WHAT'S UNDERNEATH THE LAGOON?
Perhaps while in Venice you will happen to pass by workers in the canal, usually securing buildings underneath water level. It's actually fantastic to watch. They create great walls with wood pilings to surround an area of a canal. Then, they use big pumps to take the water out of the enclosed section. Once the water has been taken out, underneath there's mud.
It's interesting to look at the sides of the buildings when there isn't any water. Right at the level where the water hits the buildings the brick has decayed. Right underneath the water near the mud the buildings have been preserved.
Many people have often wondered what would happen to them if they fell in a canal. Well, many remember the famous scene in the film Summertime starring Katherine Hepburn. In one of her scenes she falls into a canal, and she supposedly had a recurring eye infection for the rest of her life. Maybe because that was 1955. Since then there have been many efforts to clean up the lagoon with positive results.
In fact, my husband had a little accident. He was working setting up structures at the Biennale, the annual contemporary art exposition, and it's necessary to bring all materials by boat. While stepping off the boat he slipped and fell in the water. He arrived home with dried mud on his clothes, and he didn't suffer any other consequences.
Grace De Fanti
