L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 Sunday of "The world's most delicious festival" - as the 2015 Carnival of Venice has been called. A performance by pianist from Padua Paolo Zanarella, fly- ing on a platform over the Canal Grande, opened the parade. From Punta della Dogana, n e a r P i a z z a S a n M a r c o , t h e masked rowers headed to the Church of San Marcuola and then, instead of moving forward towards St. Lucia Station, turned right in the Cannaregio Canal for a little show, lifting their paddles i n t h e a i r a n d g r e e t i n g t h e bystanders. Special guest of the day was a h u g e r a t , w h i c h u s e d t o s a i l along the Canal in the past years and is now carried in triumph as a doge. Everybody was staring at h i m , w h i l e t h e o r g a n i z e r s announced a big surprise. After a few minutes, as soon as the boats lined up in the water, a colourful smoke came out from the rat and officially marked the beginning of the celebrations. Confetti and s t r e a m e r s w e r e t h r o w n f r o m nearby houses and buildings, and the crowd flooded in the food court featuring complimentary local products and delicacies. A m o n g t h e m w e r e s e a s o n a l dishes, like the famous pasta with beans and eggplant pie, accompanied by a taste of wine to warm up the spirit and stir up t h e r o m a n c e . W h a t a s h a m e would have been not to enjoy also the sweet pastries and frit- telle, which ranged from the reg- ular ones with batter, raisin, and pine nuts to those filled with The water canals in Venice, are being stripped of one of its most famous attractions: the serenading gondola ride expe- r i e n c e . N e w l y i s s u e d w a t e r traffic regulations in Venice are not allowing for gondolas to group around in the canals. They must now instead travel in single on the left-hand side o f t h e c a n a l s , a l o n g w i t h motorized vessels traveling on the right-hand side and 'over- taking to the left', these being the orders from a commission- er prefect. I t w a s a l s o s t a t e d t h a t a new process for the renewal of t h e e n t i r e c a n a l s y s t e m i n Venice has begun. This has become a high priority and a long time waiting, ever since t h e a c c i d e n t f r o m A u g u s t 2013, where a German tourist was crushed to death in a col- l i s i o n b e t w e e n a p u b l i c v a p o r e t t o a n d a g o n d o l a . Unfortunately, the trial had been postponed for procedural r e a s o n s i m m e d i a t e l y a f e w days after the accident. Top priority for the 'Grand C a n a l ' , t h e n a m e b y w h i c h Venetians call the main water- way of the city, is now also geared towards public trans- portation in and out the small canals and bridges. Under the new specific regulations, there are certain scheduled times for vessels to pass, limited traffic z o n e s , a n d ' b l u e ' r o u t e s t o avoid traffic jams, especially for private vehicles, taxis and boats carrying goods. A gondolier himself, Aldo Reato gives no comment to the new rules and regulations for gondolas, but instead says: "I'm waiting to read the text [of the actual law]," and states that being a left-sided rower will create considerable prob- lems, not just for him but for other left-sided rowers too. Being that there are more gon- doliers who hold the oar on t h a t p a r t i c u l a r s i d e , R e a t o claims that these will be the people who have "obligation to resolve [these issues]." This new set of rules is the result of a series of meetings initiated by former Mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni. It is the beginning of new changes: the iconic image of gondolas side by side, with tourists on board listening to serenades a l l t o g e t h e r , m i g h t j u s t become the image of a post- card-- and only that. Serenading Gondolas – A Thing of the Past? custard or zabaglione. O f c o u r s e , t h e t u r n o u t o f locals and tourists wasn't com- parable to the public on Mardì G r a s , y e t i t w a s r e m a r k a b l e e s p e c i a l l y b e t w e e n t h e T r e A r c h i a n d G u g l i e b r i d g e s . Everybody was walking around while eating or drinking, a con- firmation that – no matter if sweet or savory - it was impossi- ble to resist the temptation. The tasty will of the Carnival of Venice be done. Almost 500 rowers showed up on the first Sunday of "the world's most delicious festival". Photo credit: Steven Varni BECKY ZEFERINO Continued from page 1 The bitter cold doesn't make any difference: Carnival must be enjoyed out- door. Photo credit: Steven Varni The iconic image of serenading gondolas might become the image of a post- card

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