Venice 2016: Lido, Castello, Architectural Biennale, Naval Museum

On the morning that our 7-day Vaporetto boat pass was set to expire at 11am, our plan was to take it for one last ride to Castello, the last district that we had not explored yet.  From there, we could leisurely walk through the district and then back home to Cannaregio.  While we were on the boat, I realized that if we took it a mere two more stops to the end of the line, we would be able to take a quick look at the beach island Lido and still have time to jump back on and return to Castello before the pass expired.  Rich's knee was hurting (as it had been throughout our trip) so he decided to wait at the boat station while I made my brief explorations.  Knowing only that Lido was a "beach" island, I was perplexed when I could not spot the beach.  I walked for a few minutes east and west along the boardwalk but all I could see was a resort area with hotels, restaurants and a paved path on which people were riding bicycles.  I did not realize that I had to walk south across the island to get to the other side in order to find the beach.  As it turned out, it would have taken too long anyways and I would not have returned to the Vaporetto in time.  If we ever return to Venice, I would love to spend an afternoon riding bicycles on Lido.

It was not a wasted trip though since I did get to see the resort atmosphere of Lido, which includes tennis courts and a golf course.  While the vaporetto boat was crowded on the way to Lido, when we hopped back on to return to Castello, we more or less had the boat to ourselves since who else would arrive at Lido at 10:30am and leave at 10:45am?  So we had a nice final "boat cruise" and got some great views of both Lido and Venice island.  I found a new way to take a "selfie" by taking a photo of my reflection in the Vaporetto mirror.  Because it was not crowded, we also had the opportunity to watch the boat operator as she deftly maneuvered the Vaporetto across the waters and smoothly into the next dock.

Castello is the largest of the six districts and is home to the Venetian Arsenal,  a collection of shipyards and armouries built in the 12th Century where parts for merchant trading vessels and naval ships were built and assembled.  The ornate main gate, the Porta Magna, was built around 1460 and is guarded by two stone lions brought in (or maybe stolen like the treasures in San Marco?) from Greece. The Arsenal was responsible for much of the Venetian Republic's economic wealth and naval dominance until Napoleon's conquest of the area in 1797 destroyed large portions of it.

The Arsenal was rebuilt and is used today as a naval base, research centre and exhibition venue for the Venice Biennales.  Every odd-numbered year, Venice hosts an Art Biennale where artists representing countries from around the world are invited to exhibit their works of visual contemporary art.  We would have loved to have visited Venice during the Art Biennale, but unfortunately we came on an even-numbered year when the Architecture Biennale is held.  The theme for this year's 15th bi-annual International Architecture Exhibition addressed how architectural design could and has been used to improve living conditions and quality of life.

The Biennales are ticketed events where you can buy entry to a single pavilion or a day (or multi-day) pass to enter multiple pavilions.  We had not bought tickets to any events, but when we got off at the Bacini (Arsenale North) Vaporetto stop, we found that several free exhibits were on display for Architectural Biennale so we decided to take a peek.  We started out in a sculpture garden with a series of large-scaled sculptures. I wasn't able to discern whether they were meant to convey a specific theme or how they reflected the overall theme of the exhibition, so I enjoyed them for their artistic merit instead.

GangCity is a multi-media visual display that explores the environmental, social, economical and geographical influences that lead to the formation of gangs and the impacts of gangs on cities and neighbourhoods.  A photography essay comments on how poverty, social inequalities and civil conflict lead to conditions that allow criminal elements to prosper, transforming areas into commercial hubs for drugs, trafficking and other illegal activities.  Particularly disturbing are the images of the person weeping over a casket, the innocent young girl clutching her doll while sitting next to a gun, and the young boys rapturously holding rifles raised above their heads.

Various objects on display illustrated gang symbols, iconography and customs.  Despite gangs being associated with criminal activities, religious symbols seem to play a major importance in their lives, as shown by the mattress shaped like a cross, and common tattoos featuring the rosary and the Madonna. The "heart" shape is also very common in tattoos including the heart stabbed with a blade, or engraved with a name such as "Mom".  Other objects on display included lamps shaped like golden guns at their base, necklaces, earrings and prayer books.

Another section of the exhibition dealt with improving living conditions in prisons after Italy's 2013 human rights conviction in the European courts for degraded prison environments.  Since then, various projects have been developed in conjunction with architects and university departments aimed at improving conditions and integrating ideas of the designers with those of the detainees.  The Milan Opera Prison is working on a better "Talk Area" where prisoners can meet with their families in an environment that provides more privacy, lighting, and open spaces.  Even more specifically another meeting area will be designed for visiting children and will include gaming areas and outdoor spaces.

My favourite part of the GangCity exhibition was the series of sculptures of gang members, conversing while seated, pointing a gun, or just standing menacingly.  What was great about these sculptures was that they were all formed by fitting together cardboard inserts like the ones used to separate wine bottles within boxes, yet they were so expertly done that you can immediately identify the resultant figures, and even read emotion or meaning into their gestures or poses.

