sustaining, in part, tourist
related jobs. However, like Gulliver stepping through Lilliput, these gigantic floating
skyscrapers sail through the Venetian lagoon and the fragile historical center—St.
Mark’s Basin and the Giudecca Canal—and leave their footprints, too. Two years
after the Costa Concordia fiasco, which tragically took 32 lives off the Tuscan
coast in January 2012, few people would disagree that large cruise ships
threaten the health of Venice—a city which risks its U.N.E.S.C.O. Heritage site
status, and is too often treated like a tourist attraction instead of a rare jewel.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Last month, the Italian <i>Interministerial
Committee to Safeguard Venice and the Lagoon</i> met in Rome. All members voted in favor
of prohibiting ships weighing more than 40,000 tons from passing through the
St. Mark’s Basin. Yet, only the city of
Mira—whose city limits include a good slice of the Venetian lagoon—voted against
the committee’s favored solution which would redirect large cruise ships
through the <i>Canale Contorta-Sant’Angelo</i>;
a natural narrow and shallow canal (more or less 30 meters at its widest point) which veers off of the larger Canale dei Petroli used by industrial ships to enter the Port of Marghera, and in the direction of Venice's existing touristic port. The proposed <i>Contorta-Sant’Angelo</i> project estimates
that it would take 18 months to implement work needed to extend, widen and
deepen the canal before it could be ready for cruise ship traffic. The city of
Mira administrators, along with many grassroots groups and lagoon habitué,
believe that digging and extending this canal would cause irreparable damage
and environmental consequences to the lagoon and its surrounding areas. It’s
been reported that an environmental
impact study is being done on this project, while other projects are being reviewed, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">One
of those projects, <i>Porto Novissimo di
Lido</i>, was presented by the city of Mira and developed by Luciano Claut, architect
and Assessor of Urban development for the city. The proposal calls for a 600 meter floating
jetty to be built offshore at the entrance to the lagoon. It would be made up of modules
connected by hinges and fixed by simple anchors to the bottom of the sea. In the
beginning, this floating port could accommodate four large cruise ships and would
be self-reliant. Once the construction of the M.O.S.E. high-tide water gates is
completed the floating jetty would be integrated with the island of M.O.S.E. to
form a full functioning port. The first step of this project is said to be
eco-compatible, low cost and could be up and running in little time.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sounds interesting</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">, I thought as I listened to the city of Mira administrators
who had contacted me and asked me if I would write about their project on my
blog—to get the word out in English. They explained that the floating
jetty and the M.O.S.E. island port would be used as a customs point and refurbishing
spot for the ships. Food, fuel, supplies, luggage and waste would be transferred
to and from cargo boats to the cruise ships while offshore, and thousands of cruise
passengers each year would be transported by boat to and from Venice’s historic
center, the train station, and the Venice airport.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">That’s
when I removed my rose colored glasses, and the word <i>motondoso </i>kept coming to my lips. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Motondoso
is the local term used to describe the damaging waves that claw away Venice’s
fragile foundation, and are principally caused by speeding motor boats. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s
easy to understand that an offshore port would increase the use of and traffic
by motorboats, ferryboats, vaporetti, water taxis, group tour boats, cargo boats,
boats carrying fuel and waste. Can you imagine the spillage threat waste and
fuel being transported from the offshore port to the mainland would bring to
Venice and the lagoon? In a city where it’s hard to find local police to patrol
the already heavy water traffic and slow motorboats down, wouldn’t an offshore port
multiple the problems and risks Venice is trying to resolve? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">I’m
not an engineer or an architect or a city administrator but, like anyone who has spent time in Venice, I do understand
the water traffic and cruise ship problems facing Venice. And, like others who have
Venice’s well-being at heart, I'm pleased that the government is, at last, taking
steps to find a real solution to this problem. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">My only hope is that, given these <i>male minore </i>or<i> </i>lesser of
evils choices, we don’t harm Venice more than help her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">What
are your thoughts? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-23323453659713789022014-08-28T17:01:00.000+02:002014-08-28T17:01:11.799+02:00My guest blog post on InsidersAbroad.com: #UNLOCKYOURLOVE-Venetians taking their city’s problems into their own hands<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVMulKflH3NaNe0eTCDiCMKz3WElKiy9Fi8_9j4uKsDk15ttGwodau-zWdWBW4PTjL7Pacrj54xY84N3R7TJQYlqAmyOYV-_Ibi0jDBWt5UPV3ZdJ0yc4rJspAqbbBs6VHMzHRySjKcgh/s1600/unlock+your+love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUVMulKflH3NaNe0eTCDiCMKz3WElKiy9Fi8_9j4uKsDk15ttGwodau-zWdWBW4PTjL7Pacrj54xY84N3R7TJQYlqAmyOYV-_Ibi0jDBWt5UPV3ZdJ0yc4rJspAqbbBs6VHMzHRySjKcgh/s1600/unlock+your+love.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#unlockyourlove logo by Alberto Toso Fei</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">After one of the most trying tourist seasons today’s generations of Venetians can remember, a grassroots group—tired of visitors using the city of Venice, Italy, like a beach, a picnic area or more crassly as an outdoor toilet. Yes this is happening in Venice, too—is saying </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">basta!</i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Enough</i><span style="font-size: large;"> of the abuse their spectacular town, a U.N.E.S.C.O. World Heritage site, has been forced to succumb to....</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Please continue reading my blog post here on Insiders Abroad:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.insidersabroad.com/italy/blogs/tourist-blog/posts/venetians-taking-their-citys-problems-into-their-own-hands" target="_blank">http://www.insidersabroad.com/italy/blogs/tourist-blog/posts/venetians-taking-their-citys-problems-into-their-own-hands</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thank You, Insiders Abroad for asking me to share this story with you and your readers. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-89687813723816989522014-08-15T23:00:00.000+02:002014-08-16T09:58:29.862+02:00Venice, not her tourists, is crying out loud!<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9I8jC9hjSYx8eSS0fxax392GeXfG3wS3HjRcL1SfkbGLqrIRHDRMezHoQmUpzP8cluPdKKy-tpIwH2ExncRMVYjx7-ebiqa_a_CiEZYW0LqVic5pRxM5vk54zHPmyaDgtM7rjM-54q3E/s1600/night+time+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9I8jC9hjSYx8eSS0fxax392GeXfG3wS3HjRcL1SfkbGLqrIRHDRMezHoQmUpzP8cluPdKKy-tpIwH2ExncRMVYjx7-ebiqa_a_CiEZYW0LqVic5pRxM5vk54zHPmyaDgtM7rjM-54q3E/s1600/night+time+2.JPG" height="150" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rialto Bridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Because of a recent article in The Telegraph: </span><i><span style="font-size: large;">Outcry over plan to charge Venice day trippers</span>...</i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'm climbing onto </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">my soapbox: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Tourism in Venice has drastically changed in the last 10 or so years. Too many, but not all, come, think it's a beach, walk around shirtless, wearing flip flops and in bathing suits, swim in the canals, climb on historic builidings that are hundreds of years old--all in a city where not long ago travelers knew when in Venice wearing short pants wasn't/isn't acceptable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Today, visitors pack a lunch as if they're going to a park, sit on centuries old steps in the Piazza known as the 'finest drawing room in Europe' and eat their meals without realizing where they are or what they're looking at, and then leave little behind except their trash. This is the reality. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">So, as a resident of Venice province for almost 30 years, where my family's livelihood has depended on tourism for three generations, I agree something must be done to save Venice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">If today's tourists don't understand that this city is a VERY special place, and they continue to treat it like another notch on their <i>'been there done that'</i> post, then the city must do something to either educate the masses (which in today's society is probably impossible) or keep out those who don't know how to respect and acknowledge Venice as one of if not <i>THE</i> most beautiful, fragile and precious cities on the planet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I'm sorry, but it is evident that anyone who doesn't understand <i>why</i> paying to enter the city is being discussed as a possible option hasn't spent more than a day or two in Venice in the last few years. And if they have, and still don't understand the problem, perhaps they are guilty of some of the insulting behavior the Venetians are tired of seeing their city be abused by.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9tgpE0mT3Ar8gMCfkF3ecQW-tjTxyfen4hGggD38y3OiklyVhRANn5nt9EOZjNnjyJzx_m2u2_PGE1e5Yfr1MPJMp4Tx_lTN3wMrQuikv6CXuktdbEkpoymkqEEL3sG-e_y1iZqRGLo6/s1600/black+and+white.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9tgpE0mT3Ar8gMCfkF3ecQW-tjTxyfen4hGggD38y3OiklyVhRANn5nt9EOZjNnjyJzx_m2u2_PGE1e5Yfr1MPJMp4Tx_lTN3wMrQuikv6CXuktdbEkpoymkqEEL3sG-e_y1iZqRGLo6/s1600/black+and+white.JPG" height="175" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Have you been to Venice recently? Do you agree with my comments or do you think it's okay to ignore decorum in this treasured city, and 'disrespect' the Jewel of the Adriatic? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I'd like to hear your thoughts, too. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You can find the Telegraph article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11032231/Outcry-over-plan-to-charge-Venice-day-trippers.html</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-49126488416748655682014-07-28T15:54:00.000+02:002014-07-28T15:56:42.789+02:00Eating Pizza New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio's way...with a fork. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzObO0KsgrrksGnoNjZJFT_wQuBTTo6QDvBW3bt1aXOPoeRROb2-WzIeKbcP1uJZxpmsd0c9E31XZ7zta-4VvLLTOjHq_ZnWcHl6QUhxQPf9c0_z3kXF0N6MwdkM1XOsholSWlDfyH6On/s1600/piazza+de+blasio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzObO0KsgrrksGnoNjZJFT_wQuBTTo6QDvBW3bt1aXOPoeRROb2-WzIeKbcP1uJZxpmsd0c9E31XZ7zta-4VvLLTOjHq_ZnWcHl6QUhxQPf9c0_z3kXF0N6MwdkM1XOsholSWlDfyH6On/s1600/piazza+de+blasio.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite pizza: Cream of artichoke with artichokes and buffalo mozzarella cheese</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3naYSs-YNP3rxfsZSDlyeFBJ1pitYkCL5ADthOFKGn4FHBOvyUDRc4VxIJWBr9j6mwWAlSWYJlgMtpieqejAk_GWJqjB15k4m3akFEGr0iSm0B-5yO2stKp9g5uctLfCIFHnoaqxPn6D/s1600/Mayor+De+Blasio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha3naYSs-YNP3rxfsZSDlyeFBJ1pitYkCL5ADthOFKGn4FHBOvyUDRc4VxIJWBr9j6mwWAlSWYJlgMtpieqejAk_GWJqjB15k4m3akFEGr0iSm0B-5yO2stKp9g5uctLfCIFHnoaqxPn6D/s1600/Mayor+De+Blasio.JPG" height="400" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Recently, I had the honor of spending
an evening with New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and his charming family
during their stay in Venice, Italy. We talked about many things: his city and
ours, his proud Italian-American heritage and the joy he and his family felt
visiting and being so warmly welcomed to Italy. When I permitted myself to make
a light hearted comment about eating pizza with a fork, he gave me a warm smile and, like any
good Italian, gently threw up his hands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some readers here may not know that since
Mayor De Blasio was elected to office last November magazines and newspapers, including
the New York Times, have mocked and criticized him for eating pizza with a fork.
