Pearl white and ice blue is perlaceo e blu ghiaccio in Italian. Don’t think that January in Venice is sad, it’s just a calm month. This restful period will be over soon for Carnival starts on 23 January. It’s the calm before the storm even though acqua alta rules apply again (new moon means high tides. Read more about Venice and the Moon here).
Here are my ten personal impressions of January in Venice:
#1 Colors, colors, colors – a big topic on our blog. Enjoy the brilliant pearl white & ice-blue Lagoon. It’s a strange, pale, soft light similar to twilight. Have you ever seen Venice shrouded in this matte, opaque winter hues ?
#2 Our winter flowers are pale white and rose-hued too. Hellebores are our signature blossoms in January (elleboro).
#3 Even though the Christmas tree was gone this morning from the Piazza, Venetians keep their stelle di Natale plants !!! My grandmother at least, has become an expert in cultivating them through the year. They “live” on a quiet window sill where they can soak up the early morning sun all year long.
#4 Acqua alta is one of the reasons why January can feel uncomfortable, but then it lasts for a few hours while returning twice a day. Today’s acqua alta in the Piazza was “normal” I mean expected, for the New Moon usually brings on high tides.
#5 Food is delicious!! So many Christmas cookies still around while new zaléti are being baked for Carnival. We also get them in rose hues, that is flavored with Alchermes liquor.
#6 Delicious winter fruit, salads, vegetables. All we need for a late-winter detox menu.
#7 Windows and counters at pastry stores come decorated with marzipan pralines in the soft hues of winter. If you ask me, Venetian pastry stores are practicing for Valentine’s Day :-)
#8 Let’s be practical – winter sales invite you to take a walk around through the shops in town.
#9 Tea and spices confer energy and health in the icy month of the year. We use yellow and red spices to balance out energy, based on the wisdom of the Venetian color wheel.
#10 Take your time, we’re still hibernating. Spending long hours at the Grandi Caffé in town is a must. Imagine that you can even have Caffé Florian (almost) to yourselves for breakfast on a Monday morning !!
Leave a Reply