52 Weeks, 52 Half Marathons - Stage 33
Venezia outpost
Friday, August 30, 6:02 AM
I have landed by the remote outpost of Venezia. A unique settlement in the galaxy, by the Oceano Mediterraneo d’Italia on Pianeta Terra of the Via Lattea. I have arrived in the middle of a heat wave. This planet has been going through some wild climate changes due to the increased mercantile activity and the local star, Sole, gave me no truce during my exploration of the Venezia maze. The settlement was born around the 5th century of the local calendar and soon became a rich magnet for spices, silk and other luxury goods of the time. I set ground on the outskirts of this outpost and around 0345 UTC time, 0545 local time, I caught the local transportation shuttle to the centre of the colony.
Waiting for the transportation shuttle to Venezia
The shuttle, known as a train by the locals, operated flawlessly and on time. They are modern, empty at this time of the day, and even have plenty charging mechanisms for my survival and guidance gear. I arrived at the main transit hub in the city. A few traders are already exploring the intricate maze of the settlement, trying to capture photos of the historical buildings without much interference. These modern age traders are here to exchange electronic tokens for prime quality carbohydrate fuel and alcohol enriched liquids. I am here for a complete exploration of the labyrinth so that later I can stuff my organism to the roof with the local supplies. I immediately start my running survey as soon as I get off the transportation shuttle.
A local temple - Chiesa di San Simeon Piccolo
Venezia is the most beautiful maze in the galaxy. We will have to navigate through an infinite number of slit narrow streets by the Acqua Canales. Even with the most advanced guidance systems in operation, this city seems to have been built in such a way that it manages to interfere with the timing of the GPS satellite beacons used by my personal tracking devices.
The San Girolamo canal
We begin our exploration through the northwest area of the city. Most of the locals are still resting from the previous trading giorno. The pathway has been built centuries ago but still manages to be regular enough for a pleasant surveying pace. I only brought along part of my Dune exploration suite, the hydration pack system. The weather conditions are absurdly hot and moist even for this early in the Sole. After the first linear Terra km, I am absolutely drenched in sweat.
The transportation line into the Venezia outpost
This is going to be a true endeavor. I head to the north to evaluate the building conditions of the shuttle transportation line. Running close to the outskirts of the settlement comes with some additional refreshing nitrogen from the planet atmosphere, blown by the local winds at a lowered temperature.
Northern pathway - Fondamenta Sang Giobbe
The Sole is still not out on the horizon but we can see it trying to give some color to the blue sky. I studied my route in advance to minimize the probability of falling into the Canales. The trick to stick to the route is to keep moving, in my case running. By doing so you will always have the correct bearing on your device and it’s a lot easier to follow the route even when the GPS signal gets messed up.
Claustrophobia inducing streets. 
At the 2nd km, we leave the safe harbor of the Canales for our first shot at navigating in the entrenched streets of Venezia. They are incredibly narrow and it becomes very hard to judge the distance that you are covering. Maps are so precise that with a quick glance you can count the streets and maintain the correct course.
Crossing the first bridge, Ponte Turlona, with the Sole lazily rising
The locals have navigate the settlement using personal and public vessels that roam the Canales filled with Acqua. Due to the extreme heat, one might be slightly tempted to dive into the Canales for refreshing, but it is forbidden - I say slightly tempted because the Acqua does not look that clean due the pollution from all the vessels.
Northern shore of Venezia
We are moving through the local territory with very few souls in sight. The acqua is still quietly still since all the vessels are parked. This provides some great opportunities for using the acqua as a reflection surface for some of the photographs.
Taking ownership of the canales
We are roaming through places that are more than 1000 years old, there seems to be no such thing as a new building. If we look closely, many seem to be in pretty bad shape, but there is something in the air that camouflages that. They all harmonize in sync to create a unique environment.
Everything is so quiet
As we move away from the outskirts the air becomes as still as the acqua. There is very little wind and like an atmosphere from another planet the heat slowly starts crawling in. I have all my systems on red alert for possible overheating conditions later in the run. The good news is that soon there will be infinite trading spots to exchange my tokens with hydrating liquids, alcohol free, so there is now danger of running out of supplies.
