Blogging on Venice – Two Sides of a Coin

Imagine two bloggers describing Venice writing on the same day about the same street or salizzada as we call it in Venetian. The visitor describes a surprising leone moeca sculpture on the facade of a building and adds pictures of the rose-golden-orange tinged morning sun. She posts the details of the pattern on a carpet leading up to a museum entrance. The next time I pass that building I will surely look out for these details I hadn’t seen before !!
The local blogger writes that yet another bakery has closed on the same street, the fourth within three years. Everyone is speculating in Venice about who will move into this empty building? Where shall we buy bread, need we go to a supermarket? No, a pastry store nearby will be selling bread from now on in addition to pastries. These are the issues of daily life here in Venice.

These two bloggers seem to describe two different cities at different times. Parallel worlds don’t always meet. If they ever do, that must be an enriching experience, conveying practical insights to the visitors and refreshing perspectives to Venetians.

In case both bloggers do research on a Venetian topic, the forestiero (non-resident) most likely will first take a look what’s already published on Venice. Read his John Ruskin and take a look at films …

The Venetian will ask family and friends and will walk straight to Archivio di Stato or Biblioteca Marciana to get first-hand information. Two different answers to one question, here we go again …

I think these are wonderful aspects that somehow should be combined to present Venice. There’s a chance that both won’t ever meet. They are on different blogging platforms which sometimes are a bit of a barrier to exchange. You find that most blogs written by expats in Venice and Venetophiles from the English-speaking world  are on WordPress.com or self-hosted. Italians and French Venetophiles use Google Blogger more often.

I was lucky to get to know both worlds. Starting on the Google Blogger two years ago, I moved all content to WordPress.com in July 2015 (because I love their layouts and templates). In November 2015, I was surprised and so happy to find my fledgling blog nominated for a blog award by author Michelle Novak – her site is called Inspiring Venice.

Michelle has written a lovely book “Venice” – a culinary and Venice adventure story which I loved, and she will publish more books soon.

So grateful that it’s my turn to nominate blogs I read and tell you a bit about La Venessiana’s background. We share snippets of daily life in Venice, language, traditions, culinary heritage, natural remedies and beauty products based on ancient recipes. WE – that is my Venetian grandmother and I.

Which is the target audience of your Blog ? Write a “personal city guide to the culinary heritage of Venice and the former Republic of Venice” = a taste of Venice, from the female perspective. There’s also a Venetian recipe collection connected which we will publish as a book in 2017.

Which are your happy moments ? When I see how people really love Venice, keep exchanging about her every day and that blogging works in conveying a vivid picture of our town.

What about your future plans ? How do you want to develop your Blog ?   Presenting the wealth of Venetian heritage – herbs, spices, perfumes, delicious and healthy food, natural remedies, know-how on self-sufficiency – together with my Venetian grandmother, with her 70 years’ experience in the restaurant/hotel business in Venice. She will open her libraries and give inputs.

From late 2016 we will add e-courses as first blog extension. The e-courses will cover Venetian beauty and perfumery and the secrets and benefits of cooking with herbs, blossoms and spices.

The fifteen blogs I would like to  mention for an award, are part of various communities, Wordpress, Blogger, self-hosted. Here are all sides of the coin – Blogs I love to read, completely dedicated to Venice and Italy, Venetophiles, Italophiles, Italians and Venetians.

• OG Venice Travel Guide (Venice, general – English)
• Cook in Venice (Venice, food – English)
• Venice Bites Food Tours (Venice, general – English)
• Storie Veneziane – Tudy Sammartini (Venice, history – Italian)
• Album Vénitien (Venice, art – French)
• Tramezzini Mag (Venice, general – French)
• Té verde e pasticcini (Italy, food – Italian)
• Alloggi Barbaria Blog (Venice, general – Italian)
• Bell’Avventura (Positano, general – English)
• Ciao Amalfi (Amalfi, general – English)
• The Good, the Bad and the Italian (Italy, general – English)
• Browsing Italy (Italy, general – English)
• Savoring Italy (Italy, food – English)
• Chestnuts and Truffels (Tuscany, food – English)
• Un giardino in diretta (Italy, gardening – Italian)