The next free exhibition was called Sarajevo Now and was created in an attempt to draw international attention to the cultural vacuum that exists in the capital city of Bosnia since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995.  The description of the project reads " “Ravaged by war and siege, Sarajevo is today held hostage in a situation of political paralysis, with no end in sight.”  Initially being the only ones in the exhibit, the curator followed us around and spoke passionately for over 20 minute about his cause to restore and revitalize the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Also known as the Museum of the Revolution, or the People's Museum, it played an impactful role during the war.  He showed us a model of the museum under siege and the skyscrapers facing it where snipers shot down on the square below.  Red strings are used to illustrate the path of the bullets.  Throughout the war, despite taking major hits and suffering structural damage, the staff defiantly and valiantly kept the museum open.  Their bravery became a symbol of strength, resilience and active defiance.  Photographs show the museum walls and stained glass art riddled with holes from bullets and grenade blasts. 

Now 20 years after the war, the museum is in very poor physical condition with no heating and leaking roofs.  This is due to neglect and lack of political will regarding allocating funds to its maintenance and upkeep.  This is such a shame since in addition to its historical significance, the Historical Museum is also a fine example of modernist architecture.  Using photos, postcards and physical artifacts, the Sarajevo Now exhibit shows what the museum looks like and some items from its collection.  One showcase contains examples of items used or created out of necessity during the 1425 day Siege of Sarajevo.  These include a USA Vegetable Oil tin container turned into a watering can, books with holes in them damaged by grenade shrpnel, cigarettes hidden in school text books (used as currency during the siege), and an improvised lamp made from a hospital drip and stones.  A donated can of corned beef became a symbol of the insufficiency of humanitarian aid, since the international community would donate food but would not step in to join the war or help stop the suffering.

A series of photos called "Sarajevo Then And Now", taken by Jim Marshall in  1996, 2011 and 2016, compare the state of streets and buildings immediately after the war and in current day after restorations have been completed.  I was saddened by the level of destruction incurred during the war, but happy to see the contrast two decades later.

More photos by Charlie Koolhaas, titled "Views of Sarajevo" taken in 2015, provide further examples of how beautiful the city is today with its varied architectural styles.  Looking at these photos, it was impossible to tell that a war ever happened here.  I felt a sense of pride for the citizens of Sarajevo for the wonderful job that they did restoring their city.

It is too bad that the same consideration has not been awarded to the Historical Museum. In spite of the lack of government funding, supporters of the museum are proposing a low-cost temporary solution to try to slow down the degradation.  Suspended on scaffolding, a giant transparent vinyl tarp could be used to cover the museum, protecting it from further water damage and providing a small amount of heat.  Putting a positive spin on the situation, the informational write-up about this project boasts that the "vinyl skin leaves the decay and patina of the original building intact while juxtapositioning the old and the new."  But more importantly, this do-it-yourself act of bypassing the government would be another example of civil defiance and a way for the people to take back their city.  The final statement of the write-up states that "The museum .. belongs to everyone...Budgets and benefactors no longer rule."  I hope that being in the Venice Architecture Biennale will generate the awareness and support needed to move this worthy endeavour forward.

The Sarajevo Now Project is presented by Urban-Think Tank, an interdisciplinary design collective dedicated to research, practice, teaching and artistic production with a focus on the "informal city where poor residents settle land rapidly outside of state control."  Over the past two decades, they have done work in Caracas Venezuela, Capetown South Africa and more.  In the same space as Sarajevo Now, U-TT exhibited examples of its global projects including one called "Empower Shack" aimed at upgrading 68 houses in Capetown to provide better spatial, ecological and social environments.  Red banners hanging from the ceiling ask probing architectural questions such as "Should Architects Prioritize Aesthetics or Ethics?", "Can Cultural Education Transform a Neighbourhood" and "Who Has the Right to Build a City?".

We were ready to leave the Arsenale North area and walk back west through the Castello district in order to visit the Naval Museum.  First we stopped to take a look at a docked submarine across the canal.  Using Google Maps, we headed towards the bridge that would take us to the other side of the canal but were dismayed to discover that the bridge was blocked off for construction!  Google Maps did not show another bridge off this mini "island" of Arsenale North and our Vaporetto boat pass had expired.  It seemed a bit steep to pay another 7.5 Euros each just to cross the canal but it did not seem like we had much choice.  We even considered flagging down a small boat that was rowing across the water to see if they would consider giving us a lift.  We were trapped!!  We found out later on when we looked at Google Earth that there actually was a bridge at the southern-most point of this stretch of land but it was not evident on Google Maps. 

