Purple Tulip Spring. Venice, 1989 – 2021

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It was spring but the water felt cold and clear. Fish were swimming up the Grand Canal, and even the muddiest canals were turning sparkling bright. In April 2020, all of a sudden, a window opened enabling us to turn back time. At the time, it felt like a wonderful gift for our generation but it came at an immense cost. And one day in hindsight, we may well say this month has been the turning point in Venetian history, the decisive one in the 21st century.

Text by Iris Loredana. Photography by various Venetian authors and Iris Loredana. E-Book, 90 pages. To be published in May 2023.

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Description

Silent Lagoon, or rather, when two epochs were clashing in Venice.

This e-book, our most personal so far, takes you to Venice during spring 2020. As we’re looking at an eerily quiet city and water, we’re making pathway in our thoughts to see the complete picture: The seven critical stages in Venetian history, with the time between 1989 and 2021 being the last and seventh stage.

50 exclusive images taken between March and May 2020 show you a Venice none of our generation has seen before. How nature rebounded, while Venetians were braving these “winds of change” in the midst of dire distress.

We had come a long way from living in a “normal” city in the 1980s and early 1990s, to that memorable summer of 2019: Clashing colors, too cold for summer. Overcrowded stages. Anxious outcries. Cruise ships failing twice, and an agitated mood. Devastating press and blurred responsibilities. By early summer 2019, Venice had become a synomym of overtourism and even those Venetians who really love their city had become fatigued.

And then in the fall, the ultimate catastrophe – the floods of 12-17 November 2019 putting life at risk in Venice, threatening our businesses, especially those few not depending on tourism. The flood devoured ancient gardens. The fragility of life in Venice showed, and all hopes were directed at the dawning new decade, and into a healing process nobody knew where it would come from. Yet again, Venice was hit, just before the Christmas festivities began, by yet another serious flood. And the international press became acid and critical like never before.

But was Venice ready to heal, and who was going to take responsibility to build trust into the city from ground up?

The city is now in the hands of a dwindling population but there are those braving adversities, not present on social media, never promoted by bloggers, happy to do their healing work behind the scenes.

Join me here in this personal book and get a glimpse of the real Venice, from the point of view of a Venetian born, bred and living in the historical city.

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color

Red