In the NYTimes article one person went as far as to call eating pizza with a
fork “blasphemy” and stated that the Mayor “doesn’t know any better”. (See link to that article below)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the record, Mayor De Blasio is
unaware that our brief, pleasant exchange about pizza encouraged me to write
this post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, here goes. My question to those who
find it difficult to accept the Mayor’s way of eating pizza is: What’s all the
fuss about?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You see, the Mayor <i>does know better, </i>and he’s right. When eating pizza IN ITALY—where the
word <i>pizza</i> is said to have first
appeared in Latin in 997 A.D. in the town of Gaeta near Naples—one uses a fork
and, <i>blasphemy of all blasphemies</i>, a knife. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, I understand your concerns. I grew
up in Los Angeles and spent my childhood summer vacations in the heart of Philadelphia.
I remember back in the 60s holding my fast-walking grandfather’s hand on our summer
shopping trips to 69<sup>th</sup> Street where a steam billowing pizza stand
sat on the corner—or at least near the public bus stop. Twenty-five cent pizza slices
sold out the window on a gritty busy city street were a novelty for this then young
suburban Southern Californian. Of course I’d eaten pizza with my hands in Los
Angeles, but I’d never eaten it standing on a street corner. Served on a square
of paper, those cheese-dripping triangles were the best pizza slices I’d ever
sunk my teeth into—until I moved to Italy in the 1980s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What I quickly learned about eating pizza
in Italy is that, in the <i>Bel Paese,</i>
it’s rarely served sliced. Instead, it’s served whole on a big round ceramic platter
and, therefore, must be eaten with <i>a
knife and a fork</i>. Also, when eating pizza in Italy—and in recent years in some
pizzerias around the U.S.A.—you order your own individual whole pizza, and choose
<i>your</i> favorite topping, too. You won’t
find pineapple on pizza in Italy, but believe it or not, a favorite pizza among
Italian children is Pizza Patatina—cheese and tomato sauce topped with French
fries. (You can imagine the expression on my face when fifteen or so years ago a
slightly rude and uninformed young waiter in a pizzeria in Pennsylvania told my
Italian born, and then six-year old, daughter that if she wanted French fries
on her pizza she’d have to go down the street to McDonald’s) In any event, my
favorite pizza is a <i>pizza bianca—</i>no
tomato sauce—cream of artichoke with marinated artichoke hearts plus buffalo
mozzarella, with KAMUT flour crust. <i>Deliziosa!</i>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Eating an entire pizza might sound like
a gastronomical task, but pizza and their crusts in Italy are normally lighter than
traditional pizzas in the U.S., and making them is an art form. Whether you’re in New York City, Venice or
Naples, a pizzeria is only as good as its <i>pizzaiolo</i>
and its oven—preferably wood burning—and the best <i>pizzaioli</i> in Italy are known for preparing their crust thin and
crisp. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, my pizza loving friends, don’t you
think it’s time to give Mayor De Blasio a break and lay this <i>how pizza should be eaten</i> conversation
to rest? He’s simply eating pizza the traditional Italian way. Whether your pizza
is served sliced or whole you, too, might try using a fork and a knife next
time. And if it doesn’t seem quite right, <i>no
problem</i>, use your hands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Buon appetito!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">New York Times article
January 10,2014: <i>A Fork? De Blasio’s Way
of Eating Pizza Is Mocked</i></span></b><span lang="EN"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/nyregion/de-blasio-skewered-for-eating-pizza-with-utensils.html?_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/nyregion/de-blasio-skewered-for-eating-pizza-with-utensils.html?_r=0</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-33885726211813958122014-07-10T11:42:00.000+02:002014-07-10T11:42:41.794+02:00Laundry Day at the Home of a Gondolier...<span style="font-size: large;">Honestly, when I posted this photo on my personal Facebook page two days ago I had no idea how many smiles and shares it would bring. So, I thought I'd share the snapshot I took of my clothesline here, too. I hope it brings a smile to your face, too. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Feel free to leave a comment below, share this link with your friends, and LIKE Italy to Los Angeles and Back on Facebook, too. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A presto,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Marie Ohanesian Nardin </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-F2U76ditSi-P2ZkqD3PAaOkDWDBnn2ZqCQwr51DxA4sVv825fXPUOCcKpfW0hHGiINaKU6yhkx4e1iLTmJPofmw0dEnZtSk53kgiQ7lmBgSUeWHESYMDLPHv4J865eSnblEwNifnOuy/s1600/summer+laundry+at+Ca'Nardin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-F2U76ditSi-P2ZkqD3PAaOkDWDBnn2ZqCQwr51DxA4sVv825fXPUOCcKpfW0hHGiINaKU6yhkx4e1iLTmJPofmw0dEnZtSk53kgiQ7lmBgSUeWHESYMDLPHv4J865eSnblEwNifnOuy/s1600/summer+laundry+at+Ca'Nardin.JPG" height="341" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer Laundry at "Ca'Nardin"...my house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-89648122841933461382014-04-28T15:49:00.000+02:002014-04-28T17:08:43.223+02:00Venice's Gondoliers Row for Research<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizuHxb8gqMm7KdylGGuyFbg4At7dZd9oOvx29g1OugycgJqotKRFZ-gqFll0cv5ZrdaQu1zLAMhbjbmDISFCiCVuLp_3equ_FGi3pi5_KcZlUVoavjLTp76WKFTTFBqwPrB3LxeFga3_Gk/s1600/IMG_2257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizuHxb8gqMm7KdylGGuyFbg4At7dZd9oOvx29g1OugycgJqotKRFZ-gqFll0cv5ZrdaQu1zLAMhbjbmDISFCiCVuLp_3equ_FGi3pi5_KcZlUVoavjLTp76WKFTTFBqwPrB3LxeFga3_Gk/s1600/IMG_2257.JPG" height="190" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Regata dei Traghetti for the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
C<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 17.85pt;">riticism has been laid on the gondoliers' strong broad shoulders as far back as when they began rowing down Venice's beautiful canals. Comments
which are often heard spoken in dialect by fellow Venetians—their most ardent
critics or printed in the local press and more recently on social networks. Now,
with the variety of instant communication sources, it’s no surprise that when a
gondolier makes an error the world takes notice, too. Granted some critical comments
have been warranted, others not so much and most are brought on by a minority
of the 400-plus strong category. However, as with any group that works in the
public eye, it is<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDS1uhUc5Ze-T-Dps_pMbb31CuWlDrtUUfSZv5JJHDx_gGUHdZ-cjRm1XmJ3BGREtRW6d_98MTF62QVnN729oPyci-vVWAnBX0FKpRbyjjW_JCvvKIGbRLe5C0CkuSZHHVtUfCu7Y4njny/s1600/bandierine+della+fondazione.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDS1uhUc5Ze-T-Dps_pMbb31CuWlDrtUUfSZv5JJHDx_gGUHdZ-cjRm1XmJ3BGREtRW6d_98MTF62QVnN729oPyci-vVWAnBX0FKpRbyjjW_JCvvKIGbRLe5C0CkuSZHHVtUfCu7Y4njny/s1600/bandierine+della+fondazione.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
quite difficult for the majority of the gondoliers who abide
by the rules to escape judgment based upon the actions of a few. Therefore, I
think when all 400-plus gondoliers make a
grand, generous and straight from the heart gesture that it is only right and proper to commend and applaud them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Last Friday, April 25, 2014, the Association of Gondoliers
dedicated their annual Regata dei Traghetti (a regatta between the 10 gondola
stations) to the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, a prominent and effective non-profit medical research foundation in Italy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 17.85pt;">Not only did the gondoliers
compete while wearing a striped t-shirt with the words </span><i style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 17.85pt;">Io Vogo per la Ricerca</i><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 17.85pt;">—I Row for Research—they pledged €30.000 (approx.
