Venice is full of culture. Good bits, like pizza, an essential part of Venetian life, along with ‘spritzers’ which are the best type of culture; that which leaves you flat on your back after 3 or more. Then there’s the buildings, the boats, the water itself. All parts of what makes Venice Venice. And stops it from being Camberwell. Or Hull.

And then there’s the high culture that all Italian cities have and most other nations (only perhaps France and Spain) can ever hope to equal but never surpass. You have to get on the football field to surpass Italy, not an art gallery, palace or cathedral. And because Venice was always a very rich city, everything here is bigger, better, more ornate than even other parts os Italy.

Every church is filled with paintings by Botticelli and Da Vinci, every vaulted ceiling a work of unique magnificence. There’s performances every night of Puccini and Vivaldi. Every one’s a Maserati.

But this weekend was the start of the Bienali. What?? Oh, you didn’t know??? You’re such a pleb. Well we didn’t know either, or we wouldn’t have randomly picked the start of Venice’s annual massive art festival for our days to visit. But who knew? Now I’ll find a ‘Bienali app’ and know exactly when it falls. But this year? Phah.

All the fabulous art galleries put on wonderful shows of classic and modern art, every museum, every everything has some Bienali things going on. But what makes it great is not that lot. What makes it great is that you’re walking, lost (you spend half your time in Venice ‘lost’ but it really doesn’t matter), and you spot a big building with a big poster outside declaring some profound work of art. And it’ll be one artist’s ‘thing’ and best of all and almost unique in the very long history of Venice; its free.

Today we stumbled on a Welsh artist, because every nation is represented here, even Wales, with some… errr… interesting stuff. Also an Italian film-maker with an ‘installation’ about how movies are not about the story of the movie but about the intellectual process of thinking about the movie. How that fits with ‘Die Hard, VIII, Revenge of the Bombing Bastards!!!!’ I don’t know and didn’t ask. But it was fabulously done and, as they all are, in a brilliant ‘space’. Yesterday we found an exhibition of painted driftwood occupying the most magnificent old Abbey right on the Grand Canal. You don’t get that in Muswell Hill.

I’ve decided I love Venice. As long as you avoid the really busy bits. Which is in fact quite easy as the waterbuses are fun and take you everywhere. They should have a tube system here. Or maybe submarines. Just a thought.

Happy homecoming Monday

A xxxx