Venice (2023)
My mother had five children but no passport. She couldn’t drive a car, and never once flew in an aeroplane. She only left Scotland on a few occasions to visit relatives in Ireland. Before she got sick I asked her “if there is one place I could take you when I grow up, where would that be?” Without hesitation Kathleen answered “Venice.” My mother was a great reader of romantic fiction. Perhaps she dreamed of the city’s beautiful architecture, it’s bridges, canals, and gondolas. In the four decades following her death I travelled all over the world but Venice was one city that always eluded me, or perhaps I subconsciously avoided it. In May 2023 I was invited to attend an event there. My long held apprehension was outweighed by a sense of urgency to see a city now facing the existential threat of global warming and the Acqua Alta. In 421CE the Veneti fled from invading forces on the Italian mainland and founded their eponymous new city. They built on a marshy lagoon by drivin