Venice is one of the most popular
tourist destinations in the world for its magnificent art and architecture. It
is always full of tourists around the famous spots especially near Piazza San
Marco. However, if you walk a little further away from these tourist spots you
can find the peaceful Venice, the home for the true Venetians. It is
interesting how the city functions as a residence for the Venetians with
countless tourists storming in every day. It made me wonder the life of the
settlers in the city.
As I imagined Venice to be a very busy
and crowded city due to the travelers, I had also expected the settlers to live
fast-paced lives to keep up with those visiting the city. However, the
Venetians proved me wrong. Throughout my days in Venice, I learned that the
Venetians have a relaxed and trustful attitude to life.
The unspoken rule on eating – from
having a cup of coffee at a café to dining at a restaurant – was enough to
surprise me about how relaxed the Venetians are. At a café, you know if the
person ordering is a tourist or not by looking at their behavior: is he ready
to pay? If yes, he is definitely a tourist. Venetian custom is so that people
to get food first and pay once they are done eating. It does not matter how
long they take to eat or how much of food they bring out to eat outside the
restaurant. Cafés as well as restaurants serve the customers in a way that is
always welcoming and respectful of their quality time at their place. The
servers do not even bring you a check unless you ask for it after two or three
hours of dining – in fact, they might even get offended if you finish your meal
fast and rush for the check.
Another great example of the Venetian
attitude towards life can be found in the use of boats as a main transportation
means. Venice is a city built on an archipelago of 118 islands separated by
canals and linked by bridges, which makes it impossible to have major
transportation on the ground. Before departure, I only had a vague idea of what
it would be like to not have cars around. Born and raised in a big city in
Korea, I could never imagine getting around the city without seeing traffics.
About 40 percent of population in Korea owns a car, and the public
transportation is very well organized, including buses, subways, and trains. Upon
arrival in Venice, we took waterbuses – Alilaguna and vaporetti – to get to our
lodging place, San Servolo. While it was very interesting to be able to get
around the city by boats, the slow speed of the boat questioned me about how
the city can function without a faster and more efficient transportation means.
In addition, the passengers are expected to validate their own tickets before
they get into the vaporetto stop, while the inspectors very seldom check the
tickets. Vaporetti are usually on time, but they go on a strike once a while
yet the city functions without any issues. On the fifth day of our trip, the
vaporetti went on a strike. However, it seemed to me that the only people who
were upset about it were tourists, not the Venetians.
I found it odd that when you visit
other European countries, even other major cities of Italy, you are always
warned to be careful of pickpockets, but not Venice. This brings back the issue
related to the “paying-later” rules at cafés due to a very simple reason: what
if anyone intends to get the food first and run away without paying? However,
the Venetians seem to handle it very well. The cultures I am more familiar with
– those of Korea and of the United States – put emphasis on the fast-paced
life. The technological development supports this idea of life, and people
forget to enjoy and appreciate the moment. Of course, tourists cannot change
their rushing habit that easily either. While they are surrounded by the
greatest art and architecture works of all time, they are busy taking pictures
of them for a few minutes and leaving for the next “important” places, without
even understanding what makes those art pieces or churches so grand. I believe
the Venetians, raised in the city of art and architectural masterpieces,
developed their attitude of life to observe the surrounding and appreciate the
moment.
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