Last weekend the Cornell in Rome program took a trip to Venice. It was my first time in the city-or rather wonderland. The historical city center of Venezia is almost too good to be true-especially during Carnevale– which happened to begin the weekend we arrived.
As I wondered about Venice in sweet solitude on a warm and sunny day, I finally felt like I was in one of those movie scenes that take place at some table outdoors, in the sunshine, with a nice glass of wine and a pizza or pasta in Italy:
Followed by un caffé , and some small talk with the waiter who serendipitously introduces you to some other young students at the restaurant, perfetto!
Every city has its dark underbelly that goes unseen by tourists however, as the stereotypical tourist to Venice may be symbolized by this popular sticker:
But I met someone on a Venetian street who works to bring some light to such a potentially dark Venetian underbelly.
That’s Fabio- he works with an Italian NGO that helps young people rid themselves of drug addiction. He’s half Croatian and half Italian, and was a former drug-addict himself.
As an City Planning student, I am encouraged to be an observer, a people watcher, and to develop an eye to spot specific interactions between people and space. Venice was my textbook. And from visiting the local immigrations office to learn about their operations, to learning about the Mose project to protect Venice from rising tides, to getting an inside look on how Venetian gondolas are built at one of the only two remaining Gondola factories on the island… I left Venice with more new insights, feelings, and inspirations that no textbook could’ve provided me.