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We stayed numerous times with our friend, the dancer, choreographer and actor Roger Ribes in various districts of Venise (because, luckily for us, he moved a lot) that resulted in very expressive paintings.
We went to Venise nearly every winter (in summer everything is blurred) to find that magic light on palaces, on canals and the lagoon. Time and time again we would be intoxicated by the reflections, the city’s essence.
When one knows Venice, one almost never lift up one’s head, one walks tirelessly without this need to see everyting, as those beginners falling in love with the Doges city.
We would always enjoy as for the first time, the alleyways with their barbacane*, the lagoon’s bricola** and those small, nameless ponds in the districts far from the city centre.
Our nightly strolls were calm: Venice is the most ‘safe’ city in the world. The empty Piazza San Marco or the Palais des Doges and above all the Giudecca or the Torcello are at night an unforgettable experience.
In the end we decided to dedicate an art book about the city, which we both loved so much: le ‘Guide Poétique de Venise’ (the Poetic Guide to Venice).
* barbacana : One of Venice’s architectural curiosities, these corbels used to enlarge housed, from the first floor, to protect them from rain or sun. These walls are allowed to jut out 85 cm maximum.
** bricola : A big stake of wood, sticking out in the lagoon, enabling boats to avoid to get stuck.
Guidi with the pigeons in front of the ‘Procuratie’, Place Saint-Marc (Venise, 1984)
