No smudge, no scar, no trace or telltale sign of the fire remained anywhere in sight, except for the swirling, spiraling chips of color embedded in the tall black vase on Signora Seguso’s bedside table. This vase had been the first of the more than a hundred “Fenice” pieces that Archimede Seguso had made as his unique, eyewitness account of the fire. He had brought this one home as a gift for his wife.
And where were the others?
Signora Seguso sighed. It had been ten years since she had spoken to her younger son, Giampaolo. Her husband’s estate was still the subject of a legal battle, four years after his death, and the “Fenice” bowls and vases were at the center of it. Until a court could decide their fate, those creations of love and fire would remain locked in a storeroom at the glassworks—seen by no one, gathering dust.
GLOSSARY
Italian words are defined the first time they appear in the text. The following words occur more than once:
acqua alta
High water, i.e., high tide.
altana
An open rooftop deck, usually wooden.
buongiorno
Hello, good day.
calle
A narrow street; plural: calli.
campo
An open square or plaza; plural: campi.
capito
Understood.
carabiniere
The national police, or policeman; plural: carabinieri.
cassazione
Appeals court.
ciao
Hello, also good-bye. Used in the familiar.
“com’era, dov’era”
“As it was, where it was.” The slogan adopted for the rebuilding
of the Fenice Opera House, exactly as it had been before
it burned.
comune
Municipal government.
doge
The head of state of the former Venetian Republic.
lira
Italian monetary denomination, before introduction of the
Euro; plural: lire.
magazzino
Storeroom, warehouse.
marchesa
Marchioness, ranks above a contessa, below a duchess; the
masculine is marchese.
palazzo
Palace.
piano nobile
The principal floor of a palace.
ponte
Bridge.
portego
The central hall of a palace.
prosecco
Sparkling white wine, produced in the Veneto region.
putti
Babies, children, or cherubs in paintings and sculpture.
ridotto
Lobby, foyer.
rio
Canal in Venice; elsewhere, a stream, a brook.
salone
Large drawing room.
scherzo
A joke.
stucchi
Sculpted plaster decoration.
tu
You, the familiar form.
vaporetto
Water bus.
PEOPLE, ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMPANIES
Argenti
A Roman construction firm that subcontracted electrical work to Viet for the renovation of the Fenice Opera House.
Aulenti, Gae
Architect associated with the Impregilo consortium and architect Antonio (Tonci) Foscari in their bid to rebuild the Fenice Opera House.
Berlingieri, Marchesa Barbara
Vice president of Venetian Heritage, formerly of Save Venice.
Bernardi, Nicola
Fruit-and-vegetable dealer. Friend of poet Mario Stefani.
Cacciari, Massimo
Mayor of Venice, philosopher, university professor.
Carella, Enrico
Owner of Viet, a small electrical contracting company working at the Fenice Opera House.
Carella, Lucia
Mother of Enrico Carella, housekeeper at the Cipriani Hotel.
Carella, Renato
Father of Enrico Carella, foreman of his son’s work site at the Fenice.
Casson, Felice
Prosecutor.
Cicogna, Countess Anna Maria
Board member of Venetian Heritage, formerly of Save Venice; daughter of Giuseppe Volpi, who was finance minister under Mussolini; half sister of Giovanni Volpi.
Cipriani, Arrigo
Proprietor of Harry’s Bar.
Corriere della Sera
Milan-based daily newspaper.
Costa, Paolo
Mayor of Venice after Massimo Cacciari, former rector of Ca’ Foscari University and Italy’s minister of public works.
Curtis family
(American) Owners and residents of Palazzo Barbaro since 1885. First generation, orginally of Boston: Daniel and wife, Ariana; second: Ralph and wife, Lisa; third: Ralph and wife, Nina; fourth: Patricia, Ralph, Lisa; fifth: Daniel, son of Patricia.
da Mosto, Count Francesco
Architect, associated with the Holzmann-Romagnoli consortium and architect Aldo Rossi in their bid to rebuild the Fenice Opera House. Jane, his English wife.
da Mosto, Count Ranieri
Patrician, father of Francesco.
De Luigi, Ludovico
Artist, surrealist, provocateur.
de Rachewiltz, Mary
Daughter of Ezra Pound and Olga Rudge. Her son: Walter.
Donadon, Massimo
The Rat Man of Treviso.
FitzGerald, Joan
(American) Sculptor, friend of Ezra Pound and Olga Rudge.
Foscari, Count Antonio (Tonci)
Architect, associated with the Impregilo consortium and architect Gae Aulenti in the bid to rebuild the Fenice Opera House. University professor, lives in Palazzo Barbaro with architect wife, Barbara.
Gardin, Albert
Publisher of Mario Stefani’s poetry.
Guggenheim, Peggy
(American, 1898-1979) Collector of modern art; lived in a palace on the Grand Canal, now a museum: the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
Guthrie, Bea
(American) Executive director of Save Venice, wife of Bob Guthrie.
Guthrie, Dr. Randolph (Bob)
(American) President of Save Venice, plastic surgeon, husband of Bea Guthrie.
Holzmann-Romagnoli
A German-Italian consortium bidding to rebuild the Fenice Opera House in association with architect Aldo Rossi.
II Gazzettino
Daily newspaper in Venice. In written and spoken English, it is often referred to simply as “the Gazzettino.”
Impregilo
A consortium headed by Fiat Engineering bidding to rebuild the Fenice Opera House in association with architect Gae Aulenti.
