Rod Summers in Venice

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Comment by Susette on March 3, 2009 at 10:48pm

hi Rod,
Nice Pics, especially love the bridge/boat one and the one with the door and the open lock.
Dont get the one with the greytones. Is it a wet cement floor/wall or something. Looks interesting, but mysteriously out of content.
Have started a new job at the Gemeente Heerlen now.
Work with two real characters. Always busy with pretend insults.
It's a real riot. I nearly laughed my head of today. Also got a welcom to the departmentgift: a beautiful Orchid. (how lovely is that) It is also my 12 1/2 wedding anniversery today. Big bunch of flowers from my husband and another from the neighbours. They even decorated our door with a little poster and balloons. So incredibly thoughtfull. I feel really rich and blessed today.

Comment by vittore baroni on March 3, 2009 at 10:28pm

hi Rod, I worked hard today on two new pieces for the show that opens on Sunday, so no time for Skype and I am checking the email quite late, I see you are in full swing with new photo sessions, very nice! It was a pleasurable week-end but now I must catch up with some deadlines. Time to put the rabbit in his cage...

Comment by Rod Summers / VEC on March 3, 2009 at 8:43pm

Comment by Rod Summers / VEC on March 3, 2009 at 8:41pm

Luciano Zarotti, Dorina Petrinio and Zaira Zarotti at the Venice Art Academy

Comment by Rod Summers / VEC on March 3, 2009 at 8:37pm

Vittore Baroni at the Venice post office

Comment by Rod Summers / VEC on March 3, 2009 at 8:34pm

Thanks VB, I'm glad you got back safely.
Today's session with Luciano Zarotti was good, I met a lot of the teachers in the academy and was able to see some of the works of the students.
Here are today's selection of photographs, Portraits of Vittore Baroni in the Venice Post Office and of Luciano Zarotti, Dorina Petronio and their daughter Zaira Zarotti at the Venice Art Academy.
I was raining today and Venice looks different in the misty haze, I still managed a few good pictures. I hope tomorrow will be fine as when getting lost with Baroni whist searching for a pizza we stumbled upon an area rich in potential photographs.

Comment by vittore baroni on March 2, 2009 at 10:25pm

hi rod, the trip back was very relaxing with trains half-empty, so I was back home before 10 pm, I even managed to organize some work for tomorrow plus answer my email. I'll check the blog tomorrow for more pics, ciao
Dave

Comment by Rod Summers / VEC on March 2, 2009 at 9:00pm

A WEEKEND IN VIAREGGIO
I tried, I really tried to get Alice to let me in but she was adamant in her refusal and so this was a weekend zonder blog, I hope you missed me!
Vittore was waiting for me at the station as I arrived in Viareggio and we walked to his marble lined apartment through early evening sunshine.
As soon as I had dropped my bags and said hello to Marieteresa and Giovanni I tried to connect to the Internet, Vittore has Alice as his ISP but no matter what configuration or WAP code I tried no connection could be achieved.
Slight disappointment of course as you know how much I love sharing my Italian experience with you.
The weekend was great, as really enjoyable as visits to the Baroni’s usually are, I can say usual even though this was only my second visit because I am made to feel really at home there.
On Saturday we ate a lot, I even drank some wine and we rehearsed the poem that we were to perform in the evening live on Raul Marroquin’s TV programme ‘Hoeksteen’ that is broadcast on Amsterdam cable and the Internet via Saldo.
The camera demanded to be taken for a walk to enjoy the afternoon sunshine so, leaving Vittore working at his day job of reviewing music for various Italian magazines, I took a stroll down the street to the promenade and sea-front. I took several photographs and on my return to via C. Battisti used Vittore’s computer to upload them to this page. The light was good but doesn’t quite have the crispness of that in Venice.
At 11 in the evening Vittore and me left the friend filled dining table to sit before a Skype connected, webcam fitted, laptop and prepared to do the performance for Raul’s TV programme.We were to do a joint reading of a collection of onomatopoeic phrases taken from the comic strips of Don Martin edited by Vittore. For the reading we sat on folding chairs back to back wearing black caps under which Vittore wore a golden blonde nylon wig (I didn’t ask why but his dinner guests seemed to think it a good idea) At about 11:20 we received the GO signal from Raul and performed with gusto starting quietly and building to a shouting frenzy. When we reached the end we turned toward the web camera, removed our caps (and wig) and took a deep bow. A little later Raul called me on my mobile and thanked us. By this time Vittore’s dinner guests were leaving so we bade them farewell and went searching for the black cat which we had frightened with our shouting during the poem. With the cat found and pacified we all headed for our beds. Tomorrow we are going to the carnival.
On Sunday it rained, I can’t complain really, I have been here for two weeks and this was the first time it had rained, good to accelerate the greening of Spring, bad for the planned parade and firework display however.
A Sunday tradition in the Baroni household is to eat cakes at lunchtime, and far be it from me to deny established tradition. The cakes looked so spectacular I had to take a photograph, it will be somewhere near this text, I can assure you that the cakes were as sweet and delicious as they look.
In the early afternoon Vittore and me went for a walk down to the promenade to have a look in the giant bookshop there, where I found at least three desirable books, two on nude photography and one on Joan Miro, but they were too heavy to consider taking back to The Netherlands aboard an airplane so I left them on the shelf.
We went out again in the evening. The light rain did not dampen the spirits of the crowds who were there for the astounding carnival parade and the fireworks which were fantastic; I love fireworks.
Highlights of the trip: Being with the Baroni’s, the spectacular art of the carnival floats, the fabulous firework display, the food (thank you Marieterasa for feeding me so well), reading the entertaining biography ‘Pictures of an Exhibitionist’ by Keith Emerson and seeing Vittore’s 100 year old white rabbit Flower trying to shag my black slippers with my feet still in them, I was still laughing when Vittore returned from putting the rabbit back in its cage.
Most of this text was written on the Eurostar Express as it hurtles through the Tuscan landscape on its way back to Venice. Vittore sits opposite me reading a science fiction comic getting himself prepared for me to take his portrait in the Venetian Post Office located on the other side of the Rialto Bridge from my apartment.
Now I am back in the evening apartment behind my third mug of tea and refreshed of the feet. I am happy to report I had a great weekend with the continual disappearance of my tea mug into the dish washer adding mystery to its enjoyment. I’m still laughing at the rabbit. Vittore has had his portrait taken in the post office (you’ll see tomorrow) and is on his way back to Viareggio. Thanks for your hospitality Dave, Marieteresa and Giovanni.
I hope to have the video I made of carnival ready and uploaded by the end of the evening, meanwhile here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Comment by Rod Summers / VEC on March 2, 2009 at 8:48pm

Part of Vittore's music collection

Comment by Rod Summers / VEC on March 2, 2009 at 8:47pm

cakes on Sundays

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