PBT

The haunting beauty of Venice gives chills. This perennial onslaught of water and the decaying facades of exquisite palazzo rising out of murky waters contribute to the feeling of fatalism. Beauty and genius are no insurance against death, and it is in graphic display here. Or is it the beauty of aging and destruction that we are supposed to admire here? "Death in Venice" spoke of fascination, futility and death. What an appropriate setting.

Just like I couldn't swallow nat'to (chilled rotten beans, a common appetizer in Japan), I just can't warm up to Venice.

Now tell me that Venice is romantic.

Sue_xx_yy

Well, it depends. To a salmon, romance and death are indivisibly linked.

dumas1870

PBT, you better check and see if you have a pulse. Venice has aged very, every well and is far from dead. Romance and beauty can be found around every corner in that great city. But if you don't "get it" than nothing we can say will ever change your opinion.

PBT

Sue_xx_yy -- that was a good one.

dumas1870 -- I am afraid my problem is that I "get it" ... and more. I love Venice but my love for it is of a morbid variety. Therefore, I don't see it as a romantic place unlike Florence or Siena.

I get the same "chills" in St. Petersburg which was literally built on bones and I believe is still populated by the ghosts of Dostoyevsky's and Gogol's deeply disturbed protagonists.

adrienne

Venice's beauty is haunting; that's part of the attraction. Venice is alive and vibrant by day and eerie and other worldly by night. It's this dichotomy I find so alluring. Far from being dead, Venice epitomizes longevity as I feel more of a connection with ancient civilizations in Venice than any where else. Venice is very much a sensory and sensual experience and perhaps there's no need to "warm up" to her but to delight in whatever feeling she evokes.

adrienne

ira

Well,

As the Italians say, "ciascuno ha il suo gusto".

(Achieved by translating "chacun a son goût" into English and then into Italian. When I reversed it, I got, "Chaque il a son parfum", which came out as, "Each it has his perfume".)

ira

OTOH,

I do love Venice because of the contrasts between it's aura of antiquity and it's mists and gloom; and it's bright spots and the vitality of it's residents.

I hope that they don't clean it up too much.

Degas

ira, I think that translation really means: each has his own odor.

ira

Hi Degas,

I was going to substitute "aroma", but decideed to be honest.

"chacun à son goût" is usually translated as "each to his own taste", although I think "ciascuno ha il suo gusto" isn't bad (but I have a very, very limited knowledge of Italian).

Do the Italians have a similar saying, I wonder?

Marilyn

A friend of mine always uses the Latin version: De gustibus non disputandum. (My apologies for any spelling errors. I never studied Latin.)

PBT

You left out "est" = "is".

Bob1

You either like Venice or you do not. Sorta like the PT Cruiser or the Pontiac Aztec. People did actually buy these cars and no one knows why.

We first found Venice in 1971 in the heat of summer. It was magical then, and continues to be so. We have taken friends there with us since and they did not understand the allure. You are probably among those that do not and will not ever understand it. Best for you to stay away and leave it to the rest of us. No big deal.

Patrick

I agree it is all a matter of taste. You say, "is it the beauty of aging and destruction that we are supposed to admire here?" Well, maybe. Certainly that's much of it for me. If they went in and totally modernized everything, made the buildings not lean, and put shiny new paint on everything, I would simply hate it and never go back !!! I guess that's why I never understood the fascination people had with the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. It isn't worn, it isn't faded, it isn't gritty or dirty, and to me it doesn't do a single thing to capture the feel of the true Venice. I just didn't get the point of it.

PBT

Patrick -- I am with you on the fakeness of Vegas.

car

PBT
Venice is just real and fortunately does not look like a themepark.

ira

Hi,

If I stay at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas in November-December, will I have to bring boots? I have heard of flooding around that time of year.

Judyrem

I loved the "look" of Venice, but not the crass comercialism that has overun the place. It is a physically gorgeous city, BUT my husband (and me too, to a certain extent) did not like the emphasis on shopping. I also want to see St. Petersburg, and I heard it was just as beautiful. That is on my short list too. Judy

Bob1

Judyrem: We were in Leningrad in 1986. It was amazing to see how the Russians have let that city go to pot. If you like the decay of Venice you will love your trip to St Petersburg. Looks great in photos, pretty raunchy up close.

Christina

ira, parfum doesn't just mean perfume, it is used in several other senses -- to mean flavor, for example (if you buy ice cream, the different flavors will be called "parfums"), so they are translating that as a meaning of "taste" and "gout" can be translated as flavor, also. Il can also be used for the impersonnel first person, not just for "it", although that doesn't seem that common to me ("on" is what I usually see and use). The other part of that sentence seems a weird translation to me, not the parfum so much.

Marilyn

Didn't they fix up St. Petersburg for some anniversary a few years ago? We were there in '93 and loved it. The state of disrepair of some of the buildings, however, was sad to see. An elderly gentleman who was a complete stranger was obviously embarrassed by the decay and remarked to me, "It was not always like this."