maybe simpler is better, huh?
We’re taking the trip of our short lifetime going through Italy for our 10th anniversary. I’m loving it. McDonald’s style.
I like getting to know the culture, the people. But being a tourist doesn’t always lend itself to this. Mainly because tourist areas breed tourist type services, attitudes, businesses. And let’s face it, we’re tourists.
So when we can have some honest interaction with locals, it’s really interesting.
Marcello
We ate at a place recommended by chowhound.com in Venice and it was the best meal we’ve had so far on our trip. Fresh and unique seafood, delicate, yet bold flavors.. very impressive.
Our waiter’s name was Marcello. A very simple looking guy in the mold of a slightly more fit Joe Pesci. It almost seems cliche. A warm gentlemen and a very regular guy. Didn’t act like he worked for a very high demand restaurant.
We started talking to Marcello and asked him the basic questions. The guy was born and raised in Venice, which is becoming rare because the city is slowly being overrun with tourist businesses and many Venetians who do not work in the tourist industry end up getting priced out of town. The cost of living is on the rise and with less demand for anything outside of tourist services residents will eventually have to move
Marcello’s parents moved to Cloverdale [Marin County of all places] so he goes to SF every few years to visit his family. Strange how Marin county can be cheaper to live than Venice.
I asked him what it was like 30+ years ago when he was a kid and he said it was totally different. Back then he would go out into the little squares [open areas in the midst of densely populated 3-4 story residential structures] and play soccer with his friends. He says he never sees this anymore; people are on their iPods and DS’s and you don’t have as much interaction as you used to. He said this [and say it with the best Italian accent you can muster], “Maybe simpler is better, huh?”
I gave Marco a card and said the next time you’re in SF, give us a call and we’ll give you a tour… I hope he takes me up on my offer.
Marco
Our hotel has a free tour of a glass-making factory. We’re Chinese. It’s free. We take it.
We just happen to be the only ones signed up for this one time slot, so we get a private water taxi ride to near by Murano Island, glass-making-centrale. Our tour ends up being a private tour with a guy named Marco. A tall, wavy-haired man, with an amber complexion and his collar popped on his polo.
We watch the glass making process… it’s pretty crazy. We learn that the glass-making artisans have all been doing it for generations. And normally you start really young, pre-teen. Because you need to get used to working around high levels of heat.
Marco lamented how he started in the glass making industry too late. He’s 34 and he can’t deal with the heat levels and it’s way too late to train his body. He was sharing that when he was younger he was “much stupid”. Chasing little dreams, making bad decisions, etc. And now he’s 34, knows a good amount about a lot of things, but has yet to really know what he wants to do. He has too many passions he says and feels the pressure to get moving on something.
The discussion of Venetian glass making spawned a very hearty conversation on the dilution of Venetian culture due to globalization and the tourist industry. Venice was built by hand, founded on the artisan trades, its soul is in the people who work with their hands.
But more and more tourists came. And more and more little shops would open up selling little trinkets that lack any real skill or artistry. Much of this stuff isn’t even produced in Italy, let alone Venice. So it’s becoming much harder to find well-crafted glassware [or leather-goods or even gelato].
And in a globalized world, most of the artisan’s kids don’t want to work around high heat for countless hours on slim margins. It’s just easier to do other stuff, including going to college.
Marco, born and bread Venetian, said that Venice is losing its soul, its culture, its heart. The young kids don’t know the history of the city they live in. And there are fewer of them because families are moving out.
One side discussion we had was about the Catholic church. I told him that I was a pastor and he started sharing how he believes in God, but doesn’t really like the church. Not a new revelation.
But his impression of the Catholic church in Italy is this: it’s all about gold, diamonds and silk. Meaning, that the church in his opinion is all about money and power. Making things pretty and not actually helping people seek God. There is so much money going into maintaining the historical buildings, artwork and making sure the church looks as it should… the church is no longer relevant, no longer a viable means to truly seeking after God.
Also, not a new revelation, but worth expanding on in the next blog post.
The trip to Venice wasn’t just a jarringly sober look at a dying culture. We had fun, took lots of pictures, ate well and enjoyed all the scenic viewpoints of Venice. But it does raise questions about the benefits/costs of a globalized economic and social culture and whether there will ever be good gelato again. I am also not lost to the fact that my good fortune for being here is due to living in this globalized generation.
A few questions with no solid answers. Next post may tackle the churchy thing. Back to finding good eats.
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