How perfect that Venice never really changes. Some of the old shops are still there...the marbled paper shop, the fountain pen shop, the old tea rooms.
I needed to find out about Venice in the 1930s so I headed for the famous library, part of the museum in St Mark's Square. Saying you are an author opens magical doors. I found myself in a small room with 2 friendly librarians bringing me books... And books. And more books. All in Italian , of course.
I Understand quite well but a few hours of concentration made me go goggle eyed. So I started taking pictures of all the relevant pages.
Next I needed to choose a building that would overlook the shipping channel and had a top floor terrace. Riding around on the #2 vaporetto route helped with that.
And as for an old palazzo interior: our hotel was just what I required.
Of course there was the necessary viewing of art, the Bienale art exhibit, gelato tasting, Frito Misto on a dockside cafe and just having a coffee where life ( non tourist life) is going on. And lots of pictures. There are some things you can only get from being there. Venice is a city of birds, swallow making tiny Maltese crosses in the sky, seagulls shriek and swoop, pigeons flap. And a city of bells, tolling at odd hours on odd days so the air is often ringing with sound. And so many fascinating buildings. Did you know that this stairway was built so that a man could ride his horse up to the top floor?
One of my favorite places on Earth. And now I get to write about it. How lucky is that?
So how do you do your research, especially if the story is set in the past? Is it important that you visit in person before you write about a place?
It does sound as if you are suffering for your art, Rhys! What a magical city Venice seems to be. But a stairway for a horse? I never would have imagined such a thing . . . .
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that visiting before you write about a place would help bring an even stronger sense of place to your story . . . .
Yes! I'm lucky to live in the town I write about in the 1800s, but a new project I have in mind will take place on the west coast. I write a contemporary series set on Cape Cod, and the WIP is a historical, also set on the Cape, in a town teeming with Quakers in the era. I'll be there for a week in September checking final details. It ain't Venice, but West Falmouth is a quiet and lovely corner of the world. Glad you got doors opened to you for your research, Rhys - it's fabulous when people want to help.
ReplyDeleteEdith, way off topic here: I read somewhere that Dame Judi Dench is Quaker. Do you know if that is true?
DeleteYou bring your Quaker lady and her world to life so wonderfully, Edith
DeleteThanks so much, Rhys! Judi - I believe Judy Dench is a Friend.
DeleteIn the name of research for my second book I visited interviewees in rural Virginia, Seattle, Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Park City Utah. But Venice sounds like a lot more fun, Rhys!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Joan on the stairway for the horse. The mind boggles.
I've written historical stories set on the Cape Cod home front during WW2 and fifties Cincinnati. I used family stories, letters, and photos for the Cape Cod story, and did Cincinnati architecture and home furnishings research for the Cincinnati story. I've spent enough time in New Orleans to capture the sensory and architectural details of the city, flora and fauna (Percy the pot-bellied pet pig).
ReplyDeleteVenice stole my heart. I can't wait to return.
What beautiful photos, Rhys. I'm dying to know: why would a man need to ride his horse up to the top floor?
ReplyDeleteArrogance!
DeleteToo lazy to walk himself?
DeleteRunning Behind; Ann, this is a reply to your comment yesterday (8/24) about Health App on iPhone. Thank you! I was never sure what it was for and was just annoyed that I couldn't delete it. Although not a traveler, as a single person living alone and "slightly older" than I was just the "other day", filled it in this morning. So glad to know this information is available to others and will almost be with me. Thank you, again.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Elisabeth. Unfortunately we can never anticipate when we’ll land in the emergency room, pretty much depending on the mercy of strangers.
DeleteToo true.
DeleteResearch: I love it. If I could learn to not put every tid bit into my writing, the story would be so much better. Venice for me will remain a dream destination. So, Rhys: What does the city smell like? Some have said there is too much petrol fumes and not enough sea air. What about the buildings? Are they well maintained? Is Venice a city for walkers? Thanks, I am willing to wait until the WIP is done for the answer to my questions.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the horse... maybe he/she preferred the view from the bedroom?
It depends on the weather, Coralee. If it's not too hot it's fine, especially if the breeze is off the Adriatic it smells fresh. Along the smaller canals you do get diesel fumes from passing barges. In really hot weather it isn't so pleasant. Long ago the garbage situation and throwing things in the canals was worse. And before WWII I suspect sewage treatment wasn't perfect all over
DeleteEnjoyed this post as always Rhys. I'm curious to hear about how you decide ahead of time what you need to visit? Are the bones of the story already in mind?
