Che piu cercando io vo

23 September

If there is one place where you see the real Italy, it will be at the market. And the Rialto market in Venice is no exception. Largely a fish, fruit and vegetable market,Rialto market can provide for hours of entertainment. It’s quite remarkable how easily people can set up such beautiful displays of fish and fresh produce every day.

We strolled around this market for quite some time, looking at how Italians do things the same, and how they do things differently. At a butcher on the fringe of the market, we saw chickens displayed in the window. They seem to leave the head on! Similarly, with the hares. Yes – there was Bugs Bunny lying in the window, skinned, but entirely intact. At the many fish counters, squid seemed to be the main attraction. Some fish were skinned, except for the heads. Some crabs were on their backs, with the legs still desperately registering protest against the sea of ice they now find themselves on. At one stall I watch a little shrimp jumping around on a bigger fish. He somehow managed to catapult himself out of his species’ container, and like a little brat, proceeded to jump around all over the place. I could almost hear his bantering in his Eddie Murphy voice. I’m very relieved that I never saw Nemo.

Fruit and vegetables were equally entertaining. Apart from the exquisite displays, we found the foreign ones quite fascinating. I found Ovoli mushrooms particularly interesting. And Niel tried some of the fruit. The known ones, like the pears, were very good. Others were less tasty.  We still don’t quite know what “Tabarchine Italia” are.

Watching the people ended up being an even bigger treat. Of course the tourists were there in their abundance. But so were the locals. Chefs buying food for tonight’s supper. And, as always, some old folk who clearly has Rialto market as part of their routine, even once they get to the stage of needing assistance to do so.

From the market we basically took it as it came. Strolling around Venice, mostly trying to avoid the majority of tourists, but not always succeeding in that. You could definitely keep yourself entertained for a good many days, simply by visiting churches, museums and art galleries. And palaces. We picked the Palazzo Ducale, the official residence of each Venetian ruler, originally founded in the 9^th century. It is in this palace that you can find Jacopo and Domenica Tintoretto’s Paradise, one of the largest paintings in the world.  The painting is in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, a large chamber where the Great Council used to meet or hold their banquets. I can well imagine the parties that could happen in this vast hall.

From the palace, you cross the Bridge of Sighs to the prisons, where Casanova was once imprisoned. He managed to make a rather daring escape through a hole in the roof, though.

 And for our last evening in Italy, we chose culture. ‘I Musici Veneziani’ does a Baroque and Opera show in the Scuola Grande di San Teodore, which was founded in 1218. It was great to listen to the small 10-piece orchestra, along with the two tenors and the soprano, all dressed in 18^th century costumes. Like a typical Venetian Soirée. This, followed by a supper at a restaurant on the Grand Canal, was a close to perfect ending to a long anticipated, and such an enjoyable trip.

Che piu cercando io vo?