Dwight L. Elmendorf

“ There are many cities that draw the admiration of the traveler: there is but one Venice, and anyone who has been there and felt her spell cannot wonder at the worshipful admiration that she has received from the time of her birth in the sea. ”

“ A gondola is a long black skiff, with graceful lines and a swanlike prow sweeping up from the water. It is typically Venetian. It is admirably adapted to the work it has to do. There are only two points in all Venice where a gondola may not go even at low water,—one near the great theater of the Fenice, and the other near the Palazza Mocenigo at San Stae.
Two is the best number of passengers for a gondola. The rower is out of sight, behind. All is ideal. There is no noise, no dust, not even the feeling of motion, except the ripple of water past the bow. ”

“ The skill of the average Venetian gondolier is marvelous. Rare indeed are collisions. These gondoliers are not the romantic heroes one may imagine them to be. They do not float in the moonlight singing serenades beneath their sweethearts’ windows. They are hardy fellows, thrifty, sober, and laborious, good husbands and fathers, matter-of-fact money makers. ”

“ One dollar and forty cents a day is the charge for a gondola and its gondolier in the season; at other times the price is forty cents less. A gondolier earns on an average sixty cents a day. This does not seem very much; but the gondoliers live fairly well, and even put money into the bank.
All the gondoliers of Venice are divided into two factions, the Nicolotti and the Castellani. The rivalry between these two is intense, and the question of supremacy was formerly settled by the knife. Nowadays, however, more peaceable but exciting races are the means. ”

“ There are about twenty ferries operating across the Grand Canal and the Giudecca. They resemble our cab service. The gondoliers also have guilds or unions. The police license the gondolas; but the real laws of the gondolier are those of his guild. Each guild has its own meeting place, where all questions of hours of work and choice of station are settled. If one member of the union becomes sick, he is cared for out of the public purse, and if he dies he is carried to the grave by his fellow members. These guilds are probably the last survivors of the old medieval crafts of Venice. ”

“ Occasional narrow paths of stone skirt the canals; but in many places the water laps the very walls of the buildings, and transportation is to be had only by boat. Of course there are many lanes and passages among the houses; but the general effect is such as would make an impression on the traveler of a city set in the sea, and the people live, move, and have their being on either stone or water. ”

“ The fascination of Venice for the traveler is such that ordinary terms of appreciation are insufficient. The city takes complete possession of one, and visitors who have surrendered to her charms are referred to as having the “Venice fever.” All who love beauty have had more or less violent attacks—the artist is most susceptible to it.
THE GRAND CANAL DURING A FÊTE
This is the main artery of traffic in Venice. It is nearly two miles long, and varies from 100 to 200 feet in width. ”

“ An unpainted gondola can easily be examined for knots. As soon as it is painted its value decreases.
The gondoliers become very attached to their own boats. They learn their peculiarities; for a gondola, like a person, has a character of its own.
Since the earliest days of Venice gondolas have been in use. Their present form has resulted from gradual development. The earliest authentic document relating to Venice mentions the light boats that were to the Venetians “as horses tied to the doors of their houses.” ”

“ The shaft outside is a perfect model of the old bell tower; but by modifying the inside the weight has been reduced 20,000 tons.
The nucleus of the first Venice, before it was made the seat of government of the republic, is said to have been the little district about the great bridge over the Grand Canal, which still retains the name Rialto. But as soon as the island group of Rivo Alto became the capital of the Venetian republic a palace for the Doge was erected near the open mouth, on the site that its successor still occupies. This earliest palace was probably built about the year 800. ”

“ Palace and Campanile (cam-pa-nee ́-le) Tower, and in some cases a glimpse of the Bridge of Sighs. The Piazza of St. Mark is called the “Heart of Venice.” All the life of the city surges there at certain times, then sweeps from there through its various channels. It is gayest on summer evenings, when the population turns out to enjoy the fresh air and listen to the military band. At that time the piazza is brilliant with fashionable people. Go there on a moonlight night, and you will find it a dream of beauty. ”

“ In such short space as this it is impossible to do justice to the beauty of St. Mark’s. It is best by far to rest on what Ruskin has said in his “Stones of Venice”:
“The effects of St. Mark’s depend not only upon the most delicate sculpture in every part, but eminently on its color also, and that the most subtle, variable, inexpressible color in the world,—the color of glass, of transparent alabaster, of polished marble, and lustrous gold.”
AMERICANS FEEDING THE DOVES OF ST. MARK’S
The building is in the form of a Greek cross, with mosaics covering more than 4,500 square feet. ”

“ They tolled a dirge when the peace of Campoformio ended the Venetian republic forever. When the lagoons were united to the Italian mainland they rang out in announcement.
When the Campanile fell the Venetians were shocked and broken-hearted. There was some question as to whether it could be reconstructed; but the Italians were determined that it should be. In its fall the bell tower inclined toward the north and open piazza. If it had fallen in any other direction, either the Library of Sansovino, or the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Cathedral, or the royal palace would have been destroyed. ”

“ The Campanile and Doge’s Palace TWO
On July 14, 1902, the Campanile or bell tower of St. Mark’s Cathedral fell to earth with a crash. Earthquakes and a rotting foundation at length worked its ruin. But its reconstruction was begun in 1905, and the new tower was completed in 1911, nine years after the fall. The Campanile stands, as is usually the case in Italy, detached from the church. The first bell tower on this site was built in 900. The one that fell in 1992 was probably erected in 1329.
The Campanile signified to the Venetians the greatness of Venice. ”

“ There are four principal races a year. The first is rowed in May for a banner of red and gold; in August two pennons are rowed for, the white and gold, and the green; the blue banner is the prize in October. ”

“ The top of the narthex (that part of the church nearest the main entrance) forms a wide gallery, in the center of which stand the four great bronze horses which are said to have belonged to some Greco-Roman triumphal quadriga, and to have been brought to Venice by Doge Enrico Dandolo after the fall of Constantinople in 1204. ”

“ Artesian wells dug to the depth of sixteen hundred feet have shown a regular succession of these beds. On this base, piles, where they have been used for the foundation, have become petrified. So the city may be described actually as having been built up from the bed of the sea. In its physical aspect it may be summed up by saying that Venice stands on 117 small islands formed by something like 150 canals and joined together by 378 bridges.
THE GRAND CANAL BY MOONLIGHT
There is but little in the way of sidewalks. ”