"Did you get the job?"
"I did. Today is my first day, obviously. My shift starts in ten minutes, but I'm early. I'm always scared I'll be late when I have to go anywhere in Venice during the summer." She held up a purple leather wallet and shook it. "Let me buy you a coffee. We can celebrate."
"You got your wallet back.” We stepped into the cool of the cafe next door.
"Yes, it was still at the enoteca, just where I left it. I called to ask them to hold it for me until I could get back there this morning. What a relief."
We chatted while we waited for our coffees and then found a vacant table.
"How long will you be in Venezia?"
"Actually, I'll be here all summer. I'm an au pair for a family who lives in the Cannaregio borough."
"Oh, beautiful! I can introduce you to some of my friends. There is a festival in a couple of weeks called Festa del Redentore. Have you heard of it?"
"No, is that the one with all the masks?" I asked, visions of a long beaked face coming to mind.
"No, that is Carnivale. That one happens in February. This one is in July and was originally to celebrate the end of the black plague. By now it's mostly an excuse to have a party. It's a lot of fun, you must come," she begged, putting a hand on my forearm.
"Absolutely." It sounded like the perfect opportunity to meet a lot of people all at once. I wished her luck for her first day. We exchanged numbers and said goodbye.
During the boat ride to the Piazza San Marco, my mind went to Akiko, the only one of my friends I hadn't heard from since I arrived in Venice. I pulled out my phone, readying a text, but put it away again. She said she'd be remote, and that she'd write when she could. I pushed the anxiety about her away. I had to trust that her grandfather knew what he was doing... which was easier said than done.
I arrived at the Bridge of Sighs a few minutes early so I took the opportunity to take photos of the Doge's Palace. The Turkish window frames, pink and white marble, and curved arches made it hard to look at anything else. I stood at the top of the bridge and craned my neck at the delicate florets over each widow.
"Hi! You're actually on time," said a deep voice, sounding surprised.
I turned to see Raf coming up the steps. "Why? Are Italian girls never on time?"
"Almost never. At least, in my experience. I think they want to show you who is going to wear the pants right from the start or something."
"Hey, I'm a pant-wearer, too. I wear all sorts of bottoms."
He laughed. "I'll remember that. Are you ready to have your mind expanded, pant-wearer?"
"Absolutely. Where is this mind-expanding meeting?"
"It's in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace. Which is pretty cool because they don't do a lot of these types of things in there, and when they do, it’s hard to get tickets."
I followed him past a long lineup of people to an entrance with a red carpet. "Well, look at you go with your VIP perks."
He grinned. "Our studio has an agreement with the association who puts these on." He handed two tickets to the lady at the entrance and winked at me while she scanned them. We walked under a long archway to a beautiful courtyard. Rows of chairs faced a tall white stone wall. We found our seats and settled in. I loved these sorts of things, as long as they weren't too long. I'd never been great at sitting for long stretches of time.
"So, glass-blowing," I prompted as we waited. Raf turned his hazel eyes on me. "Is this your destiny?"
"I don't have a choice in the matter,” he said. “Our studio has been in the family for close to two hundred years. If I had wanted to do something else, I think my father would have a stroke. I'm already a little more than a quarter of the way through my apprenticeship."
"How long does it take to become a master glass-blower?"
"Twenty years. It's not the easiest art form."
"Holy crap! That's twice as long as a doctor."
"Yeah, it’s a long time," his gaze went to the front and I followed it to see a woman in a white pantsuit step up behind the podium. The white stone wall behind her lit up with a projection of an antique map of Venice. The title 'Glass Blowers of Venice, an Ancient Secret' overlaid the map.
"Looks like we're about to begin," Raf said, rubbing his hands together and looking gleeful.
"Dude, you're way too excited about this. Don't you know all this stuff already?"
His cheeks coloured. "I do, but it never gets old."
"Well that's good, because it sounds like you're going to be married to it for the rest of your life."
I was rewarded with a spectacular smile.
The woman introduced herself and began by explaining that while the art of making glass is older than Christ, the island of Murano had been home to the masters of glass-blowing since the 15th century. Artisans were often lured by kings and queens of other countries to teach their craftsmen the secrets of mirror making and the art of colouring glass.
"In the early days," she said, flipping the slide to show a list of dates: Dorsoduro - 899, The Great Fire - 1105, The Rialto Fire - 1516, The Arsenale Fire - 1569, Santa Chiara - 1574, "the glass blowers were located on the main island of Venezia. But there were many fires that nearly destroyed the city. Only the worst of them are listed here. After the Rialto fire of 1516, straw roofs were banned and the glass blowers, along with their dangerous ovens, were moved to the island of Murano to prevent further catastrophes."
The image of a Y-shaped chimney popped up on the screen. I recognized the shape as I'd seen many of them throughout the city.
She went on. "In fact, Venice was so troubled by fire that these unique chimney designs were invented here." She used a pointer to highlight the Y-shape at the top of the chimney. "Notice the inverted flu at the top, which is designed to catch and prevent the spread of sparks on the wind. They also contribute to the city's unique skyline."
A hand appeared in the air in front of us.
"Yes?”
"But Venice is surrounded by water and constructed mostly of stone. How could there so many devastating fires?" the woman asked.
"Great question." She flipped through the slides until she landed on an illustration. A cross section of a Venetian building had been cut away to reveal the interior layers of the walls. "Because Venice is built on a lagoon, the building materials they used had to be very light in order to minimize sinking. The stone on the outside is a facade. You can see from this illustration that inside the narrow stone layer is actually brick, which is lighter but also more flammable than stone. They also burned straw and wood for heat, and used wood in their construction and for their furniture. Combined with cloth hangings, tapestries, and candles, fire was a very real threat for the people of Venezia.”
She went on to detail the history of glass-making as it evolved after the artisans were moved to Murano. She flipped through many beautiful images of chandeliers and drinking vessels, plates, sculptures and figurines, each more intricate than the last. I began to shift in my seat at the forty-five minute mark.
Raf leaned toward me. "She's almost finished, you okay?"
I nodded and made an effort to stay still. I was reaching my limit for sitting. When it was over, Raf walked me home and we chatted about what we'd learned. He described in better detail how the powdered metal oxides are added to the glass to colour it. By the time I got home, my glass-blowing curiosity had been satisfied, aside from actually seeing it done.
We stopped outside my door, and I wondered what to do with my hands. "Thanks for inviting me. I learned a lot."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you came," he said quietly. He looked down at me through half closed eyes.
Little butterflies fluttered around my heart. I cleared my throat. "What are you doing for Festa del Redentore? A friend asked me to join her party for the fireworks. Do you want to come?"