| The Zattere during acqua alta - Photo: Cat Bauer |
(Venice, Italy) One year ago, on the night of November 12, 2019, Venice was barraged by rising tides and whipped by winds of more than 75 miles per hour. Walter Mutti's newsstand struggled to remain upright in its perilous position on the Zattere, the main promenade that runs along the Giudecca Canal. Even though it was constructed from heavy steel, Walter's edicola was no match for the forces of nature. The violent winds knocked the newsstand over. The crashing waves swept it into the tumultuous waters. Walter's edicola, a local landmark for both Venetians and tourists, ended up on the bottom of the Giudecca Canal.
| Walter's edicola in the flood |
Walter had tried to salvage what he could from the newsstand that had been in his family for 25 years, but was forced to surrender to the powers of Mother Nature. In desperation, he had tweeted a photo of his edicola uprooted by the swirling waters with the caption "aiutoooooo" which means "Help!!!!!!"
Over on the mainland, Carlo Gardan, whose Twitter handle is @LordOfVenice, felt compelled to take action. He had never actually met Walter Mutti, but they followed each other on Twitter. Carlo immediately set up a "Go Fund Me" account which raised over €20,000 in 48 hours from small donations both locally and all over the globe. As images of a flooded, devastated Venice flashed across social media, Walter's simple newsstand personalized the tragedy and struck a chord in the heart of humanity. In contrast to the 1966 flood when Venice was completely isolated from the rest of the world for 22 hours, this time, thanks to the Internet, the city remained connected. The generous response was humanity at its best.
| Walter Mutti & Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte |
Giuseppe Conte, the Prime Minister of Italy, arrived in Venice on November 14th. Conte tweeted a photo of himself and Walter with the caption: "Walter Mutti has lost his newsstand, submerged by the rush of the waters. This morning I met him in the Prefecture in #Venezia: I listened to his words of pain, like many other Venetian citizens who have come to me. The Government is supportive and present, no one will be alone."
Last winter it seemed like the acqua alta would never end. Day after day the wail of the high water siren pierced the air as a weary city braced for another day of mopping out homes and drying out shops. There was a feeling of community as residents lent each other a helping hand, but also fury that MOSE, the flood barrier that was supposed to protect Venice from acqua alta, did not function after being mired in political corruption, with decades of work and billions of euro seemingly sucked into a vast black hole.
| Walter's edicola emerges from the Giudecca Canal - Photo: Cat Bauer |
At the beginning of December, divers from Venice's Fire Department found Walter's newsstand submerged in the Guidecca Canal. Luigi Brugnaro, the Mayor of Venice, declared that the edicola would be the "tangible symbol of a city that does not give up and is reborn." On an overcast December 6th, I joined a small crowd as we watched the newsstand emerge from the dark waters. It did feel like the edicola might represent a glimmer of hope. Slowly, slowly, life began to return to normal -- by the time Christmas season arrived, a great effort had been made to have carols and twinkling lights decorate Piazza San Marco, and importantly, locals had returned to the main square.
Then on February 23, 2020, Venice again was thrust into the international spotlight when Carnival was abruptly cancelled two days early due to a mysterious new virus that was sweeping the planet. The amount of visitors to Venice had already been greatly reduced after the winter floods. In the early morning hours of March 8, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that the entire nation of Italy would be quarantined -- the first country in the West to go into hibernation. Venice had not yet completely recovered from the flood, and was now hit by the lockdown. For a city whose main industry was tourism, it was another calamitous blow.
With everyone confined to their homes, and tourists forbidden to travel, the streets of Venice were eerily void of people while, at the same time, something magical happened -- nature flourished. The waters and canals became so still and clear that frolicking fish and other underwater creatures were visible. It was as if Mother Nature had shut down the entire frenetic enterprise that had been based on overtourism and consumption. Using weapons of the gods -- first with the flood and then with the plague -- Mother Nature claimed back the lagoon.
Newsstands were one of the few businesses that were allowed to remain open during the lockdown, but how would Walter sell his wares without his edicola? Thanks to the Don Orione Institute, a Christian charity, Walter was granted the use of a small space next to the location of his newsstand in order to stay in business.
In May, Venice slowly emerged from hibernation, blinking her eyes, gauging the scene. First, visitors from the Veneto region arrived in town, followed by other Italian regions, then by most of Europe. Americans could not travel to Venice without a valid reason to come here -- a rule that remains in effect to this day. By summer, life had almost returned to normal.
| Walter Mutti & Carlo Gardan |
On the sunny afternoon of August 10, 2020, Walter held a small, local gathering to finally celebrate the re-opening of his edicola, which had been completely restored with the donations from the Go Fund Me campaign and money allotted by the government. I was there, and met Carlo Gardan, the man behind the @LordOfVenice social media account who had initiated the fundraiser. Thanks to the combined efforts of ordinary people and powerful institutions, Walter Mutti's newsstand had been lifted out of the water and placed back on its feet.
| Venice, Italy - Photo: Cat Bauer |
On October 3, 2020, Venice experienced its first exceptional high tide of the season. To the astonishment and joy of Venetians, MOSE, the flood barrier, actually held back the tide! It is a temporary solution to a complex problem with much more work to be done, but it provides a breath of air to a city that was drowning.
If there is a message that can be delivered by the salvation of Walter's edicola, it might be that the human spirit can accomplish great things when we use our collective power for the forces of good. That the majestic city of Venice continues to exist inside her watery home after 1,600 years is a testament to impossible dreams coming true. At the time I write this, the planet is again being challenged by a surge of COVID-19. Let us hope that Venice and the world do not fall back into the destructive patterns of the past, but find new, creative ways to move forward to the future.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