Instead we decided to walk back to the Vaporetto stop to take the boat from there and thought maybe we could sneak on for the one stop without being checked for a ticket.  Luckily en route to the Vaporetto, we passed the curator from the Sarajevo Now exhibit who was out on the wharf taking a break.  We complained to him that we could not get off the island whereby he pointed to a sign 20 feet away from where we were standing.  It turns out that during the Biennale, there is a free shuttle that ferries people between Arsenale North to the main Biennale exhibition site.  So rather than schlepping back on the Vaporetto and possibly requiring to pay 15 Euros, we had a private boat ride across the canal.

At the main Biennale site, we checked out one more free exhibit which presented a proposal for a drone airport, or "Droneport".  The envisioned design involved a system of earth-based "vaults" made of pre-fabricated form-work that would allow local communities to create their own ports.  The goal for these droneports is to provide a method for cheap delivery of goods and medical supplies to remote areas of poor countries that lacked roads.  A prototype vault has been erected for the Biennale, but this was part of the ticketed events so we could not get in to get a closer look at it.

After this unexpected half-day detour, we stopped for some lunch before continuing towards the Naval Museum.  At the Hopera Coffee & Bakery, we indulged in our final cicheti meal of the trip, ordering caprese salad (even though it was not local to Venice), calamari rings, and another deep-fried breaded "croque monsieur" since Rich liked it so much the previous time that he tried it.  Along the way, we passed more canals and pretty bridges and I was amused to see a clothesline with laundry hanging across the canal.  Hopefully the owner didn't care too much about his clothes since they would be difficult to retrieve if they ever fell down.  Then as we walked along the Riva S. Biasio we finally came across something that I had been wondering and complaining about since we arrived in Venice.  Given that Venice is actually a series of many small land masses spanned by bridges, it has always irked me that the bridges were designed with steps as opposed to ramps.  I have watched many an unfortunate tourist try to drag his luggage up the steps as well as some elderly local women hauling their shopping carts.  Why would they not have ramps instead so that the wheeled carts and bags could be more easily pulled over the bridges?  Well finally in Castello, we found ramps!  Climbing the steps on so many bridges has been very painful on Rich's bad knee and he has needed to ice it regularly.  Since we could not easily bring an ice pack in our carry-on luggage, we usually buy a bag of frozen peas from the grocery store which can be used as a handy make-shift ice pack.

Finally we arrived at the Venice Naval Museum (Museo Storico Navale) which hosts a collection of vessels, weapons and other artifacts related to the naval and maritime history of Venice.  Unfortunately the main museum which boasts 5 storeys, 4000 square feet and 42 rooms is closed for renovations for the unforeseeable future. Luckily, the Pavilion of Ships, a smaller space used for the conservation of the larger boats, was still open so we still were able to see part of the collection, abet in a much smaller quantity.  The highlight of the vessels on display was the early 19th Century Royal Barge, used by King Vittorio Emanuele II in 1866 during a ceremony to mark the occasion of Venice joining the Kingdom of Italy.  In 1959, it was used as a funeral boat to carry the body of Pope Pius X to Rome for burial.

We saw another grand funeral barge built in 1870 in the Arsenal and was used until 1940 to ferry former Arsenal workers from the navy's chapel San Biagio to the cemetery island St. Michele.  The huge barge was pulled by only four oarsmen, which must have been quite the tiring feat, especially since they also acted as the gravediggers.  The rowers were usually dressed in colours matching the barge, which is black with yellow/gold ornamentation from stern to bow, representing a flaming torch of faith, a winged sphere representing the soul rising to Heaven and an angel blowing the horn of resurrection.

A few other vessels that I found interesting included a ship with a large torpedo sitting on top of it, and a couple of sail boats that had pretty designs painted on them.  Unfortunately it was really difficult to get information about the individual boats since the English writeups were on plastic plaque cards that I found difficult to correspond to the vessels that they were referring to.  It was really too bad that the main museum was closed since there would have been much more to see, and perhaps it would have been better curated there.

This turned out to be a long, hot, tiring day as it was quite the hike to get back to our home in Cannaregio after walking all around Castello.  We had two more days in Venice before heading off to Iceland. But by then, we had visited all the districts at least once, our boat pass had expired so we would have to spend 30 Euro each to buy 2-day passes, and the forecast called for rain both days.  Given all that and the fact that we were tired and Rich's knee still hurt, we decided to just relax in our beautiful home swap for two days and rest up for the next leg of our trip.

We had a wonderful time in Venice and highly recommend to anyone who wants to visit that you should definitely check out the districts outside of the main touristy areas of San Marco and San Polo.  I would love to come back to Venice again some time in the future, especially if I could attend the Art Biennale.  If we did return, I would spend more time in San Michele, ride bikes in the Lido, go to the Naval Museum if it reopens, visit Torcello and see the Opera House in San Marco.  But even if we don't get the opportunity to return, I would say that we have toured Venice quite thoroughly already.