$42,000) to fund the foundation’s “Gold for Kids” project. A first! Because in
the ten years since </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOClP8ZWWzuArooE0S5ChQzxH0YGXWw5twTgCuvQDpQc4Qm_7X66C0orGCpw3n_0zzhMoOTWONxACnBVI9-M8z5-WbMy-Mse5mTEbKCKNFIw5JjFZiOtthRotMr_6VsNpzdMvFApFjHHUt/s1600/Io+vogo+per+la+Ricerca.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOClP8ZWWzuArooE0S5ChQzxH0YGXWw5twTgCuvQDpQc4Qm_7X66C0orGCpw3n_0zzhMoOTWONxACnBVI9-M8z5-WbMy-Mse5mTEbKCKNFIw5JjFZiOtthRotMr_6VsNpzdMvFApFjHHUt/s1600/Io+vogo+per+la+Ricerca.JPG" height="320" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foundation supporters follow the regatta</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
the foundation began raising funds for cancer research,
this is the first time one group has made such a large lump-sum contribution. It
may also be the first contribution to go towards the foundation’s new “Gold for
Kids” project which supports the most innovative pediatric oncology therapies
and medical treatment available to children being cared for in hospitals
throughout Italy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BwE0wFynns3hqIKhQNIv1Z4_Ndk6s0aBhjDHZzOaPYzKhOxCrxnwSUg-BfiBQI7TuQ_PpTu5UF5hoYSGVGBcvsPQXvmZNLA1nczJs73jf4r8baoZvx48BIhPNzwkzs0wU_p_7JN9Hcie/s1600/i+primi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9BwE0wFynns3hqIKhQNIv1Z4_Ndk6s0aBhjDHZzOaPYzKhOxCrxnwSUg-BfiBQI7TuQ_PpTu5UF5hoYSGVGBcvsPQXvmZNLA1nczJs73jf4r8baoZvx48BIhPNzwkzs0wU_p_7JN9Hcie/s1600/i+primi.JPG" height="215" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first place winners: Traghetto Molo/San Marco</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The relationship between the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, one
of Italy’s most respected non-profit organizations, and the Gondoliers, the
symbol of one of Italy’s most beloved cities, brings an exemplary initiative to
life. A noble gesture that comes from the hearts of what I personally
consider to be a noble group of people—a gesture that I hope might serve as an example for
other associations, groups and individuals to follow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Un grande grazie di cuore ai gondolieri di Venezia!</span></i></div>
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<i><o:p></o:p></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/fondazione.veronesi">https://www.facebook.com/fondazione.veronesi</a>
or <a href="http://www.fondazioneumbertoveronesi.com/">www.fondazioneumbertoveronesi.com</a>
<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-25476655056905563112014-03-11T16:16:00.000+01:002014-03-11T16:16:05.561+01:00Pharrell Williams' Happy has made it to Venice!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Italy to Los Angeles and Back </h2>
<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
thought this might bring a smile to all who love Venice! </h2>
<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Pharrell Williams' Happy </h2>
<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Danced to in Venice!</h2>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Thanks to:</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.hostelsclub.com/city-it-194-Venice.html" target="_blank">HostelsClub </a></span></h3>
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy in Venice Video</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Watch it here!</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/prRJvPy_kHQ/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/prRJvPy_kHQ&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/prRJvPy_kHQ&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-83997828733213915082014-02-25T16:41:00.000+01:002014-02-25T19:31:29.919+01:00A glimpse of Carnevale Venice 2014<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUSibLx4Z7insZcRlIjTzmIURoJOoRvN4Rq9xuPAfRZXCglCs2h1hRr4DTZp2S5_kDvqEOBye6r8WvXmFogemtXfDvP0-NOxn9l0v5rpmohTGBwIT1S1jxBer3zbkvsH5GYQhmeqI3B7D/s1600/car+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUSibLx4Z7insZcRlIjTzmIURoJOoRvN4Rq9xuPAfRZXCglCs2h1hRr4DTZp2S5_kDvqEOBye6r8WvXmFogemtXfDvP0-NOxn9l0v5rpmohTGBwIT1S1jxBer3zbkvsH5GYQhmeqI3B7D/s1600/car+1.jpg" height="346" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Masks-Carnevale 2014<br />
Traghetto Molo, San Marco</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-image: none;">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Carnevale</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, for
many who live in or around Venice, is a time when you either stay away from St. Mark's square
and the crowds that fill the city's only piazza or you wait to view the marvelous costumes and masks on an 'off day'. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This year the festivities
officially opened on Sunday February 23rd with the traditional <i>Volo dell’angelo </i>or Flight of the Angel.
It was reported that 105,000 people attended. I, intentionally, was not one of them.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjeOhvB_62qoqrAKCEIOxWuiP8EXngYtSG37EH3rO5JVhJA4FTCPWM1BEe2_QgxW1nGHz9EDs6le60R4EcvgfvekDgc_j762HGkcN-jRX0VeLzA9NRtadgPfKDvVD20HuhU9BP8zUeaGS/s1600/car+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjeOhvB_62qoqrAKCEIOxWuiP8EXngYtSG37EH3rO5JVhJA4FTCPWM1BEe2_QgxW1nGHz9EDs6le60R4EcvgfvekDgc_j762HGkcN-jRX0VeLzA9NRtadgPfKDvVD20HuhU9BP8zUeaGS/s1600/car+3.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful mask, Venice 2014</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The origins of the Angel, interpreted in the 1500s by a Turkish
acrobat and known then as the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Svolo del Turco</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
now stars a selected damsel dressed in costume who, securely belted to a robust
pulley, slowly descends from the ledge of the bell tower, over the crowd, and
into the welcome arms of the honorary Doge awaiting her on stage at the far
end of the square. Over the centuries the Flight of the Turk became known as
the Flight of the Angel, until a tragic accident in the mid-1700s caused the
human Angel to be replaced by a </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Colombina</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
(dove) carved from wood. <i>La </i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Colombina</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> remained the
opening Carnevale attraction until recent years. In fact, the first few </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Volos</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I attended in the late 1980s, and
if my memory is correct into the 1990s, were indeed </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">la Colombina</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Many Venetians still refer to the opening
<i>Carnevale</i> ceremony as <i>il Volo della Colombina</i>. However, some years ago, thanks to
modern day safety techniques,</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the
more exciting descent of a ‘real’ </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Angelo</i> has, once again, returned. <span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Court Jester</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>However, as I stated, I stayed away and instead chose, as I've
done for more years than I can remember, to take a walk through Venice's back alleyways on Monday, a quieter <i>Carnevale</i> day. Of course, I ended up in St. Mark's square-- which around our home is also known as my husband's office. </b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;">While waiting for my dear
husband to <i>mettere la barca da notte</i> (put the gondola away for the night),<i> </i>I snapped these photos. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.</b><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite this year. </td></tr>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix51uT5BA3sW-9eWnV_hSju7GCAX-WAmm_ddgU-MWN6kxBM8bww4kU_uXGBtQ1WfDRveQPMsDz9kDnZVOrfp-nNwbpwvfCWEsbEgL3iX1hVhCKlPBAZ6zPM258bVsGjMZksGhDI_KSsUYp/h120/car+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></b><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="goog_75988561"></span><span id="goog_75988562"></span><span id="goog_1784826737"></span><span id="goog_1784826738"><br /></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-44041136726547995072014-02-01T19:25:00.000+01:002014-02-01T19:25:07.407+01:0010 random things Italy has taught this native Southern Californian...<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><strong>Today marks 27 years since I left Los Angeles and moved to Venice, Italy—a lot of changes have occurred in my life, on the inside and out. So, just for fun, I’d like to share a few of the random things Italy has taught this native Southern Californian:</strong></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piazzetta San Marco, Venice<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Walk
or take public transportation. They’re easy options that help your wallet,
waistline and the environment.</span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Unless
there’s a deadline, it’s okay if you leave it for tomorrow.</span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Traditional
