Fammi una domanda: March 2024
Happy New Year!
More veneto is Latin for according to the customs of Venice.
Until 1798 the Republic of Venice marked the new year on March 1. The rest of the world adopted the Gregorian calendar in the 1500s but the Venetians stubbornly kept the ancient Pre-Julian calendar until the fall of the Republic in 1797. I love the idea of having more than one moment in the year to pause and ponder. In January we carefully think about how we spend that first day as I believe it sets the energy for the rest of the year. One year we flew on January 1 and it felt like the rest of that year was spent on an airplane or in an airport! I always clean out my pantry and closets on the eve of Lunar new year to start with room for abundance.
At the beginning of the year there is pressure to do things like dry January and start a new exercise routine and drink green juice. January is dark and cold and my house is full of family and visitors until well into the month so I don’t even pretend to do any of those things. Well, except for the green juice because Mark makes that for us all year long. February is Carnevale and I am not skipping the short sweet frittelle season. I try again in September when everyone is talking about back to school and the arrival of fall, but we have spent the last few Septembers in Ponza stretching out summer for as long as possible. That means is cold beers and potato chips in the afternoon, pasta on boats, and entire days lounging under an umbrella. There is still green juice because Mark has a travel juicer! In the end it is all rather arbitrary, isn’t it?
My life is pretty ok. I have no interest in any kind of major overhaul.(Except for the moving cities, becoming a Venetian resident,1 and renovating a house!) Sure, there are the usual things like I would like to speak Italian better and read more books, spend less time in front of a screen, blah, blah, blah. I am making progress on my project of crossing all the bridges (I’m about 1/3 of the way there) and visiting all the churches (I just counted and need to speed up my program or I will never get into all 200+ by December) in Venice.
I used to do a round up of the year passed. A look back at what I had enjoyed and eaten, where I had been, difficulties I had faced. This time each time I tried to fill in the blanks I got stuck. 2023 was so disruptive and formless I couldn’t corral it into a neat little list. So, instead, Onward! And Happy New Year!
One more thing. Legend says that today, March 25, is Venice’s birthday. She doesn’t look a year over 1600.
Is a trip to Italy one of your resolutions? Tell me/ask me about it in the comments.
I just set up a site where you can purchase my Rome neighborhood guide with 10 private maps filled with my favorite places to eat and shop and things to do.