Venice From a Tourist Perspective

I think we are in a very interesting situation here in Venice because we are not technically tourists, in that we are not here for only a few days or a week just to see the top sights and get back out, but then neither are we actual residents, because we are here only temporarily. However, because we are not here just to casually gloss over the top sights and then leave the city, because we are digging deeper and really studying and trying to understand Venice, I do not consider us to be tourists. When I arrived in Venice, I was most concerned about getting to San Servolo and finally being able to set down my bags after having carried them along for the past seventeen or so hours on and off airplanes and through airports. For this reason, I did not pause to really take in the sights of Venice, except for the few minutes spent on the vaporetto when I did not have to worry about moving my luggage around. So, because I was curious about the way in which the typical tourist actually first experiences Venice, I inadvertently fell into an experiment.

On Saturday, while I was already on the Grand Canal on the number one vaporetto, I made the snap decision to get off at the San Marco stop, rather than the usual San Zaccaria stop. It was quite different. Everyone was moving quite slowly, taking in their surroundings, few people were really walking purposefully as if they needed to get somewhere. Then, after crossing a small bridge and following the sidewalk around the corner, I came out onto a tree-lined walkway that followed right along the water's edge. It was actually a very pretty, park-like place that I believe I would have thoroughly enjoyed, had it not been packed with tourists. And the tourists themselves weren't even really that bad, I've realized at this point that they come with the territory, tourists are just a part of Venice, but the part that really ruined the picturesqueness of the walkway was the number of stands that were assembled all along the left side of the path, hawking very cliche souvenirs, and selling Coca-Cola and Sprite. And although I know that most of the world now drinks Coke, it seems just a little wrong to find it in Venice.

I continued down this walkway until I came to the entrance to Piazza San Marco, flanked by the two massive pillars. I have to say, it is impressive to come into the city center this way because everything unfolds very slowly in front of you. Walking along, the pillars are visible, then the Doge's Palace, then you turn to the left and suddenly the campanile and San Marco are laid out in front of you. You are only separated from these behemoth structures by a sea of people. I walked through the pillars and into the square, camera out, completing the picture of myself as a tourist. I hadn't yet really had a chance to go into the piazza and really see it, to experience what all the fuss is about. After having done so, I must say, that it really is beautiful. I can clearly understand why people make a fuss. I managed to find a spot in the middle of the square where I could stand alone and snap a few pictures, but it didn't last long because people were constantly pushing past me, trying to keep together with their group, a familiar feeling.

I realized that the further I walked into the square, the more I felt, not disdain for the tourists crowding the place, but rather what I imagine to be their own annoyance. After having stood outside San Marco and taken in the remarkable structure, I really wanted to go inside for just a few minutes and have a look around. However, that was completely impossible because of the massive line protruding from the door and angling across the square. So instead, I turned and strolled towards the clock tower, which might be my favorite part of the piazza. Again, however, I could not take the crowds for very long and instead turned and made my way back to the San Servolo vaporetto stop as quickly as I could duck and dodge through the swarming masses. It seemed to me that, as a tourist, while you may enjoy the beauty of the Piazza San Marco, with the basilica, the campanile, the Palazzo Ducale, you would quickly become annoyed by the large crowds and unimpressed by the sometimes questionable and cliche merchandise for sale all along the waterfront. I think that perhaps, if I did not know that other places in the city existed, quiet areas like Sant Elena or places where normal Venetians gather like Santa Maria Formosa, or if I did not know that I could get away from all the crowds on San Servolo, perhaps I would only want to stay a few days in the city as well.

Ultimately, it was very interesting and enlightening to view Venice from a typical tourist's perspective. However, I can also almost see why people think they can "do" the city in only a couple of days. If you don't know what to look for, besides what's in the travel books, how can you really experience the city? I think that we are very lucky to have the opportunity which we do, which is to really experience Venice, not just the "hot spots" but the real city. And because of our extended stay, we also get to understand more about the city and see things which the average tourist would miss out on. For instance, some of the people we talked to last week, just in for the day on cruises, completely missed out on being able to see the mountains appear yesterday and today. I think that I will find it very difficult to be a true tourist again in any city, because even after only a week, I realize that when you only hit the big sights, you miss out on the true city. The tourist perspective, while it provides for some great pictures, and even some breathtaking moments, is still narrow and unable to fully capture the entire scope of the city, simply for lack of time as much as anything. While it was fascinating to take some time to explore the tourist perspective, I am now even more glad that I have both the time and the resources available to dig a little deeper and really explore the city, rather than just take a few good pictures and say I've been here.