Lauritzen, Peter
(American) Author of books about Venetian art, architecture, history, and culture; husband of Rose.
Lauritzen, Rose
(English) Owner of apartment I occupied; wife of Peter Lauritzen.
Lovato, Guerrino
Artist, sculptor, master mask maker, owner of mask shop Mondonovo.
Lovett, Lawrence (Larry)
(American) Chairman of Venetian Heritage; formerly chairman of Save Venice; former chairman of Metropolitan Opera Guild; shipping and grocery-chain heir.
Marcello, Count Girolamo
Board member of Venetian Heritage, formerly of Save Venice.
Marcello, Countess Lesa
Vice president of Venetian Heritage, formerly director of the Venice office of Save Venice; wife of Girolamo.
Marchetti, Massimiliano
Electrician, worked at the Fenice Opera House for the electrical contracting company Viet owned by his cousin, Enrico Carella.
Meduna, Giovanni Battista, and Tommaso
Brothers who designed the reconstructed Fenice Opera House after the original burned in 1837.
Migliori, Laura
Art conservator working on the restoration of frescoes depicting scenes from Dante’s Divine Comedy at the Fe
nice Opera House.
Moro, Mario
Soldier, sailor, marine, fireman, policeman, airman, vaporetto conductor, electrician, and resident of the Giudecca.
Pound, Ezra
(American, 1885-1972) Poet, critic, expatriate; lived in Venice with his companion of fifty years, Olga Rudge, in a cottage Pound nicknamed the Hidden Nest.
Rossi, Aldo
(1931-1997) Architect associated with Holzmann-Romagnoli consortium and architect Francesco da Mosto in the competition to rebuild the Fenice Opera House.
Rudge, Olga
(American, 1895-1996) Poet Ezra Pound’s companion of fifty years, violinist, Vivaldi scholar.
Rylands, Jane
(American) Vice president of the Ezra Pound Foundation, wife of Philip.
Rylands, Philip
(English) Director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, husband of Jane.
Sacaim
The Venetian construction firm that rebuilt the Fenice Opera House.
Save Venice
An American organization devoted to raising money for the restoration of Venetian art and architecture.
Seguso, Archimede
Master glassblower, founder of glassworks Vetreria Artistica Archimede Seguso.
Seguso, Giampaolo
Son of Archimede, proprietor of Seguso Viro.
Seguso, Gino
Son of Archimede and president of the family company, Vetreria Artistica Archimede Seguso.
Seno, Giovanni
Lawyer for Massimiliano Marchetti.
Sherwood, James
(American) Proprietor of Cipriani Hotel in Venice, Orient-Express Railroad, board member of Save Venice, trustee of the Guggenheim Foundation.
Stefani, Mario
Poet.
Venetian Heritage
An American nonprofit organization, founded in 1999, devoted to raising money for the restoration and promotion of Venetian art.
Viet
An electrical subcontracting company under contract to Argenti for renovation of the Fenice Opera House. Owned by Enrico Carella.
Volpi, Count Giovanni
Son of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, who was founder of Venice Film Festival, creator of the port of Marghera, finance minister of Italy under Mussolini. Also, half brother of Countess Anna Maria Volpi Cicogna.
NAMES OF BUILDINGS AND PLACES
Accademia Bridge
One of three bridges that cross the Grand Canal.
Apollonian rooms
Formal reception halls in the neoclassical entrance wing of the Fenice Opera House.
Ateneo Veneto
An ornate, neoclassical palace facing onto Campo San Fantin, across from the Fenice Opera House. Now a meeting hall for the intellectual academy of the same name.
Ca’ Farsetti
Palace on the Grand Canal, the town hall of Venice. Ca’ is the abbreviation for casa, meaning house or palace.
Campo San Fantin
The small square in front of the Fenice Opera House.
Cannaregio
One of the six sestieri, or neighborhoods, of Venice. At the western end.
Cipriani Hotel
Luxury hotel on the Giudecca Island, owned by James Sherwood.
Doge’s Palace
Fourteenth-century Gothic palace on St. Mark’s Square, seat of government for the former Venetian Republic and residence of its head of state, the doge.
Dorsoduro
One of the six sestieri, or neighborhoods, of Venice.
English Church
St. George’s Church, on Campo San Vio.
Fenice
(pronounced feh-NEE-cheh) Gran Teatro La Fenice, an opera house.
Frari
Refers to the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari Church.
Giudecca
Long, narrow island that forms part of the city of Venice. Residents are called Giudecchini.
Gritti Hotel
The Palazzo Gritti converted into a luxury hotel.
Guggenheim Museum
See: Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
Harry’s Bar
Bar and restaurant near St. Mark’s, owned by Arrigo Cipriani.
Hidden Nest
The name Ezra Pound gave to the cottage at 252 Calle Querini where he and Olga Rudge lived together, off and on, from the late 1920s until his death in 1972.
Lido
Barrier island between the Venetian Lagoon and the Adriatic Sea.
Malibran Theater
Seventeenth-century theater, restored by architects Antonio and Barbara Foscari.
Marghera
Shipping port at the mainland end of the bridge from Venice; part of the municipality of Venice.
Miracoli Church
See: Santa Maria dei Miracoli.
Mestre
Town on the mainland, part of the municipality of Venice.
Monaco
Reference to the Monaco and Grand Canal Hotel, on the Grand Canal near St. Mark’s.
Murano
Island in the Venetian Lagoon, to the north of Venice, site of glassblowing factories.