Italian lasagna is made with besciamella cream sauce and lots of Parmigiano
cheese, not mozzarella. </span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Neighborhood
clock towers and church bells are great time telling instruments.</span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">As
an alternative, a scoop of fresh gelato makes a healthy summertime meal.</span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">No
other country designs and makes shoes, handbags or clothes like Italy. No,
not even France!</span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Stop
an average Italian on the street and he or she will probably know more about
the world’s current events than an average U.S. citizen—even when it comes to
U.S. foreign affairs. </span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Wine
or water, and sometimes beer, are the only beverages that should be consumed
with food. </span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">National
Healthcare works well for everyone.</span></b></div>
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<li style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;"><div align="left" style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">No matter how trying the economy, how
disorganized the government, Italians resiliently move forward and, somehow, make
life work.</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"> </span></b></div>
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<em><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Merry Christmas to all...</span></em></h2>
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<em><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Buon Natale a tutti</span></em></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUZTiO2-UUEg0KtVCg1hQESid20FTKYCUzghAD23kwwkQ9vcso0nsF2Eh97pzHJSujDJZM-Ttx5DpegbEnbHQ7kS5rT5dRNjnajZKaj40Uyrn0EM-vfZ2X6UMu4lE4iU_LUlRqVnvZ11h/s1600/Christmas+Globes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUZTiO2-UUEg0KtVCg1hQESid20FTKYCUzghAD23kwwkQ9vcso0nsF2Eh97pzHJSujDJZM-Ttx5DpegbEnbHQ7kS5rT5dRNjnajZKaj40Uyrn0EM-vfZ2X6UMu4lE4iU_LUlRqVnvZ11h/s400/Christmas+Globes.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">and </span></em></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Thank You for following </span></em></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Italy to Los Angeles and Back</span></em> </h2>
<h3>
</h3>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-13890821808215322432013-10-24T19:24:00.001+02:002013-10-24T19:24:20.876+02:00Twenty reasons why you'll want to visit the Langhe in Piedmont, Italy.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8fOX8hG-hKLJcl5CGtLA_Qa7qEYYZovB-pV_yZPNxkv4meLUeg9yb2c3xQ50Qp-Fp3kAG2R7oaTnxk67-aEm_2cNb2zV_57HSLvc_ShkZjGMu5YYbUuBUI1UlzZmvvu1ClLta9EivZjo/s1600/Barolo+hills.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8fOX8hG-hKLJcl5CGtLA_Qa7qEYYZovB-pV_yZPNxkv4meLUeg9yb2c3xQ50Qp-Fp3kAG2R7oaTnxk67-aEm_2cNb2zV_57HSLvc_ShkZjGMu5YYbUuBUI1UlzZmvvu1ClLta9EivZjo/s400/Barolo+hills.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. Travel the 'Strada Romantica' through the sweet rolling hill sides of Barolo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuI2OWKbPyTPtlnf14b2x1OqCO0Zz1sajtYeqb51UasWwhSS4ZSNNBP9vXqsqPU8dbKrqyLhSgvHqkOJuDt9S6gDepKO_1iAMLVbub2L09d5RGZZ5qWWyLwEQ2zbp-lNUyHvu3rKu3aSf/s1600/tartufi+bianchi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXuI2OWKbPyTPtlnf14b2x1OqCO0Zz1sajtYeqb51UasWwhSS4ZSNNBP9vXqsqPU8dbKrqyLhSgvHqkOJuDt9S6gDepKO_1iAMLVbub2L09d5RGZZ5qWWyLwEQ2zbp-lNUyHvu3rKu3aSf/s400/tartufi+bianchi.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2. Eat fresh white truffles at Cascina Collavini: <a href="http://www.ristorantecollavini.it/">http://www.ristorantecollavini.it/</a> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWg0LunnVcmOpo_23vWBm32bGakB7QBu0ngTii-_yERI8cWTZ6UYnKAVisFKpUAtUDgMRZsAQfBYNq6g7I_NVw7qexYIcVu9NvfKxFyHLVOaASxLQUC9oNRPYuJOKay9Z3T3POWqV_Tcl/s1600/home+away+from+home.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWg0LunnVcmOpo_23vWBm32bGakB7QBu0ngTii-_yERI8cWTZ6UYnKAVisFKpUAtUDgMRZsAQfBYNq6g7I_NVw7qexYIcVu9NvfKxFyHLVOaASxLQUC9oNRPYuJOKay9Z3T3POWqV_Tcl/s400/home+away+from+home.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3. Stay in elegant surroundings like the Relais Poderi Luigi Einaudi in Dogliani. <a href="http://www.relaiseinaudi.com/">http://www.relaiseinaudi.com/</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ikc_MJTD-y3kr0ZnraUcVlBHSmubdci7oOxQRFJTx2KRIktnPUlUxoCkkR1_eAtEyAaSq1tGa9skeTN5BtAuNzfTreGIAQqppmwKYb9pVIq70G4zWQ2tLlCmHbTP-yile7q87y-JJB5I/s1600/a+country+estate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ikc_MJTD-y3kr0ZnraUcVlBHSmubdci7oOxQRFJTx2KRIktnPUlUxoCkkR1_eAtEyAaSq1tGa9skeTN5BtAuNzfTreGIAQqppmwKYb9pVIq70G4zWQ2tLlCmHbTP-yile7q87y-JJB5I/s400/a+country+estate.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4. Call a country home, home. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjljSq5XWneZFA7vvuX4IoEMrAtwvi4wCYctMcE7aqItIRpE7TvDmVELluSBwGmtVAEAlpgC-0InYVDLhy2JQTpPz2PHSHhe1t2jpPGBAh1oAU8yU0nZnuCFG_cH6PaYzGfnAAqpLWKOG/s1600/fall+colors.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjljSq5XWneZFA7vvuX4IoEMrAtwvi4wCYctMcE7aqItIRpE7TvDmVELluSBwGmtVAEAlpgC-0InYVDLhy2JQTpPz2PHSHhe1t2jpPGBAh1oAU8yU0nZnuCFG_cH6PaYzGfnAAqpLWKOG/s400/fall+colors.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5. Watch autumn colors wash over Dogliani.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZTKArv7ZNgTOhS9zO4uDvoLCagSR8C9BV01pqSq3Un2e7Axw2BJVBbM-XLk5QFE3L-1Urb_OJhLmM1yYsCcDuQUbeuZrp-cB6csHhEkymH3bja9GunUzNhgTXxRtkT4A3QG6-gZhqEBY/s1600/Dogliani+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSZTKArv7ZNgTOhS9zO4uDvoLCagSR8C9BV01pqSq3Un2e7Axw2BJVBbM-XLk5QFE3L-1Urb_OJhLmM1yYsCcDuQUbeuZrp-cB6csHhEkymH3bja9GunUzNhgTXxRtkT4A3QG6-gZhqEBY/s400/Dogliani+view.JPG" width="327" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6. Enjoy a splendid view from a splendid room.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNH5vwgpYmgY7ZCnYN3MrzC2L4qpiBP4Y9ctI0qLMIODKWbHHGj90QJDxUKplxlRWYW8-RcTFsK3yDqinHyebx1MW54BeS69swvhRlBAB-GqZOzXJPL-bsl5ruFIveNnWafPSh_vC662n/s1600/historical+wineries.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNH5vwgpYmgY7ZCnYN3MrzC2L4qpiBP4Y9ctI0qLMIODKWbHHGj90QJDxUKplxlRWYW8-RcTFsK3yDqinHyebx1MW54BeS69swvhRlBAB-GqZOzXJPL-bsl5ruFIveNnWafPSh_vC662n/s400/historical+wineries.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7. Learn about and taste local wine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMy97rzT9iieWRlOIHlIohz0Gy1lZGQEF0yO6kxrUGqfbqVTyYeADMm4jbySMHc5x75R7mlvhVxRB-oIu3SHXq9FHXyF-ql5ki4N7azaAWCf_aNE3qRJ-uaYVRjwXS2Xjnh50eiMcTC4ql/s1600/stable+to+sitting+room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMy97rzT9iieWRlOIHlIohz0Gy1lZGQEF0yO6kxrUGqfbqVTyYeADMm4jbySMHc5x75R7mlvhVxRB-oIu3SHXq9FHXyF-ql5ki4N7azaAWCf_aNE3qRJ-uaYVRjwXS2Xjnh50eiMcTC4ql/s400/stable+to+sitting+room.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8. Warm up in a sitting room that was once a stable.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilt3JUG8_m0tk0zKIXP1U6LBpmeayBZuuYwjxuhqzFL0BZBzUC0ygmfyLdkULY0_1Xn0hEVBI01EZ3ROCNMSQxM6IkE7LK898I9x-dE1sfTNiWNwDDjnUCki3Vst4aLVbrqWVUkIhbUv1O/s1600/barrique+table+einaudi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilt3JUG8_m0tk0zKIXP1U6LBpmeayBZuuYwjxuhqzFL0BZBzUC0ygmfyLdkULY0_1Xn0hEVBI01EZ3ROCNMSQxM6IkE7LK898I9x-dE1sfTNiWNwDDjnUCki3Vst4aLVbrqWVUkIhbUv1O/s400/barrique+table+einaudi.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9. Use a barrique as a table. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJOPhPe3wCUnN5hMaJXSC148ZoX3GnGDeI3jnxqIIDJHQ_iqHgQ-72zOj0wFt6DNTT_7wTXyEO9F0hx91xQ4KxEwFYRl7MdOYsN5mZ3zcW2oys1jZrAFDOtos2DKOehJGNn6fzvHCinw1/s1600/gnocchi+tartufi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJOPhPe3wCUnN5hMaJXSC148ZoX3GnGDeI3jnxqIIDJHQ_iqHgQ-72zOj0wFt6DNTT_7wTXyEO9F0hx91xQ4KxEwFYRl7MdOYsN5mZ3zcW2oys1jZrAFDOtos2DKOehJGNn6fzvHCinw1/s400/gnocchi+tartufi.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10. Indulge your senses in a plate of homemade gnocchi and fresh sliced white truffles. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU_FDn8igxgIQNxk-ORi8gHvXG4Ywr-6djR0QgPFCY28lC_1mwjXrX9ZqJ-N0ZC-J2SRAKsXFGnczy3to2JNw9MKDyInZ39dk13GzImWQrSuqvDhVNjHRpajDWi1A6QrCif6PU6OEfw4T/s1600/swimming+pool+shaped+like+a+bottle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU_FDn8igxgIQNxk-ORi8gHvXG4Ywr-6djR0QgPFCY28lC_1mwjXrX9ZqJ-N0ZC-J2SRAKsXFGnczy3to2JNw9MKDyInZ39dk13GzImWQrSuqvDhVNjHRpajDWi1A6QrCif6PU6OEfw4T/s400/swimming+pool+shaped+like+a+bottle.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">11. Swim in a wine-bottle shaped pool. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWD3zoKKQhhr93ug5Hojlsfgxn_qlnQzD6eqYbrpuzoD9Ex_xJzgkYnE0Pe4Wuzfwi-pPZSzIrG0doqzQe2Apa67oMq_vOlsH0fzaUnMd0pcHkd6ksll_eDDml89rxDZZhmGDdy54GqFZy/s1600/country+roads.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWD3zoKKQhhr93ug5Hojlsfgxn_qlnQzD6eqYbrpuzoD9Ex_xJzgkYnE0Pe4Wuzfwi-pPZSzIrG0doqzQe2Apa67oMq_vOlsH0fzaUnMd0pcHkd6ksll_eDDml89rxDZZhmGDdy54GqFZy/s400/country+roads.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12. Wander down country roads.