Venice – la Serenissima

Nel 2012 ho preso parte al documentario “Teorema Venezia” dell’amico Andreas Pichler che così presenta il film nel sito della sua casa di produzione, la Miramontefilm:

“La città l’anno scorso ha ospitato 20 milioni di visitatori e quest’anno aumenteranno ancora. Ma questo numero va messo in relazione con i soli 50.000 abitanti stabili, un numero che è in calo visto la crescente invivibilità della città. Così come stanno andando le cose, nel 2030 non ci saranno più veneziani, dato che la città si è trasformata in un incubo per i suoi abitanti (…) Questo film racconta storie di vita prese nel vortice del turismo mondiale: un settore che divora le basi stesse della sua esistenza”.

Teorema Venezia ha avuto un grosso successo ed è stato proiettato in mezzo mondo, da New York a Monaco. Grazie a questo documentario ho avuto l’opportunità di conoscere tante persone che si sono messe in contatto con me per condividere i loro sentimenti sulla città e sulla sua distruzione. Tra queste, Petra Illenseer che nell’ottobre del 2014 mi ha inviato un suo testo sulla fragilità di Venezia che fa pensare agli innumerevoli problemi che col passar del tempo non solo non vengono risolti ma si aggravano.

Avevo lasciato lo scritto di Petra sulla mia scrivania per risponderle e facendo ordine è andato a finire sotto un mucchio di libri: l’ho cercato disperatamente per mesi senza esito, allora ho usato il mio metodo: offrire 5 euro a Sant Antonio per ritrovarlo! Così pochi giorni fa, passando ho dato per sbaglio una spinta a una montagna di libri che è cascata facendo saltare fuori il bel testo. Ecco cosa scrive Petra sul suo modo di sentire Venezia:

Venice – La Serenissima

“La Serenissima”, the most serene, is like an old, dying harlot – yet still most capable of selling herself. It almost appears, that older she gets, the better she sells.

Oh yes, she knows business well!

Infecting you, she conjures sheer addiction, penetrating you bluntly with her total essence, she captures every single cells of yours.

She charms you well to fall in love with her.

But for all that – she also challenges you, pretending to be dismissive, ungracious even, she disregards you shamelessly – merely a little game though, to figure out if you do truly love her.

Perhaps you may respond to her “Never ever – I shall return to you”.

And all she does is falling into laughter, knowing better.

Being so truly sure of her uniqueness, she knows that there is no other – nowhere to be found.

Most certainly she can afford to not be endearing only, this city made of stone and water.

And you believe, that once you did leave her for her good, you might eventually forget her, too?

Your wish is to return to your world, a long way off from her.

At last when you imagined you forgot her, you’ve heard the calling out for you again. And there is once more, this old familiar notion of her pulling – you.

Perhaps – she even senses your compassion for this decaying city.

Each single day she is ill-treated by all those countless footsteps walking just all over her.

Crowds and crowds of people penetrating her incessantly moving in and out. 

Day after day, day after day, day after day.

Constant waves of motorboats eroding her foundations, debris left behind is suffocating her.

Sometimes she is so full of sorrows crying bitter tears , then “Acqua Alta” is, the flood.

She mourns for all those who have left her for the Terraferma, the mainland. Gone away from this inflated open air museum by the name of Venice.

This – Venice never wanted.

She never meant to be like that.

It was men who’ve turned her into that, what she appears to be.

Men having made themselves the harlot’s panders, can’t deal with it now anymore.

The creature which they once created is daunting them just dreadfully.

I yearn to comfort her, to touch, to gently caress her – the fragile one, defying decay about far too long.

I wish to make her see her ever shining beauty – for all her long since crumbling make up.

Thus – is this floating city an illusion, a fanciful mirage perhaps?

One lingers under the impression of being in a wondrous dream, arising with her coming into view, and ending as one turns away from her.

You may regard yourself of having dreamt – so wondrous and so rife with mystery appears this city.

So, owing to your most complete surrender, she’ll tell you stories now and then.

Though, never you’ll be able to uncover all of her hidden mysteries. 

One must not pry the secrets out of her, nor shall one disenchant her.

Just wait and see, dear Venice, the time may come when I shall nevermore return.

