March 16 - 22
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A typical Venice street. This one seems to just invite you to explore it!
Here's a street away from the tourist area. Every resident seems to have a line to hang their clothes. It's wonderful to pass through and smell the fresh scent of laundry in the air.
While wandering the streets of Venice, you will eventually come to a campo or campiello, roughly translated as "square" or "little square." Here is my favorite one - Campiello Albrizzi. I just happened upon it one morning and was struck by the serenity of the place. It seemed so quiet, beautiful, and timeless. As I came into the square I saw up to the left some nuns opening the shutters for the morning. I realized then that the scene I was witnessing here was probably about the same 500 years ago!
Here's another view of Campiello Albrizzi. Look at the corner at street level - you'll see a window to the right of the corner and what looks like a doorway to the left. It's actually not a doorway, but a street! One day I was walking down that street while it was raining. I had to put away my umbrella becuase it wouldn't fit through the narrow passage.
And now for quite a contrast.... Just down the way from Campiello Albrizzi is this bridge. It may look rather ordinary now, but in the 1500's it was a major attraction. At this time prostitution was rampant in Venice and even encouraged by city leaders. You see, they were finding increased incidences of sodomy, so in order to combat it, the city encouraged the prostitutes to display themselves topless on this bridge to entice the men... hence the name of the bridge - Tette.
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