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjjaoieveKA5Lp47YTFlukSJWvhQ5XAZ_UcHwCHzgmG0ZVwMjyNNOh7b3CG1BVa8RHIsgIOOsBmTJrCx0yaSpsUdiQ0tmK8qKPgp6h2m0ToI18V0wxubqdO6AP-sOGaMWA_tkUA4DYtfo/s1600/breakfast+room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwjjaoieveKA5Lp47YTFlukSJWvhQ5XAZ_UcHwCHzgmG0ZVwMjyNNOh7b3CG1BVa8RHIsgIOOsBmTJrCx0yaSpsUdiQ0tmK8qKPgp6h2m0ToI18V0wxubqdO6AP-sOGaMWA_tkUA4DYtfo/s400/breakfast+room.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">13. Enjoy breakfast in peaceful surroundings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6m46b8JySNTQbWpkiwb5v4APHoirE-q7g2KK85uw2W4voD_R6mDzWHoog_gzJDg__qHY6LKyj9mqkp-HhfL5wIeO5d6zv23nCAcFZhWAvsoZRB67wExekuT3s7GXfZM3shP1jecim7GJ/s1600/Neive+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6m46b8JySNTQbWpkiwb5v4APHoirE-q7g2KK85uw2W4voD_R6mDzWHoog_gzJDg__qHY6LKyj9mqkp-HhfL5wIeO5d6zv23nCAcFZhWAvsoZRB67wExekuT3s7GXfZM3shP1jecim7GJ/s400/Neive+.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">14. Gaze at the view from the top of Neive. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBh8OUVlbSSxkU5hHuSCYCuFYn9v9MaH-uaaKmOsc7p7vEDcajj3RmfxpxP1nxEXcVvfKM7XkxLnaYtyHcy3FIVs97gOR_pPnIdfj0sAcksPiZ5Ld3BxUB94DTe2cujvK9bRI2aSHKsSE/s1600/land+of+dolcetto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNBh8OUVlbSSxkU5hHuSCYCuFYn9v9MaH-uaaKmOsc7p7vEDcajj3RmfxpxP1nxEXcVvfKM7XkxLnaYtyHcy3FIVs97gOR_pPnIdfj0sAcksPiZ5Ld3BxUB94DTe2cujvK9bRI2aSHKsSE/s400/land+of+dolcetto.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">15. Wonder at nature's ability to astound. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4kEf2_e2_y4adtHY1v9zTIE11T7loDECfoyotioRMwrX-EOIXL2MQPg67p_zh0kgAq10pU5ukMKOQjNuHr0fE7_YItd7l9NPMY3LPqW7y2TOf9oOxb7D_5c7HHQs7Dec_UAtn3noUSj-/s1600/wine+cellars.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4kEf2_e2_y4adtHY1v9zTIE11T7loDECfoyotioRMwrX-EOIXL2MQPg67p_zh0kgAq10pU5ukMKOQjNuHr0fE7_YItd7l9NPMY3LPqW7y2TOf9oOxb7D_5c7HHQs7Dec_UAtn3noUSj-/s400/wine+cellars.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">16. Visit wine cellars in use since the 1800s.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvb8axDBXJe2u5fOUN2yacte5li-iz1cU4y9a-pitGjd7Vh1sXdLJ2FpGbpINLdFFZlOMOfaurNdu0AcPAO3bY8HdBjhRdkMUS_WwfxCDEV-yCdqMr7pnZLELJTAHyfstO2nOudwGZGrr/s1600/Verduno.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhvb8axDBXJe2u5fOUN2yacte5li-iz1cU4y9a-pitGjd7Vh1sXdLJ2FpGbpINLdFFZlOMOfaurNdu0AcPAO3bY8HdBjhRdkMUS_WwfxCDEV-yCdqMr7pnZLELJTAHyfstO2nOudwGZGrr/s400/Verduno.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">17. Travel toVerduno and eat where the locals do: <a href="http://www.bercau.it/">http://www.bercau.it/</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBAKXqJwO1CGix0u3cck5KOOAcKvlCbZu6Nf1M43P7isl0wmSC3kPN0RS8Pmr0LhYUzTWeuZ8iqNPTOHJcycNraqlzhRAo0vOMd3FP-6XdeOQsIGlxsJ4ZAUqDfkdPzUHlpB_M2feBexT/s1600/a+light+dinner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBAKXqJwO1CGix0u3cck5KOOAcKvlCbZu6Nf1M43P7isl0wmSC3kPN0RS8Pmr0LhYUzTWeuZ8iqNPTOHJcycNraqlzhRAo0vOMd3FP-6XdeOQsIGlxsJ4ZAUqDfkdPzUHlpB_M2feBexT/s400/a+light+dinner.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">18. Prepare a light dinner with local fruit, wine and cheese.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKlhmsJ5QNOWnBuPjesyCB0dQZyThreFSpDuCiqTV669UTaPhXpEy44mRAGN9VjkducrZVV3bcu9z23EIUUAW6kRuihsb3DmWLXeVP-2vdWAdT-63N_A29iOIyDgiLhCe9ZpmPVxi1CCs/s1600/grape+covered+balconies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKlhmsJ5QNOWnBuPjesyCB0dQZyThreFSpDuCiqTV669UTaPhXpEy44mRAGN9VjkducrZVV3bcu9z23EIUUAW6kRuihsb3DmWLXeVP-2vdWAdT-63N_A29iOIyDgiLhCe9ZpmPVxi1CCs/s400/grape+covered+balconies.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">19. Look up in Neive and see a grape covered balacony that would make Juliette jealous.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0EBZ0-SkpjNcJwzedMWoZcgl77p0vDSFTSsF2416n-gBPdG4edcKj3jB4tdhMlYQabaPuETzOmTMkoMnFguEzw3_Wrb2lM7vFuQdCK_wyIDeF-F8J3Wu1CIoGNOLOyW_obAqOMBAL7KG/s1600/leaving+Barolo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM0EBZ0-SkpjNcJwzedMWoZcgl77p0vDSFTSsF2416n-gBPdG4edcKj3jB4tdhMlYQabaPuETzOmTMkoMnFguEzw3_Wrb2lM7vFuQdCK_wyIDeF-F8J3Wu1CIoGNOLOyW_obAqOMBAL7KG/s400/leaving+Barolo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">20. Say arrivederci to Barolo because you'll surely return. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Where are the Langhe? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langhe">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langhe</a> Buon viaggio! <br />
<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-65416903978603399182013-10-18T09:53:00.001+02:002013-10-18T09:53:38.118+02:00Sarah Mastroianni, journalist for Canada's Panoram Italia magazine, asked me what I thought...<h2>
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<h1>
Venice’s Struggle for Survival</h1>
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<span class="date">2013/10/11</span><span class="author"> - Written by Sarah Mastroianni </span></div>
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Venice’s Struggle for Survival</div>
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Throughout the course of its lengthy history, Venice – the city on the water – has become home to innumerable artistic, architectural, and cultural treasures, as well as historical figures such as Marco Polo, Antonio Vivaldi and Giacomo Casanova. But despite the city’s illustrious past, present-day Venice is in trouble. It’s only fitting that such a unique city should face an equally unique array of problems. The rising water levels, increasingly frequent occurrences of “acqua alta,” sinking foundations, a falling local population and ever-increasing throngs of tourists, have the city both literally and figuratively fighting to stay afloat. </div>
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Marie Ohanesian Nardin, writer of the blog Italy to Los Angeles and Back and long time resident of Venice, weighs in on the city’s water-related struggles, commenting, “All too many times a year Venice’s residents must deal with high tide invading ground floor homes and entryways, their shops, restaurants and schools. They must prepare for such, and though the high tide may entertain tourists, it is no light matter for the locals.” <br />
It’s during these times that sirens sound a warning throughout the streets and locals can’t do much except wait for the high tides to abate and hope that the damage is minimal. <br />
“But Venetians are resilient people,” Nardin continues, “and take living with high tide as part of their culture; they just wish it didn’t happen so often.” It’s looking like Venetians might actually get their wish. <br />
The aptly named Progetto MOSE (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), which is currently in progress, is expected to accomplish in Venice what Mosè (Moses) did in biblical times: save the people from the water around them. <br />
How will it reach its goal? The Progetto MOSE, governed by the Consorzio Venezia Nuova, consists of a series of electromechanical gates, which are being installed underwater at the three mouths of the Venetian lagoon: Chioggia, Malamocco and Lido. The gates will exist to effectively close off the lagoon from the sea during high tides or extraordinary weather conditions in order to prevent the water level from reaching dangerous heights within the city’s canals.<br />
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Clara Ceolin, Cultural Coordinator at the Centro Veneto in Toronto, was born on the Lido and returns to Venice regularly with her family. On a recent trip she visited one of the MOSE construction sites to get a better idea of just how a man-made machine might be able to “fermare il mare,” (stop the sea). “They’ve been working on it for years,” says Ceolin, “but they had problems with money.” <br />
After many years of planning and numerous setbacks along the way, the project is currently more than 60 percent completed. The much-anticipated MOSE should finally become operational sometime in 2014, but there’s still a catch. <br />
“There are many people who say that it won’t be useful at all,” reports Ceolin. Unfortunately, this might actually be true: there is still much speculation as to whether the gates will actually be capable of living up to their purpose, since, to date, a project of this kind has never been used in any other comparable situation in the world. Despite the widespread worry, “We have a lot of hope in the project,” she says.<br />
But Venice’s water level issues aren’t the only ones that make it an increasingly difficult place to live. “The Venetian people feel their city is slipping from their fingers and being monopolised by a tourism industry that both provides the livelihood of many locals and strips the city of the quality of life that only Venice can offer,” Nardin says. <br />
The love/hate relationship that Venetians have with tourism is a complex one, not caused by one element but by a combination of issues that negatively impact the daily life of those who reside in the city. On a very simple level, Venetians don’t appreciate the flood of visitors – upwards of 9 million in 2012 – who, at times, lack respect for their city and treat it as if it were an amusement park instead of home to real people with jobs, lives and families.<br />
