Fear of Heights

Venice, Italy, June 1989. I climbed to the top of the Campanile only once.

(Here's my preferred view; here's the café. Here's a reason to avoid the piazzetta.)

Venice, without Tourists

John Ruskin's daguerreotypes.

Heading Home

Venice, Italy, June 1984. The motonave takes me back to the Lido.

Rainy Reunion

Venice, Italy, November 1983. In a few weeks, acqua alta will flood the Piazza.

The Doge's Door

Venice, Italy, November 1983. The Porta della Carta is the main entrance to the Palazzo Ducale.

Morning Arrival

Venice, Italy, November 1983. I've arrived at the Piazzetta San Marco, and I'm under the porticos of the Palazzo Ducale. It's not as chilly as it looks; it's just fur-coat season.

(The fellow climbing the steps of the Marciana Library is wearing a Loden coat.)

Waiting for Business

Venice, Italy, April 1984. The gondolieri haven't switched yet to the uniforms they typically wear in the summer. The men stand in front of the Palazzo Ducale.

Dawn

When I lived in Venice, I rented a room from a padrona who lived on the Lido, the narrow barrier island that separates Venice from the Adriatic Sea. The spot at which I worked, the Archivio di Stato di Venezia, stands in the city proper, at the Campo dei Frari. As a result, I had a considerable commute every morning. I rode a motonave from the Lido to San Marco, and then I made a thirty-minute walk from the boat, through the San Marco district, over the Rialto Bridge to Campo San Polo, and then on to the Archivio.

Because seating was at a premium at the Archivio, I tried to arrive there each day when the "sala di studio" first opened, namely at about 7:30. This meant that most mornings, I stepped off the motonave at San Marco just as the sun was rising.

Piazzetta San Marco, Venice, Italy, January 1984. To the left stands the Doge's Palace. Could there be a better way to start the day?