What is the essence of Venice, Italy?
First off, I do think that cities – or places in general – each have their own essence.
I would argue that the essence of a place is the whole range of feelings and sensations that place gives in those who visit it. So it must be subjective, I reckon. I also think that you have to visit a place multiple times to start grasping its real nature and going beyond the wows on the surface.
Venice, though, is a unique, vulnerable specimen. I had the chance to visit this wonderful city four times over the course of my life, and the feelings that this place gave me did not change despite many things, including me, have changed in the meantime.
For me, the real Venice is the one far away from all the bucket list locations. I love narrow alleys with tiny bridges and hardly anyone around even during summer weekends. Lone pigeons, pensive gondolieri, worn red bricks caressed by calm waters…
I’d love to return to Venice again, but in the meantime I believe this photograph conveys those feelings and details that I love.