Like in all the other places, pet owners have to be early birds
Crossing bridges cuts our pace, as it means we have got up and down a few steps and always turn around to see what’s going on down at the Canale. These are the quarters of the local traders, we have yet to go through their trading posts.
This felt like one of those prison patios from the movies
As we try to reach the northern tip of the city, we run by a wall straight out of a great-escape-type-movie. It’s a strange feeling. The ground is a joy to run over. I have to start drinking a lot earlier than usual,I cannot risk overheating later in the run. By the looks of it, it’s going to be a scorching hot as soon as the Sole rises in the sky.
Another ponte in sight
I am getting more confident on not losing my bearings and venture on the planned alleys. These canyons will later on be perfect to shield us from direct sunlight. All the stone on the ground and buildings however, that will slowly cook me throughout the day as it radiates the heat.
Safety was not an issue in Venezia
It’s time to start exploring some of the trading posts scattered in the middle of the city. There is already some movement in these areas. Be it from early explorers or from workers heading to their posts, the busier streets are not all mine. We are the 5th km and everything seems to have gone by too fast, even with all the heat this run will fly by.
Strada Nova - trading posts
The scale of everything is impressive and we have only still roamed through secondary streets and canales. It is breathtaking to imagine the empires that have thrived in this city for so many centuries. With a population of quarter of a million, this is no small city by any standards. The logistics and operations of all the trading has to be though in a complete different way and still work with the ones outside of the settlement.
Campo SS Apostoli - a gathering square
It’s impossible to keep a regular pace while exploring. I don’t want to miss any of the infinite number of photo opportunities. Every corner in Venezia has masterpiece photography potential, for professionals. I am executing the plan to perfection.
No rush our in sight
The alleys are so narrow and long that some of crossing streets close to invisible. While exploring it on Google Street view I found some spots that seemed to have no exit even though the map showed that there was a connecting street. I would learn that in person later in the run.
Campo S. Bortolmio
We are heading east to get closer to the tip of the island. The back streets are still empty and there is very little movement in the canales. I get a little carried away by some longer stretches without interrupting bridges and raise my pace a little more than I should.
An early vessel about to disturb the silence of the acqua
The towers from the Chiesas (church) are impressive guiding beacons, there is always a crossing street that allows to adjust the route if necessary. I would not mind taking on the challenge of doing a full route with no GPS or map - memorize and run.
Arriving at Campo Santa Maria Formosa
Multiple bridges side-by-side
It’s not uncommon to see multiple parallel bridges a few meters apart. A Google search accounts for 472 bridges connecting 126 islands that make up the city and apparently for there were no bridges in its first 500 years. Venezia is the city where Galileo invented the telescope, appropriately for planning routes to other planets and galaxies so that this colony can continue to prosper.
There will be lines in these narrow streets later in the day
The narrow streets with leaning buildings look like they are alive and ready to swallow you. They are doing a great job as my protection shield against the Sole radiation as we head to the eastern edge. All is quiet and empty in the area. The expect hoards of aliens to start arriving anytime soon, we are far from the main hub closing in on the 8th km.
Street parking in Venezia
I am curious about where the locals have their fueling stations, probably outside of the outpost, I did not cross any. There is no end in sight to these streets. It is mind boggling to imagine having to get daily supplies to feed and keep the settlement operating flawlessly. Venezia is visited by 5.7 million aliens every year and all need to get fed and entertained.
Desert streets of Venezia - not for long.
We are getting close to the Arsenal di Venezia, a major shipyard founded in the 12th century. Venezia was once superpower building vessels and playing a major role as a maritime power. Led by the Doge, an elected leader who held office for life, La Serenissima, was known for a stable government, intricate diplomacy, and a powerful navy.
A vessel taking supplies to the trading posts
The more I analyze my survey photos the more I am convinced that this place is straight out of a science fiction novel. The mix of churches, military and trading posts (shops) has no end. We are still moving through some back streets that hide the magnificence of the city further down the route.