As if that weren’t enough, Nardin explains that the cost of living in Venice is very high, with average household spending in the Veneto reaching 2835 euros per month (the third highest of Italy’s 20 regions), a number which is being driven higher by the ripple effects of the city trying to cater to millions of tourists. Unable to make a living or enjoy their city, many locals are leaving Venice in search of work and respite from the flooding that assails their city, both in the form of tourists and high tides. In 1961, there were 137,150 residents; the number dropped to 58,991 in 2011. <br />
What future is there for Venice with all her problems? Similarly to Ceolin, Nardin has hope for the Progetto MOSE and reaffirms her love for the city, tourists and all. “Being in Venice is living in history: when I step through her calli (alleyways), I can’t help but wonder about those who have followed the same route for centuries before me. And for someone like me […] Venice will always be home.”<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" class="imagiamedia_image" height="265" src="http://www.panoramitalia.com/includes/images/common/article/arts_culture/53f24fe0c6dd86baf2d0bb8eeb5420e3525841cc35970.jpg" width="400" /></div>
- See more at: http://www.panoramitalia.com/en/arts-culture/history/venice-s-struggle-survival/2163/#sthash.CAsKkuUO.dpuf<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-22440864720372970592013-10-14T12:29:00.000+02:002013-10-14T12:29:50.215+02:00Fresh Sage Fried in Batter...Salvia Fritta in Pastella<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIrj-X4rk86Tg5FGdi389uaOYLASy76wEkGMJCooq5lsh5x3pUm7nPwHfkGQeXD3r1ALDo3lNbC9zCOh2lABL1AHVsR02ZWCVbVWfGxXlMV9F0Emrg_d4HIW4Qu5vz4Q-1N8ewRjJnBIi2/s1600/fried+sage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIrj-X4rk86Tg5FGdi389uaOYLASy76wEkGMJCooq5lsh5x3pUm7nPwHfkGQeXD3r1ALDo3lNbC9zCOh2lABL1AHVsR02ZWCVbVWfGxXlMV9F0Emrg_d4HIW4Qu5vz4Q-1N8ewRjJnBIi2/s400/fried+sage.JPG" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fried Sage Leaves</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Italian cooks bring delightful appetizers and snacks to the table by battering-up and frying most anything edible from the garden. Some of my favorites are zucchini flowers, sambuca blossoms, wisteria blooms and sage leaves. Since sage is the most common garden plant on my list I thought I'd share this <em>Salvia Fritta in Pastella</em> recipe with you. It's easy to prepare and makes a delicious snack, appertizer or side-dish. Buon Appetito! </span><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fresh Sage Leaves Fried
in Batter (Salvia Fritta in Pastella) <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2 dozen fresh
large sage leaves </b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">100 grams
or ½ cup Flour<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">125 ml or
½ cup cold beer or sparkling water<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmNMfMgCZaOelkxSNe-4aqt2sqHLhco0paenjkCo_ryt1eWnJqmx7fB8ga2O4wWkkJAbsM6dcLJ7ZDTIClkfI120QBicn58ToMggxAqGcWge3Gi-5E6vM8ssQms_A-BzRRnoI2w5LKHnL/s1600/fresh+sage+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmNMfMgCZaOelkxSNe-4aqt2sqHLhco0paenjkCo_ryt1eWnJqmx7fB8ga2O4wWkkJAbsM6dcLJ7ZDTIClkfI120QBicn58ToMggxAqGcWge3Gi-5E6vM8ssQms_A-BzRRnoI2w5LKHnL/s320/fresh+sage+.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden Sage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Salt to
taste<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1 egg
white<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1
tablespoon extra virgin olive oil <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Peanut or
corn oil for frying<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Place
the flour in a bowl, add the cold beer (or sparkling water) and mix well with
an egg beater; mix in salt and olive oil. After having obtained a smooth
consistency cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it sit for at least 30
minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 126.5pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 126.5pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wash
the sage leaves and pat dry. After the flour mixture has set for 30 minutes, whip egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and delicately blend
them into the flour mixture. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 126.5pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 126.5pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode";">Dip
the sage leaves one by one in the mix and fry them on both sides in abundant
hot oil until the leaves turn golden brown. Remove them from the oil and place
them on a platter lined with paper towels. Salt to flavor and serve
immediately. </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; tab-stops: 126.5pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: IT;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 18pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; tab-stops: 126.5pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="IT" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: IT;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-15665678424926455242013-08-10T20:57:00.000+02:002013-08-12T01:32:26.141+02:00Ten guidelines for tourists from the City of Venice <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1Ep2z-Nz9elts37dgvZU2XqQvxJ2Pi2fc3wlWznxV3jS2e4uBnRtLCfHQNaIeFbsLXGNor1iyj1h5PqvHKeYFcs3wuW0Sx22gc6GBTgl0lmIjfvZ_PThUJzsfOCWnQm-yxvQWi5RIXoj/s1600/Venezia+anche+tua.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1Ep2z-Nz9elts37dgvZU2XqQvxJ2Pi2fc3wlWznxV3jS2e4uBnRtLCfHQNaIeFbsLXGNor1iyj1h5PqvHKeYFcs3wuW0Sx22gc6GBTgl0lmIjfvZ_PThUJzsfOCWnQm-yxvQWi5RIXoj/s400/Venezia+anche+tua.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City of Venice Information Campaign for Tourists<br />
"Live the City--Venice is yours too, Respect it!" </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br />
There are those who would argue that Venice, Italy,
is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and there are those, like me,
who would argue that it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i> most
beautiful city in the world. So, it’s no surprise when every year millions of
tourists cross oceans and continents seeking their own intimate interaction
with the city that, as far back as the 1300s, contributed to the Renaissance
and controlled European trade with Asia and the Middle East. To understand
Venice’s grandeur, past and present, all one needs to do is pause and look. Venice
is a work of art, and her treasures are detailed in every corner, arch, façade,
nook and cranny. A city so culturally rich that a lifetime isn’t long enough to
discover all she has to offer. But Venice isn't a museum or an amusement park. It's home to approximately 60,000 people and a place of work to many more.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was the mid-80s when I first walked through
Venice’s labyrinth of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">calli</i>: the
Berlin wall was still standing, Ronald Reagan was President of the United
States, Madonna hadn’t yet traded-in her lace gloves for a leather bustier, and
many who ate at the chicest restaurants in New York, San Francisco and Los
Angeles still opted for French cuisine and had yet to taste their first forkful
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">risotto</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tiramisu</i>. Then, fortunately, the wall came down; the internet sped
up; gelato became an internationally recognized word; pre-9/11 air travel became
easier; cruise ships filled ports and gave travelers an option; and many who
had never dreamt of setting foot outside their country became informed tourists
and discovered the art of traveling abroad. Yet in recent years as tourism has
developed into Venice’s number one industry many visitors, certainly not all, seem
to have forgotten or perhaps never considered simple polite behavior and
respect for their surroundings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year alone local and international papers and social
networks published far too many photographs taken of tourists behaving in ways
which are deemed disrespectful to Venice, to the Venetians and to Italy. There
was the group sitting in high water in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
finest drawing room in Europe</i>, their feet propped up on a café table, while
their friends swam—in bathing suits—in a flooded St. Mark’s square; a middle
aged man walking around town, his shirt-tails open and flapping in the breeze
to reveal a physique that only a doctor should be forced to see, and twenty
something year olds in flip-flops and bathing suits sunning themselves while sightseeing
in a city where wearing shorts—except if you’re running the Venice Marathon—by local standards is
considered unacceptable attire. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some may
find it funny to see people swimming in St. Mark's square, some may think a dress code anywhere, let alone on vacation, is outdated. But I can
guarantee that the majority of locals, and the City of Venice, find these
situations an insult to their city and their culture. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, the City of Venice, in an effort to welcome and inform
tourists, has developed a list of 10 guidelines available in seven languages.
