Geography

Being a visual person, I need to see the lay of the land before I can begin to understand the story or history of a place. I found some google maps of Venice and a little history of this house.

The second picture here is a print hanging on our wall in our living room. Quite an old map, I would say! It is amazing that for centuries this is what Venice looked like – always occupied!

A closer view shows where Casa Artom is compared to the upper right where you see St. Mark’s Square. The Grand Canal has lots of activity!

Casa Artom is to the right of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Lots of trees over there, but we are thankful for our little courtyard on the lower left of the property. You can also see the upper terrace with potted plants alongside the faculty apartment. Just below the faculty apartment are the library and two classrooms. Up on the left corner is a sliver of a patio only a foot or so from the edge of the neighboring museum. I figured out how to get out there today! In the living room is a door that looks like a window. Outside is a lovely long narrow terrace with a purple metal table and two chairs overlooking the Grand Canal. BINGO! I found the perfect spot to sit with a glass of wine! Story goes that Wake students would step foot across the gap over to the museum. Now alarms go off if you try that stunt! In the lower left corner you see a strip of green that is actually two walls running side by side leading away from the formal front door up the the house front door. Nobody uses that door! We all use a door on the lower right corner. I will find out more about why that is in the coming days.