Trade Secrets

Merchants abound, indeed, in this city that inspires all, from Third World tourists to the English literary master himself, Shakespeare.

 Picturesque buildings and gondolas along its famous canals. Photo by Homs Santos.

Contrary to popular belief, a romantic gondola ride is not the only way to tour this Italian masterpiece. Especially if a gondola ride costs just about as much as a pound of flesh. Even Shylock would have flinched.

Despite the sweltering heat of the summer sun, exploring the city by foot—or a piedi, as the locals say it—delivers gasps of excitement and sighs of awe at every turn. All the gasping and sighing, however, soon become uncontrollable fits of panting and wheezing; it takes quite a while to get to the plaza from the train station.

 Carnival masks, keychains, caps, even oddly-shaped pasta--an array of souvenirs, for those with enough Euros to spare. Photos by Eenna delos Reyes.

Along the way, rows upon rows of multi-hued jesters, bejeweled cat-men, feathered merchants, and hollow-beaked plague doctors—stunning relics of the famed Carnival—gaze majestically upon passing sightseers. They sit comfortably among motley-sized shirts and caps, with designs dominantly red, white, and green in color (with a touch of blue; it is football season, after all), many proudly bearing the city’s name for all the world to see. Behind glass windows, their Murano-crafted kin, so beautiful they seem almost ethereal, glint mischievously in their velvet-lined display cases—the only ones privy to one of the place’s most closely guarded secrets.

St. Mark's Campanile and St. Mark's Basilica are the main attractions amid the hustle and bustle of Piazza San Marco. Photos by Joy Cabugwas and Eenna delos Reyes.

Just before weary feet give way, a steady hum of eager tourists and the sharp clicking sounds of a thousand cameras herald the grand plaza. It is lined with quatrefoil-patterned marble columns and flanked by the Basilica in all its Byzantine glory, the Early Renaissance grandeur of the Clocktower, and the brilliant brick-red façade of the Campanile.

 This adorable bambina shares her pane with the hungry creatures at her feet. Photo by Joy Cabugwas.

Its grey-feathered dwellers dine on tourists' pane crumbs as their benefactors, hungry themselves for fine Italian cuisine, flock to restaurants, cafés, and bars scattered along the plaza and the narrow, crooked streets leading to it. These winged denizens are not exactly songsters; instead, accordions, violins, and pianos serenade guests live as they enjoy their polenta and black-inked cuttlefish.

 A painter attempts to capture the city's numerous charms, and a mannequin in traditional merchant's garb. Photos by Eenna delos Reyes.

Now, what news on the Rialto? Its modern-day merchants engage in trade with people from all over the world, just as they did in the time of Shakespeare. The city sells its wares for not just a few Euros, to be sure; wallets become considerably lighter after a day’s visit. But it barters with the traveler a unique experience of art and history in exchange for weary feet and sun-burnt skin. And, in that wondrous aspect, Venice does not drive a hard bargain at all.

Are our tan lines showing?