The Doge’s council of Venice, by its singular act of confining seven hundred Venetian Jews within an abandoned foundry on March 29, 1516, gave to the world a word that is now synonymous with segregated ethnic populations. Jewish presence in Venice dates back to the 10th century. Jews were not allowed to live on the main islands even then, but…
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This post comes to you from Paula’s lovely photo blog – Lost in Translation – where I am playing hostess for her Thursday Special Challenge. The theme is ‘Symbolism’, and I have chosen to feature the visual metaphors inherent in the design of a Venetian Gondola……. Click on the link above or the image below…
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Travel for me is all about the transient moments I encounter. Fleeting fragments of life that evoke mood and a sense of place. To be able to freeze those ephemeral stories, to ensure they endure long after their momentary enactment, is such a boon. Here are a few examples. All from Venice.In Torcello….Exiting a vaporetto….A selfie beneath the…
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I had given scant thought to the hows and whys of blogging in the three years since I started The Urge To Wander. A nomination by the lovely Kathryn, of Travel With Kat, for a ‘Blog Hop’ that requires me to do just that, seemed like the perfect subject for an anniversary post. Thank you Kathryn! And…
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It must be quite apparent from my effusive travelogues that I leave a piece of my heart in most every place I visit. And given a chance I would return to every one of them……almost. Sadly, the inverse relationship between time and my ever lengthening bucket list makes return trips impractical. Compiling a hypothetical list for the ‘Top Destinations…
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Status was paramount in the ancient world. For empires, as much as for ordinary citizens. The aura of power, as important as the exercise of power itself. Visual imagery and symbolism went a long way in engendering that impression. And so it was, that a maritime republic of the stature of Venice, felt the need to be associated…
Read MoreDecaying urban architecture has striking visual appeal. But it is their sense of history that adds to the fascination. The all too familiar stories of prosperity and decline, of the ordinary people that built these derelict spaces, of how they lived and laughed within those crumbling walls, and of the reasons that eventually compelled them to leave. And the haunting memories of our own childhood homes further heighten…
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My visit to Burano on a gloriously sunny first of May, was intensely overwhelming. And not all due to its abounding vibrance. It was standing room only on the vaporetto ride to and fro, as well as in the restaurants around the piazza. I picked up a surprisingly well made crumbed chicken panini and escaped to a bench on the…
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Venice owes thanks to Atilla the Hun. Think about it………if the ‘barbarian’ hadn’t torched the Roman city of Altinum, if some of the residents of that great city hadn’t been directed by a disembodied voice to climb their lofty campanile and seek help from the heavens above, if they then hadn’t spied the distant group of islands on the lagoon from that tower, and if…
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