Entrance to the Arsenal di Venezia
We now encounter larger canales which means tall bridges and more step to climb and descend. For some reason these disrupt my pace significantly (including because I get distracting looking left and right at the top of the bridge),
Open Oceano by the bridge
Most 4G and 5G transponders are well hidden in the landscape, well done. Occasionally my always-on radar for these transponders spots one that hurts my eyes. One thing that impresses me is how fast the token exchanges are in the city. As soon my device acknowledges the NFC reader the transaction is completed. Impressive speed and impressive capillarity. Every trading post in the most remote canale gladly accepts token exchanges using my device. Well done Venezia.
A 4G/5G transponder (known locally as a cell site)
We are getting closer to a local port with the Sole radiation clearly increasing sharply in the sky in a beautiful menacing way.
Il Sole intensifying
Not all is stone and acqua in this outpost. We have arrived at the park on Viale Garibaldi. This is where Venezia produces some of the oxygen mixture added to the abundant nitrogen. We only enjoy the green during 200 meters and then follow the Rio San Giuseppe to keep us heading east. It feels that we have covered a lot of distance but we are only at the 9th km.
Park Viale Garibaldi
It’s hard to keep a steady pace because of navigation and bridge crossing. These longer stretches along the canal are liberating even if only for 300m. I enjoy the views but also miss my running cadence.
Crossing the Ponte de Paludo - right
Crossing the Ponte de Paludo - left
Next we have another piccolo stretch of forest leading the way to the Diporto Velico Veneziano a spot where the richest traders park some of their expensive recreational vessels. Running through parks in Venezia has the same vibes of going into the holodeck from Star Trek. For some reason they look odd.
Crossing Parco delle Rimembranze
We arrive at the wealthy vessel marina around the 9.6 km. What would be a spectacular sunrise in other marinas is overshadowed by the Venezia constructions. We almost done with the surveying of the local quarters and I am glad that we will have a long stretch by the border of the island to relief me from the the navigation effort.
Sunrise at Diporto Velico Veneziano
The sole is now climbing faster, this means that the next 3km will be under increasing heat with little shade opportunities. I am eager to enjoy the freedom from the navigation constraints and hope that the coastal nitrogen breeze will be enough to keep me cool.
Following the Viale Piave for the next half km
I happened to arrive at the colony just as the Venice Film Festival is about to start. I did not have an actual red carpet to greet me but the privilege of running on mostly empty streets feels of a greater statute. At the tip of Venice we can clearly see the larger Lido island across the Venetian Lagoon where all the action will take place. I prefer the main island where my action is taking place and I am loving it.
At the tip of Venice looking at Lido where the Venice Film Festival will be held in the next days
As we turn our back to the Lido and face the entrance to the Grand Canal it is impossible not to have your jaw drop. The scale of this city is utter impressive and my phone miserably fails to capture the grandeur. The two Campanile mark the entrance just like a portal to a new dimension, which it truly is. There are already a few early runners that break my steady pace because, of course, I have to pass them.
Looking at the main canale in Venizia - the photo cannot translate how outstanding and magnificent this entry to the canale is.
This long stretch is absolutely perfect if you need to go for a short run without any fear of getting lost in Venezia (which is mandatory by the way). The portal towers keep getting bigger as we approach the Grand Canale. I feel as if a spaceship could come flying into the canal at any time. It’s that inspiring. That is a new feeling to me, to have something that is so old give me the feeling of being so futuristic.
Perfect jogging scenery
I was mistaken in my orientation and I do still get a lot of shades on this route, a godsend. I can’t wait to get to Piazza San Marco. I just have to follow the Campanile di San Marco until my neck hurts to look up on how tall it is.
These bridges are actual challenges
I now have an additional challenge in hands. Some of the food traders have already started operations. I am starving and the smell of freshly brewed coffee is killing me. I feel an urge to cut my survey short and to start flushing my tokens to all the food traders I can find. Venezia has excellent coffee.
You cannot believe how this scenery will change later in the day.
One last bridge before getting to Plazza San Marco at km 12.7. We are crossing the beautiful rio del Palazzo, arriving at the Palazzo Ducal. The bridge Ponte dei Sospiri, bridge of sighs, a cruel punishment for prisoners that had to cross it. Such an amazing spot to remind them of all the outside wonders that they would be missing.
