18th June 2022 Ms Vasanthi Arasoo
The floating city of canals seems to be a place known for romantics at heart to serenade their sweethearts through a ride along the famed canals in Venice while admiring the beauty of bridges and pre-historic buildings. An added bonus will be the strong and handsome boatmen or gondoliers who can not only take you for an awesome boat ride but may also sing at your request.
This painting captures the striking architecture of the buildings by the city as well as the perfect ambience of boat rides in canals that take one below multiple beautiful bridges. The subtle colours used by Dr Beena creates dreamy, sentimental misty-eyed recollections of love being in the air. Looks like a perfect setting for those madly in love or those wishing for some romance in their lives.
People from all over the world flock here to be a part of the romance that fills the air in this serene city. Romantic vibes reverberate from the buildings, canals, bridges and waters. The hot summers too do not seem to keep the romantics away.
What would such a place be like for the tourist who goes for a holiday with no romance in the air? Would Venice win their hearts over too or would they see it as a city with no roads, smelly waterways, old buildings, competitive gondoliers with loud out of tune serenades, picky shop-keepers who limit customers into their small shops, over-rated charms of face masks and Italian food as well as a crowded man-made platform that oozes with no beauty of nature?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so let’s not be the judges of this paradise on earth. The romantics at heart may find bliss in so many things but nature-lovers may find nothing attractive in this concrete city famed for romance other than the speed boat ride to Venice.
However, Dr Beena seems to have captured love in her painting where birds fly freely over a canal with soft gentle splashing ripples in a lovely surrounding. Let’s keep that peace in our hearts.
2 thoughts on “Venice City of Love”
Hi Vasanthi
Thanks for this tongue-in-cheek story. Yea, a city of love is something hard to fathom for tourists when the intent of travel is just to enrich our lives with exposure to different places and people. What we take away are just memories. They can still be filled with love if we had a wonderful time there. I love bridges. This was the Rialto bridge. A friend sent me this picture and I attempted to paint it. My passion for buildings keeps me engaged but I do have a lot to learn about painting buildings.
Venice has a rich history of being a financial hub. At least now it is a City of Love. I love the way you saw another aspect of the city. One of the reasons I was never attracted to go there was because it is packed with tourists. Sometimes I do wonder how the residents there feel? Very interesting and complex thoughts for a small place:).
Beauifully describe by Vasanthi