The decorum list has been posted around town and fliers are being handed out to
visiting tourists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I've duplicated the list in English below to </span>let you in on the guidelines, too. Have a look, and then feel free to leave your
thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. If you want to give Venice a helping
hand you can share the info with your friends, too. For information in other languages click on this link: <a href="http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/57560"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/57560</span></a>
</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
</o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Litter<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>
</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Please do not litter.<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></em></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>
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Throw rubbish into the nearest waste bin!<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></div>
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Help us keep Venice clean.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
(Local
bylaw art. 9 and 23<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fine
up to 500 euros)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -17.85pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Picnicking<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Please sit on the bench to eat your picnic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></div>
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Remember that the entire area around St.
Mark’s Basilica<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></div>
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(throughout St. Mark’s Square, Piazzetta
dei leoncini, and right up to the quay/waterfront)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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is a no-picnicking area.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></div>
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Help us look after Venice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
(Local
bylaw, art. 23<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></div>
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Fine
up to 500 euros)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dress</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></div>
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You may not walk around Venice in swimwear
or bare-chested, <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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nor plunge or take a bath (swim) in canals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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Please behave respectfully in the city. You
can find beaches on the Lido Island.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
(Local
bylaw, art. 12 and art. 23<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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Fine
up to 500 euros)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pigeons<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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As well as damaging Venice’s artistic
heritage, pigeons <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
carry diseases. Don’t feed them!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Safe guard your health and that of Venice’s
monuments.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
(Municipal
bylaw on environmental health and animal health<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
And welfare,
art. 24 Fine up to 500 euros)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Graffiti
and bill posting<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
If you deface Venice through graffiti<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
or flier-posting you are damaging the city.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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Use the official sites for your posters. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Venice is a city of art.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
(Local
by law, art. 13; for graffiti:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Fines
up to 500 euro.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
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Defacing
important monuments is considered a criminal offence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
For
fly (flier) posting: fine up to 412 euro)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Obstructing
Traffic</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Given that Venice’s calli, or lanes, are
very narrow <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
you should keep to the right <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
and avoid lingering on bridges.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Remember not everyone is on holiday, lots
of people<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
live and work in the city. So help us make
Venice <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
a pleasant place for everyone!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 53.85pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Transport<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
When traveling on public transport, <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
remember to respect other passengers: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
put your rucksack (backpack) on the ground,
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
avoid standing in the entrance, and store <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
your bags/luggage where the boat staff
tells you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
The water buses are the only form of public
transport used<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
by both tourists and locals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Help us make Venice a better place to live
in!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
(Local
bylaw art. 50<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Fine
up to 500 euro)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Acqua
Alta (flooding)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Alternative routes exist in case of acqua
alta (flooding).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Use the raised walkways. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Keep to the right, don’t loiter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Discover how fascinating Venice can be at
high tide. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
(Note
from me: I would have left this last statement out! Acqua alta is not very
fascinating for the locals.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Street
Vendors<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
If you buy goods from unlicensed street <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
vendors you are committing a crime <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
as well as putting your health at risk.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
These products are not subjected to <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
any form of control. They harm you, the crafts
sector<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
and encourage exploitation of the weak.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
(Italian
law No. 80/2005 art. 1 par. 7<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
amended
by Italian law 99/2009, art. 17.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
Fines
up to 7,000 euro + seizure of goods purchased)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0cm;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 54pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Disturbing
the Peace</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Venice is just like every other city: <o:p></o:p></div>
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So respect the neighbors and keep the noise
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after 11 o’clock at night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You can have fun without disturbing others!<o:p></o:p></div>
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(Local
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Fines
up to 500 euro)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Click on Subscribe and join us on FaceBook, too!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08931587519561485757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3843251017084370377.post-59713904510417185272013-07-25T20:36:00.001+02:002013-07-25T20:37:57.012+02:00 Have you ever dreamt of learning to speak Italian in Italy?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrVwHr3AOi9ogW_PXLaNm0WG9GwfXkZhYLQGcxsmtfKF6RAJtz2ldllStnd903RV06YJPg4P1XoJRuLzVIkv8apO1v8K74bvsImdOymmdx3fV4rg8Ehb13uvpjTonS2aaXFUUZ-5npTRv/s1600/matera+steps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrVwHr3AOi9ogW_PXLaNm0WG9GwfXkZhYLQGcxsmtfKF6RAJtz2ldllStnd903RV06YJPg4P1XoJRuLzVIkv8apO1v8K74bvsImdOymmdx3fV4rg8Ehb13uvpjTonS2aaXFUUZ-5npTRv/s400/matera+steps.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The quiet of Matera, Basilicata</td></tr>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #232323; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #232323; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #232323; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One of the benefits of blogging about Italy is meeting
others who are as crazy in love with my adopted country as I am. Melissa
Muldoon is one of them. Earlier this year Melissa and I met and exchanged a few
messages on our social network pages. Soon we had made plans to meet, face to face, in Venice. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #232323; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It
was a gorgeous spring day when I found myself seated next to Melissa and across the table from the very lively group of Italian language students she had accompanied to Venice. Over plates of steaming seafood lasagna and fresh fried calamari at <em>Al Diavolo e l’Acquasanta, </em>a restaurant owned by family friends and one of my favorite places to eat in Venice, Melissa told me she was planning
other <i>Italian Language and Cultural Immersion Trips</i> for 2013 and 2014. When I saw how much fun this group of all ages was having I thought my readers might
be interested in learning more about her upcoming trips, too, and perhaps join her on one! So, I invited Melissa to write
about her <i>learn while travelling trips</i> <em>to Italy</em> here, on Italy to Los Angeles
and Back. Please welcome Melissa
Muldoon…<i>la</i> <i>Studentessa Matta!<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK9s7JSlM_dxIJnYgJ-xRF9tS32yYtZN9NzI8gDo0Sz25ZaszgQSpBSqJ4BoaiEqeXDd8YIUYHwuWlq_a3lUIyBTW98OHpNFutZi-BL3QYwmnlO7a_SCl3j4anx2dotnbe1kuDWdk1uDh/s1600/Melissa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK9s7JSlM_dxIJnYgJ-xRF9tS32yYtZN9NzI8gDo0Sz25ZaszgQSpBSqJ4BoaiEqeXDd8YIUYHwuWlq_a3lUIyBTW98OHpNFutZi-BL3QYwmnlO7a_SCl3j4anx2dotnbe1kuDWdk1uDh/s200/Melissa.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa Muldoon</td></tr>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="IT" style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ciao! Sono Melissa, la studentessa matta</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="IT" style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> – the crazy student of Italian! </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
studied Art History and painting in Florence in college, and now I am a
graphic designer in the San Francisco Bay area. About fourteen years ago
on a whim—regretting I didn’t learn the language well as a college student—I
began to self-teach myself Italian. I started my journey with grammar books bought
at a local bookstore. Then I went on to find every means available to advance
my language skills: I’ve taken evening classes, on-line courses, watched films and soap-operas, listened to music, participated in conversation Meet-up
groups and on-line forums, Skyped with Italian friends and traveled all across
Italy. I’ve even hosted an Italian high school student in my home for a year. Now,
to exercise and flex my language skills, I write the <a href="http://www.studentessamatta.com/"><span style="color: #001faa;">Studentessa
Matta Blog </span></a> <a href="http://www.studentessamatta.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.studentessamatta.com</span></a>
in Italian. The blog explores aspects of Italian culture and current events in
a light humorous way. You can find my posts about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">il bel paese</i> on Twitter (italiamelissa) and on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/studentessamatta"><span style="color: #001faa;">Studentessa
Matta Facebook page</span></a>,too.</span></span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2VeuwY1OUYaZ7WpPUv0ruP-NmfNtYoLoXj66lFMcQPe_t2USnsguG6mExTYNyCINejVfx61R9mqriGE89u1i63lgQKXvhlAUVXRSVXMK9UcR8P1YJ8FVevdHMoaFLt46ah2wXfH6WW9Q/s1600/San+Marco.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2VeuwY1OUYaZ7WpPUv0ruP-NmfNtYoLoXj66lFMcQPe_t2USnsguG6mExTYNyCINejVfx61R9mqriGE89u1i63lgQKXvhlAUVXRSVXMK9UcR8P1YJ8FVevdHMoaFLt46ah2wXfH6WW9Q/s320/San+Marco.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Mark's Basilica, Venice</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Recently I’ve taken my passion
for Italy and Italian a step further. I now organize language and cultural
immersion trips for language students and travelers who want to go beyond the
typical Italian tourist experience. When I travel in Italy I like to wander off
the beaten track so that I can use and practice the language in a worthwhile
and rewarding way. In fact, some of my most meaningful moments in Italy have
been those in which I pause to have a conversation with one of the locals.