Crossing Ponte della Paglia looking at Ponte del Sospiri
It must be Piazza San Marco because my neck hurts from looking up to the top of the Campanile! I punish myself from immediately jumping into the square by forcing me to continue along the Canal Grande so that I could glance at the Royal Gardens of Venice and enter the Piazza from the west.
The 1st glimpse of Piazza San Marco
It was a great choice of course because I got to enjoy an amazing view of the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute on the other side of the Canal. I knew then that I would have to add up some more kms to my run to go and visit in person.
Looking at Basilica Santa Maria della Salute made me decide to change my route to visit it too
Enter Piazza de San Marco, almost empty and I could just as well run loops for the remaining of the day in this square which would be around 450 m per lap. It is amazing. It gets flooded every now and then, but it floods us with beauty every single time.
The astounding Piazza de San Marco
These two towers seen from a distance are true science fiction beacons to a portal from another galaxy - amazing
We head back to the street maze with another landmark in sight. The famous Ponte di Rialto, one of the only three bridges to cross the Canal Grande. It’s just me and the logistics teams working fast to supply the local traders. We are at km 14 and it looks like I have ran a full marathon already. I am not physically tired, just have all my senses on overload.
Ponte di Rialto - close to impossibly empty
The Grand Canal seen from the Rialto bridge.
The next section o the route is pure fun. Now that I have become comfortable with navigating through the maze it’s delight to follow the narrow streets and bridges zig zagging through the neighborhood. I was laughing out loud because it is nuts, you seem to run towards a blind alley only to see at the very last second that there is an open turn. Once you get confident that there is always a way out, it is pure fun. The streets are so narrow that there is a chance that my clone comes running in the opposite direction and we crash into each other. The empire did not strike back yet.
Every bridge is a perfect photo
I no longer fear the walls wanting to swallow me.
This photo came out amazing by chance - the light and reflection
We touch the Grand Canal again at km 15 which might as well have been km 51. The sun is up there pumped in radiation. We still have 10 more km to cover. We just came out to the surface for an instance and dive back into the maze to explore in depth.
Back at the Grand Canale with the vessel busses starting full operation
Like at any other science fiction settlement, there has to be a gambling location and we get a glimpse of the historic Casinò di Venezia
We gamble our way through the labyrinth on our way to the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, to make sure we touched another tip in Venice. We could fill 52 posts with photos from this city and still have spare photos for another year of posts. Next in our sight is the bridge Ponte dell’Accademia, with a decent number of steps to wear me out twice this far out in the route. I crossed the bridge to visit the Campo Santo Stefano and Camp Sant’Anzolo and that I would have to cross back to go to Santa Maria della Salute. As I crossed back the Accademia I hit the 21 km mark.
Ponte dell’Accademia, the 3rd crossing in the Grand Canale
The view from the bridge is amazing
The sun was starting to wear me down and I had no idea on how many kms were left on my route, 5, 8, 10? My water supplies were running low but today I was not worried.
The view out of the Grand Canal
Touching the tip by the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute was not how I expected it. The view to the Basilica is so much better from the other side than right by it. But we do get a great view to the other side of the Canal (even if spoiled by a crane - that I will call an Imperial Walker)
The view to the other side of the Canal from the Basilica
Basilica Santa Maria della Salute
Heading back to the train station is now equivalent to crossing the desert under the sun. It’s easy to navigate because again we are following the edge of the island. There are, however, very few shades. The view to the other island across the lagoon Is another show of power from Venezia. The buildings stretch forever on the other side in Giudecca.
Giudecca is impressive seen from here.
One final effort as the run gets close to 26 km in total distance - we cross a recent bridge, Ponte della Constitution, that masterfully incorporated a lot of glass to try and blend in with the original landscape.
Crossing Ponte della Costituzione - Chiesa di San Simeon Piccolo at a distance
What an incredible run. I had been dreaming about doing this run for a couple of months and it did not let me down. Venezia is one of a kind, a city that should not exist, built centuries ago and still futuristic today - at least that is how I see it.
Truly from another galaxy.
Enjoy your runs!
-APF
