Marco Secchi

The Dragon and The Snake

Marco Secchi — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:01:23 +0000

I never would have found this thing if I hadn’t seen it in a book first…and a colleague in helping me with good directions!! It’s very tucked away and even with directions, I had a hard time finding it.

“This work has an interesting symbology. The figure brings together in a single symbol two aspects of the Cosmos: the dragon is yang, active principle and divine power; while the serpent is yin, the principle of reproduction and primordial water. The intertwined double spiral represents two directions of one movement: balance and imbalance, birth and death, the initiation of death and the rebirth of new being. The rings thus mark the mid-line between yang and yin, an alternative twofold expansion and the point of balance between two opposing cosmic forces.”

S Maria della Pieta’ o della Visitazione (XVIII sec.)

Marco Secchi — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:41:57 +0000

While on the trail of Canaletto I “discovered” la Pieta’ .
First foundation was of the fifteenth century but its actual aspect is due to architect Massari who completely rebuilt it in the 1745.
The facade has a classical style, with a bas-relief above the main entrance representing the La Carità, a work by the sculptor Marsili (1800).

A few images from today shoot are here

The Church has a egg-shaped plan with a vaulted ceiling; sideways there’re two choirs where once were played concerts by the woman whom used to live in the institute that stands from the side.Church has an absolute importance because of the presence of Gian Battista Tiepolo’s works, the Fortezza e la Pace on the ceiling of the entry and the Trionfo delle Fede painted on the ceiling of the church, a real masterpiece by Tiepolo representing the crowning of Our Lady by the God’s hand.

Carletti Risotto

Marco Secchi — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:27:03 +0000

MAKE THE STOCK: In a large saucepan, combine the water with the onion, carrots, leek, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and cloves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderate, cover and simmer for 50 minutes. Strain the stock into a medium saucepan, cover and keep warm.

MAKE THE RISOTTO: In a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add half of the minced shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carletti a handful at a time, stirring between batches until wilted. Season the baby greens with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the vegetable oil. Add the remaining shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook over moderately high heat, stirring to coat the grains, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the warm stock and cook, stirring constantly, until nearly absorbed. Continue adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is nearly absorbed between additions. The risotto is done when the rice is al dente and suspended in a thick, creamy sauce, about 25 minutes total.

Stir the wilted greens and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into the risotto and season with salt and pepper. Serve at once, passing the cheese at the table.

Hidden places…….

Marco Secchi — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:29:39 +0000

“There’re three places in Venice magical and hidden: one in calle dell’Amor degli Amici, a second near the Ponte delle Maravegie and the third in calle dei Marrani, near San Geremia in Ghetto Vecchio. And it’s here that the Venetians took refuge when they are tired of the constituted authorities, in these secret courts in which there are doors that lead them forever to beautiful places and other stories … ” (Hugo Pratt, Corte Sconta detta Arcana).

America’s Cup in Venice

Marco Secchi — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:51:43 +0000

Finally today with few of my Venetians colleagues managed to get a glimpse of few of the boats of the America’s Cup .

The AC45, a rigid wingsail catamaran, is the precursor of a new generation of America’s Cup boats.

Able to reach speeds of around 50 km per hour, the AC45 is also agile enough to guarantee tactical and competitive races, such as those to be “designed” by the America’s Cup Race Management.

How does Venice work?

Marco Secchi — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:07:23 +0000

Venice, Italy, “stretching across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy,” may be one of the most amazing places in the world to live. Fans of Donna Leon’s fictional detective Guido Brunetti come to know it as a land of good food, water taxis and alleys that dead-end at the water.

Venice Backstage. How does Venice work? from Insula spa on Vimeo.

Having said that Venice is not just a stage set. It is also a city with a resident population, which has productive activities, transportation and services. But how does the “Venice system” work? How do the tides in the lagoon behave? How are the canals formed? And the embankments? What’s under the buildings?

Saint Theodore or Todaro

Marco Secchi — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:56:47 +0000

“Right Theo, it’s been great, but can you pack your bags now? We’ve got a new patron saint and, well, he just happens to be one of the blokes who wrote the Bible. Heard of it? It’s a cracking read! Plus his symbol is a winged lion, which is lots cooler than some dead crocodile, don’t you think? No hard feelings, mate!”

I am not sure if this is how it went….but for sure Theo wasn’t very pleased… Having said that the original statue is not the one on the Column but the one if the Square of Palazzo Ducale! Anyway I love the crocodile …so cute!

Saint Theodore of Amasea treading upon the sacred crocodile of Egypt. Perhaps he killed it with the holy hand grenade of Antioch…

Saint Theodore was a Byzantine saint who was the former patron saint of Venice. When Venice and Byzantium fell out, he was replaced by Saint Mark. He still tops one of the two columns at the southern end of the piazza San Marco

Venetian Knobs

Marco Secchi — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:35:27 +0000

…no no I am not talking about the obnoxious people governing this country I am just referring to the beautiful mainly brass knobs of Venetian doors……

Few more images are here

Venice in a day

Marco Secchi — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:40:00 +0000

There’s no doubt that Venice is beautiful – but if you want to see it in an even more beautiful way (without getting on a plane), you could do a lot worse than watch this timelapse video of one day in the magical city, from sunrise to sunset.

Created by Swiss Vimeo user Joerg Niggli, it’s a three and a half minute mini-masterpiece that’ll make you miss ol’ Venezia even if you haven’t actually been there.

Red Light (Spells Danger)

Marco Secchi — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:59:53 +0000

While sailing in the Lagoon at the entrance of “Canale dei Petroli” Federico pointed to me the two lights for the tankers. The red one caught my attention and reminded me the Billy Ocean song……

Red light spells danger
Can’t hold out much longer
Cos red light means warning
Can’t hold out I’m burning
No, no, no

It is estimated that one third of a large oil tanker’s load would be enough to provoke a true ecological disaster in the lagoon and also in the Adriatic coast. The presence of oil tankers is thus an enormous risk for the lagoon of Venice.