There’s the used book shop owner in Venice who keeps his merchandise safe from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">acqua alta</i> by storing them in old gondolas
in the middle of his shop; the man in a bar in Gubbio—who turns out to be a
truffle hunter—and unlocks his shop at midnight to share his homemade wine; the
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scamorza</i> cheese maker in Martina
Franca who fashions her cheese into fanciful shapes for her customers; a
restaurant owner in Pienza whose wife makes a to-die-for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ribollita</i> soup that is the talk of the town; a Roman cab driver who
extends our drive together to include a tour of the city "gratis" so
that we may continue our conversation; an artist in Ostuni who welcomes me back
into his shop and shows me his latest work of art; and a young musician from
Lecce who takes the time to chat with me prior to the Ferragosto parade in
which Sant’Oranzo, the town’s patron saint, is celebrated. </span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzxuvdVm3u0-nXQCrydJh2tAUwqaFfgXnbPYI6J7MBLo7lqhzlQ-VAYpedGPx23XEbIiLpDyOn_k7P_H-uZr1jrqnrbCvMYqzcVJ_LT8PkMkpTKwI8-IWV6QGftCVf8FpmLV3mCCTuiP5/s1600/IMG_1863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzxuvdVm3u0-nXQCrydJh2tAUwqaFfgXnbPYI6J7MBLo7lqhzlQ-VAYpedGPx23XEbIiLpDyOn_k7P_H-uZr1jrqnrbCvMYqzcVJ_LT8PkMkpTKwI8-IWV6QGftCVf8FpmLV3mCCTuiP5/s320/IMG_1863.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wine tasting after morning language lessons</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Most of these locals don’t
speak a drop of English so, not only is it a rewarding experience to speak to
someone using their native language, I tend to make a lot of new friends and
improve my Italian with each new encounter, and I always learn something
special about Italy and Italian culture. The goal of my language tours is to
create these kinds of moments for the intrepid travelers who come along with
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Check out my past and current
Italian tours. I would love for you to join me on my next trip to Italy! You
can reach me by email at <a href="mailto:Melissa@StudentessaMatta.com"><span style="color: blue;">Melissa@StudentessaMatta.com</span></a> or
find me on my blog <a href="http://studentessamatta.com/"><span style="color: blue;">StudentessaMatta.com</span></a>.
</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In August 2012 <a href="http://www.studentessamatta.com/tour-puglia-with-melissa-yltour/"><span style="color: #001faa;">I co-lead a group to Lecce in Puglia with my friend and
partner Ylenia Sambata of YLTours.</span></a> We stayed in a renovated farm
house in the middle of an olive grove, complete with swimming pool and a lovely
big kitchen where we cooked with Italian <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nonne—</i>grandmothers<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">—</i>and shared evening meals together. We studied
Italian in the mornings and visited Alberobello, Locorotondo and Gallipoli, where
we swam in the sea, in the afternoons. We enjoyed professionally guided tours
of Lecce, met with local artists and pastry chefs, had dinner with local cheese
makers and learned how to properly taste olive oil in a local producer’s grove.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In April 2013 <a href="http://www.studentessamatta.com/language-cultural-immersion-tour-in-venice-april-2013/"><span style="color: #001faa;">I co-lead a group with my friend and partner Diego
Cattaneo of the Venice Italian School in Venice</span></a>. We stayed on the island
of the Giudecca. In the mornings we bought <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cornetti</i>
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cappuccini</i> at the neighborhood
bar and enjoyed our breakfast alongside the local tradesmen before taking the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">vaporetto</i> across the canal to Venice to
study at the Venice Italian School. In the afternoons we walked around the
city, visited churches, observed glass artists and learned how to work with hot
molten glass, and met carnival mask makers. We even got the chance to learn how
to row a gondola, and found time to take in an opera at Teatro Malebran.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This fall I have
two trips planned for September 2013. There are still spots available if
you would like to join me!</span></i></b><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXliX6AUcG-x-ru8o2MPtYWZdmWGr_hDYklYOy_TJFaPDIVLl-JpUbfnRRjwFqK8lRpsW-0ISOaSsvYC75ZekhbcVAeJapkPuwgH_KZOm3MX1u4VumATezBvXrwHqIJaxM1S-XuyEHZV1y/s1600/Matera+by+Night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXliX6AUcG-x-ru8o2MPtYWZdmWGr_hDYklYOy_TJFaPDIVLl-JpUbfnRRjwFqK8lRpsW-0ISOaSsvYC75ZekhbcVAeJapkPuwgH_KZOm3MX1u4VumATezBvXrwHqIJaxM1S-XuyEHZV1y/s320/Matera+by+Night.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I Sassi of Matera by night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">September
14-21 2013: I’ll be co-leading a group to Matera in the Basilicata region with
my partner Ilaria Navarra of Percorso Italy. </span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We’ll
live in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sassi</i>, Matera’s historic
city center, take classes in the morning and explore the city in the
afternoons. We’ll cook, taste wine, take art history tours, visit famous movie
sights and treat ourselves to an underground grotto spa experience. You can
sign up now! </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #001faa; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Spots are still available and
details for the Matera trip can be found on the the Studentessa Matta
Blog. </span></span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">September 22-30,
2013: I’ll return to the Salento area of Puglia with my partner Ylenia Sambata
of YLTours.</span></b><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> We’ll
begin our visit in Puglia in the historic center of Lecce where we’ll take
classes and tour the city, and then move out to the countryside to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masseria</i> for more cooking with Italians
chefs, gelato making and wine tasting. We’ll do all the fun activities we did
last year and more! You can sign up now! <a href="http://www.studentessamatta.com/tour-puglia-with-melissa-yltour/"><span style="color: #001faa;">Spots are still available and details for the Puglia trip
and can be found on the Studentessa Matta blog.</span></a></span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Matta Language
& Immersion Trips for 2014! <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfs0VwL-o52OoLEWVDiMZCkjGdU1iRfzG1m-gYl2NyE87qLhJzQbcVmDiGrrUbMKEfN5pF5wTNiRfqE6n9YK6_vse1cavjZiVqo9KzTopzJ-mT2mXZM96uBWVmTHugVjj9aTKcPpiiuY7/s1600/IMG_0344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfs0VwL-o52OoLEWVDiMZCkjGdU1iRfzG1m-gYl2NyE87qLhJzQbcVmDiGrrUbMKEfN5pF5wTNiRfqE6n9YK6_vse1cavjZiVqo9KzTopzJ-mT2mXZM96uBWVmTHugVjj9aTKcPpiiuY7/s320/IMG_0344.JPG" width="178" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Italian coast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></i></b><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">June
1-12, 2014: I’ll be co-leading a language and cultural immersion with Lucca
Italian School in the town of Lucca in Tuscany.</span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> We’ll
live in the heart of the historic city center and take morning class at Lucca
Italian School. In the afternoons, we’ll visit nearby hill towns, making
excursions to Pisa, </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333233; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Monte Carlo and
Pietrasanta, </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">wine tasting, biking &
picnicking along the wall in Lucca. We’ll also attend a concert featuring arias
by Puccini and other Italian composers, as well as taking cooking classes. You
can sign up now! </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #001faa; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://wp.me/P22bKE-2mJ"><span style="color: blue;">Details for the Lucca trip are available on the
Studentessa Matta Blog.</span></a></span></span><span style="color: #232323; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; word-spacing: 0px;">September 2014: Fall
trips to Arezzo in Tuscany and Le Marche</span></b><span style="color: #232323; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> are in the works and will soon be
posted. Stay tuned to the Studentessa Matta Blog to learn more about the
upcoming 2014 fall Italian trips.</span><span style="color: #232323; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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