![]() But Benedict has unwittingly set off a sort of collective seizure. Popes aren’t supposed to cause dissension, they’re supposed to resolve it. At least to the damsels they may be so fortunate as to row around the canals. But they do like to be the center of attention and, in fact, they’re used to being regarded as some sort of star. I’m not saying it’s impossible, just kind of unusual. A pious gondolier would be a distant cousin to a pious illegal-clam fisherman, or a pious doctor of a cycling champion. Just all part of a normal day.ĭon’t suppose that the battle to transport the pontiff is any particular evidence that gondoliers are so pious. "The reception of Cardinal Cesar d'Estrees 1726," by Luca Carlevaris. By a mystic coincidence, gondoliers are also known as pope (POH-peh), because they row on the stern (poppa) of the gondola. Yet His Imminence has aroused not only joy and excitement among the faithful, but tension and recrimination and a series of increasingly regrettable remarks among the city’s gondoliers concerning who is going to get to row him the approximately five minutes it takes to row from San Marco to the church of the Salute, and in what boat. ![]() Reading the list of deluxe visitors over the centuries gives the impression that the main business of Venice was hosting foreign notables, while other activities such as running an empire filled the random empty moments, kind of like a hobby. Venice has a long and prodigious history of state visits - King Henry III of France and Poland, in 1574, was one of the more famous guests, just one of a seemingly infinite procession of princes, ambassadors, potentates, emperors and, of course, popes coming to see the sights, visit the doge, and usually ask for some favor, like money or soldiers. "King Henri III of France visiting Venice in 1574, escorted by Doge Alvise Mocenigo and met by the Patriarch Giovanni Trevisan," by Andrea Micheli "Vicentino." This is the kind of welcome everyone had come to expect. He’ll be touring Northeast Italy, and will be in or around Venice on May 7 and 8. Perhaps your local gazette hasn’t mentioned it yet, but Pope Benedict XVI is planning a big trip soon.
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