I love planning. I love knowing where I'm going to be going and at what time. I live for methodically outlining what I want to do or accomplish in a day, and have been known to tote a bag full of guide books, maps, and any other material that might assist me in my quest to explore and understand.
This is why I was surprised to find myself in Venice with nothing but a camera, a cell phone, and a few euros. I had traded my usual burden of guides and maps for a plan that consisted of nothing but seeing Venice, and REALLY seeing it. Not only the touristy hot-spots at San Marco's and Rialto, but to probe the dark and narrow alleyways, and hidden canals that Venetians frequent. I hoped to venture away from the mask-shops and glass-blowing demonstrations and scout the largely untouched Castello district, or the centuries old Jewish Ghetto, both far off the beaten path (or...canal...). It is in these areas where you can see what I consider to be the Real Venice. Fishing boats taking their loads to market, housewives hanging the laundry out to dry on what was a rare, sunny day, and real Venetians about their Venetian business, wearing the uniform green rain boots or waders to protect from high tide. This is the Venice where you'd be hard pressed to buy a postcard, the Venice that few artists attempt to paint, the Venice that I, quite honestly prefer over the crowded and noisy (but undoubtedly beautiful) San Marco's Square.
Of any Italian city I've ever visited (and by now I've seen a quite a few) Venice is the most resistant to planning. It cannot be accurately mapped, due to the number of narrow calles or alleyways, and you're going to get lost a couple times. The calles wind and intersect, and lead to dead-end courtyards. Many are unlabeled, or are labeled in Venetian dialect, which leaves out letters or replaces them with unnecessary Z's just to make it more fun for us foreigners. Things seem almost to move around in Venice, the city is definitely alive. You can hear it breathing in the wind flying through the alleys, and hear the sigh of the wood anchoring it into the lagoon. Once having gone down a calle, I could never seem to find the same one again, no matter how hard I tried, and had to take a winding, round-about route back. This is why it is nearly impossible to plan in Venice. You never know how long its going to take to get where you're going, and I can guarantee you will find something equally interesting and beautiful along the way. Every corner of the city is a photo opportunity, straight off a postcard. Even the grimy-er, dimmer sections of the city possess a sort picturesque personality that never fails to amaze me. You will be distracted along the way, so a purposeful march towards your destination will never acquaint you with the city in a way that slowly moseying through the winding shadowy streets will.
Any guide you find on Venice will fail you, no matter how much it claims to possess secrets to discovering "The Real Venice". They are filled with facts and dates (which I love), but fail to capture the real Venice and quite honestly, take all the romance out of it. So what if most of the art and architecture was stolen from Constantinople? Though there are admittedly a number of truly fascinating historical events connected with Venice (the smuggling of St. Mark's body, to begin with) trying to learn them while in Venice is probably not the best way, so leave the guide book at home. A book (as much as I would like it to) will never help you understand a city, and especially not a city as alive as Venice. Don't take my word for it..explore it yourself, and see the beautiful, dark, and slightly soggy city with your own eyes. And dont forget not to plan.
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