Your sinking I’ll attend no more than just a quite short interval of time.

You will outlive me without doubt,

you city, standing on mere stilts”.

 

…Se tutti i turisti fossero così sensibili Venezia forse sarebbe salva!

 

Venice la Serenissima

In 2014 I took part in the documentary “Venice Syndrome” directed by my friend Andreas Pichler (Miramontefilm):

“The film shows what remains of Venetian life: a subculture of tourists service industries; 20 million foreigners visited the city last year. That’s an average of 60.000 day. And this year it will be more still. By comparison, there are only 48.000 inhabitants, the same amount as they were after the Great Plague of 1438. And next year it will be fewer still. For the city is becoming uninhabitable. Venice’s own urban life has almost collapsed; it scarcely still exists”.

“Venice Syndrome” had a big success and was screened all over the world, from New York to Munich. Thanks to this documentary I has the opportunity to meet so many people who contacted me to share their feelings about the city and its destruction. Among these, Petra Illenseer who sent me – in October 2014 – a text she wrote in 2010 about the fragility of Venice; it reminded me that with the passing of time the numerous problems of the city are not only unsolved but are aggravated.

I had left Petra’s text on my desk, waiting for answer her. Making order among my stuffs it ended up under a pile of books; I desperately looked for it for months with no results until I decided to use an old method: I promised 5 euro to St. Anthony to find it! So, a few days ago, I gave accidentally a boost to a mountain of books that felt on the ground blasting out Petra’s beautiful text. Here what she writes about her way to feel Venice:

Venice – La Serenissima

 

“La Serenissima”, the most serene, is like an old, dying harlot – yet still most capable of selling herself. It almost appears, that older she gets, the better she sells.

Oh yes, she knows business well!

Infecting you, she conjures sheer addiction, penetrating you bluntly with her total essence, she captures every single cells of yours.

She charms you well to fall in love with her.

But for all that – she also challenges you, pretending to be dismissive, ungracious even, she disregards you shamelessly – merely a little game though, to figure out if you do truly love her.

Perhaps you may respond to her “Never ever – I shall return to you”.

And all she does is falling into laughter, knowing better.

Being so truly sure of her uniqueness, she knows that there is no other – nowhere to be found.

Most certainly she can afford to not be endearing only, this city made of stone and water.

And you believe, that once you did leave her for her good, you might eventually forget her, too?

Your wish is to return to your world, a long way off from her.

At last when you imagined you forgot her, you’ve heard the calling out for you again. And there is once more, this old familiar notion of her pulling – you.

Perhaps – she even senses your compassion for this decaying city.

Each single day she is ill-treated by all those countless footsteps walking just all over her.

Crowds and crowds of people penetrating her incessantly moving in and out.

Day after day, day after day, day after day.

Constant waves of motorboats eroding her foundations, debris left behind is suffocating her.

Sometimes she is so full of sorrows crying bitter tears , then “Acqua Alta” is, the flood.

She mourns for all those who have left her for the Terraferma, the mainland. Gone away from this inflated open air museum by the name of Venice.

This – Venice never wanted.

She never meant to be like that.

It was men who’ve turned her into that, what she appears to be.

Men having made themselves the harlot’s panders, can’t deal with it now anymore.

The creature which they once created is daunting them just dreadfully.

I yearn to comfort her, to touch, to gently caress her – the fragile one, defying decay about far too long.

I wish to make her see her ever shining beauty – for all her long since crumbling make up.

Thus – is this floating city an illusion, a fanciful mirage perhaps?

One lingers under the impression of being in a wondrous dream, arising with her coming into view, and ending as one turns away from her.

You may regard yourself of having dreamt – so wondrous and so rife with mystery appears this city.

So, owing to your most complete surrender, she’ll tell you stories now and then.

Though, never you’ll be able to uncover all of her hidden mysteries.

One must not pry the secrets out of her, nor shall one disenchant her.

Just wait and see, dear Venice, the time may come when I shall nevermore return.

Your sinking I’ll attend no more than just a quite short interval of time.

You will outlive me without doubt,

you city, standing on mere stilts”.

If all the tourist were so sensitive, perhaps Venice might be saved!

 

sibili Venezia forse sarebbe salva!