ReplyDeleteIn this case yes, Lucy. Venice 1930s and wartime. Art community. Rich shipping family etc
DeleteExactly my question, Lucy ! Rhys, the mind boggles at how amazing you are…
ReplyDeleteLove that you get to travel for research! Wonderful post! Venice is my favorite city in Italy - no cars! Research is so fun! It brings back memories of getting access to the film collection at the Library of Congress because I was researching Deaf actors in Silent Films. Lon Chaney, a man of thousand faces, was Not deaf, though his parents were Deaf.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Donna Leon's mysteries set in Venice?
There are some authors who write about places that they have never visited like Diana Galabron, who wrote the Outlander novel. She finally visited Scotland AFTER she wrote Outlander!
Look forward to reading your novel set in Venice!
Diana
I've read all Donna Leon's books, Diana. She really knows her Venice
DeleteAh, Venice is so beautiful! I envy your recent travels, although I was happy to hear that the city does not change, since I haven't been there in more than twenty years. Hopefully, I can remedy that sometime soon. In the meantime, I will have your novel set in Venice to look forward to. Get some rest--you deserve it!
ReplyDelete-Melanie
The only change is the big cruise ships sailing so close with their wake!
DeleteHow delightful! I got to visit Venice once several years ago. There wasn't enough time to see even a tiny part of it. But it was glorious.
ReplyDeleteStaircase for a horse!? I viewed your pictures before reading and wondered about the staircase. I've decided that because Venice is on the water, the horse's owner didn't have room for a paddock at ground level and when the city were floods the horse can't spend days standing in water - but I like arrogance too. Did they have a special horse boat? I'll stop now.
ReplyDeleteI'm envious that you all get to see visit these marvelous places in the name of research and has the reader I benefit from your travels so thank you.
There's a story about Phyllis McGinley—probably apocryphal—that first she decided where she wanted to visit next, and then situated her next novel in that place. Even if it's not true, it's a really good idea!
ReplyDeleteRhys, it really sounds like you need an assistant to absorb some of that suffering in places like Venice. I'm volunteering for the job. Hahaha! Thinking about you and your brother being given that freedom to explore on your own and that it was perhaps a better time in the world that you could be given that freedom. I feel bad for kids these days that we seem to have to protect them from more. Oh, and that staircase for the horse! I think that's called having more money than sense, or than horse sense. Thank you for sharing your Venice with us today. It was a delightful trip.
ReplyDeleteAny time, Kathy!
DeleteI think visiting a setting is critical. I've written without visiting and written after visiting and it is infinitely easier to write after traveling the roads you've set your story in - at least for me.
ReplyDeleteToo often I want to visit a place after reading a book set there. It amazes me how much my imagination gets wrong when I do visit said place. It's not the author, it's me! Is the Venice book a stand alone or a Georgie and Darcy?
ReplyDeleteYes, Rhys, that's just what I was going to ask--as standalone or a Georgie?
ReplyDeleteI remember the staircase with the horse, but I don't remember WHY the horse needed to go up the stairs, lol.
I loved your paragraph about the swallows and the bells, so evocative. Can't wait to read this one, whichever it is!
It's a stand alone set in multiple time periods. No title yet
DeleteHaving spent two long=ago summers living based in Florence and traveling all over Italy, I have to confess that though I love the rest of the country, I am not fond of Venice. The Venetian accent is different from Tuscan or Roman, so I have problems understanding. The smell of Venice can be unpleasant. And I have a preference for Florentine art over Byzantine (which is what most Venetian art is). And Murano glass gives me the willies.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I am always amazed by what the insides of homes along the canals look like, as opposed to the ancient outsides.
As for researching, I spent a lot of time in the rare books room at UCLA reading materials for a novel I haven't written yet (and may not ever get around to writing) but I did use the material in some non-fiction, so it wasn't a total waste of time. And I loved staying in Sherman Oaks and driving to UCLA every day and being flagged down in the cafeteria by librarians I'd gotten to know. I started feeling like an Angelino, especially after I learned how to use the canyons as shortcuts.