Virtual Venice
We can’t travel to the city right now, but we can enjoy a virtual presence
My friends will tell you that I am mad about Venice. I fell in love with the La Serenissima during my first visit in 2001. That passion has never cooled. I have had the good fortune over the past nineteen years to spend many weeks in the jewel of the Adriatic, exploring the ever-enchanting maze of winding streets and recording the city’s breath-taking beauty with my camera.
There is nothing finer, in my mind, than rising before dawn and hiking through the darkened streets with tripod and Nikon. At the height of the summer, the city’s ancient stones radiate heat; a cool pre-sunrise breeze slips up the canals, where water chuckles as the flood tide arrives.
So little time, so many pictures to capture. A typical morning will find me roaming the calle of Cannaregio or the “authentic” enclave of Castello. My route is usually guided by random turns, flipping a mental coin where the streets intersect, finding something new and marvelous with each happy accident.
Venice never disappoints. If fate is kind, then I shall soon achieve my life dream of becoming a permanent dweller among her ancient stones: a Venetian lotus-eater.
As all of my readers will know, travel to Venice has been restricted by the COVID pandemic, especially if you are an American. It is hard to complain about this, especially since I have had the opportunity to enjoy the city so often.
But still.
That is why I was excited this morning when YouTube popped up a new live stream on my feed. The good people of the Palazzo Bembo have pointed a webcam at the Rialto bridge, and are offering a continuous stream from the city. We can sit, like a seagull, high above the Grand Canal and watch people hike across the bridge and walk beside the canal.
I was startled by the city’s emptiness; the early afternoon usually finds Rialto packed with tourists. The steps were virtually empty, and the residents who were crossing the Grand Canal had unimpeded paths.
A handful of gondoliers still plied their trade, sculling beneath the bridge, but business is undoubtedly poor. The vaporetti — water buses — make their rounds, arriving and debarking from the Rialto stop.
The view is mesmerizing and addictive. I will provide the link below for fellow lovers of Venice. But be careful: you could spend hours watching the city.
