A season of mist and acqua altas : a personal best of

A Season of mist and Acqua altas : Venice in Winter, a personal best of including new pictures

My first visit to Venice goes back to 2017. I can not say the emotion I felt then : after all, there is sometimes evidence against which we can not fight. I fell in love, deeply and madly.

My Venice is, I guess, very far from the usual clichés peddled on the city : it is a ghost city, shrouded by mist and silence, frozen in an eternal Winter. I especially love this season in Venice, when the fog makes buildings and bridges quite disappear. Early in the morning, the streets are almost empty of any human presence. The city then becomes, for a time, and very selfishly, my kingdom.

Thus, I'm never so happy as those November and December mornings when I walk alone through the streets of Canareggio, Dorsoduro, San Polo or Santa Croce, carrying my photo equipment on my back. I sometimes stop at the turn of a street or a bridge, looking for the best angle of view, preparing my tripod and camera for a long exposure. During the minutes of waiting, I smoke a cigarette in the wet cold, enjoying the silence that is interrupted from time to time by the sound of a boat or a gondola coming out of the fog.

The encounters that I did in Venice over the years were often unexpected and quite magical. My best memory remains the encounter with the late Bruno Ganz, in the gardens of the Rezzonico Palazzio, on a warm winter morning. I still remember the bench where he was reading a manuscript, a black cat sitting by his side. The scene was quite unreal. I remember my hesitation to talk to him - he was and still remains my favorite actor. I remember our conversation in my bad English, and then in French, about the city, litterature, movies, acting and so on. I remember the winter roses in the garden, the soft rain while we quit.

Of course, I have darker memories of Venice. I was present at the exceptional Acqua alta of November 12, 2019, which ravaged much of the city. The days before, I took many pictures of St. Mark's Square and the wharves submerged by the rising tide - it's always a challenge when you carry a 10-kilo bag containing three cameras and many filters. The height of the water did not exceed thirty centimeters then - nothing exceptional for a city accustomed to face Acqua altas between November and April. However, on November 12th, the conjunction of several phenomena - plain moon, strong tidal coefficient, meteorological depression, rain and high wind from the South - caused one of the worst Acqua altas that Venice has experienced for a century. In Saint Mark's Square - the lowest point in Venice - the water reached one meter. Around midnight, a strong gust of wind projected several vaporetto on the docks. The crypt of St. Mark's Basilica has been totally drowned. Many homes, palaces and businesses were completely devastated. This 12th of November is one of the worst days I have ever spent in Venice : in what follows, you will not find any pictures taken that day, a matter of simple decency. I simply did not have the strength, nor the desire.

For a better view, click on the pictures. Fine art prints are available on my website : www.arnaudbathiard.com