In our Imagining Venice class, we don’t plan to spend too much time discussing contemporary Italian politics, and our focus on social concerns will revolve more around the ways in which pollution and tourism are affecting Venice in particular. But with all of the fuss about Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi that’s been showing up in the media lately, I thought it was worth a quick mention.

The New York Times has published a quick rundown of the latest Berlusconi scandal, titled “Surreal: A Soap Opera Starring Berlusconi,” which describes the accusations that Italy’s prime minister, now 74, had sex with a minor (the now-18 “Ruby Rubacuore”), as well as a number of other women. Those of us who have been watching Berlusconi’s antics from afar over the years know that accusations of marital infidelity are hardly anything new, although the suggestion that he dallied with a minor has raised the scandal bar a few notches.

What’s startling to most U.S. observers is that Berlusconi has gotten away with so much for so long with so little objection from his constituency. The NYT article notes:

…[T]he full drama has been airing for the 17 years that Mr. Berlusconi has been Italy’s most colorful politician, playing to an audience shaped by the sensationalist television culture he helped create in his three decades as Italy’s largest private broadcaster.

No U.S. politician rocked by so many scandals — especially sex scandals — would survive his or her next election, but the voting majority of Italians have been forgiving, probably for several reasons: Berlusconi owns and controls a number of major media outlets in Italy; he’s rich enough to afford the best lawyers and spin doctors; he’s charming and full of jokes; the opposition parties aren’t well-organized; Italians (especially the men) tend to be more forgiving of their politician’s private peccadillos; and until recently Berlusconi’s government was quietly supported by the Vatican. In short, he has been likened to a feudal lord, above reproach, whose charm and wealth have kept his subjects faithful no matter what he does in his castle’s private chambers.

The Church’s recent criticism of his actions may be especially problematic for the prime minister, as it often was for those feudal lords, however. In addition, Berlusconi is still faced with running a country that has the euro region’s second-largest debt burden. He narrowly squeaked past a no-confidence vote in December of last year, however, so it seems that he will remain in power for some time to come.

Vivaldi is Venice’s pet composer — you can’t walk through the city without noticing numerous signs advertising Vivaldi concerts at various churches and music schools. Thus it seems appropriate to draw attention to the latest news about the discovery of one part of a flute concerto by Vivaldi thought to be lost. (Excerpt)

According to an article in the BBC,

A lost flute concerto by the composer Vivaldi has been discovered at the National Archives of Scotland.

Il Gran Mogol, which belonged to a quartet of lost concertos, has been authenticated as the work of the 18th Century Italian composer.

Southampton University research fellow Andrew Woolley found the piece among the Marquesses of Lothian’s family papers at the archives in Edinburgh.

It will receive its modern day premiere at Perth Concert Hall in January.

The other pieces of the quartet – La Francia, La Spagna and L’Inghilterro — remain lost.

Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678. He became a priest in 1703; due to his red hair, he became known known as “Prete Rosso.” As a young man he worked as the master of violin at the orphanage and music school Ospedale della Pietà, where his works and the children’s performances began drew favorable attention. (You can still attend concerts there today.) Over the course of his life he wrote numerous pieces, both liturgical and secular, but he is best known today for his Four Seasons, which he wrote in 1725. Vivaldi died in 1741 after garnering international popularity as a composer.

Although Vivaldi’s music fell out of favor after his death and for centuries thereafter, interest was revived in the early 1900s when a collection of his works was discovered in the library of a Piedmontese boarding school and eventually purchased and donated to the Turin Library. After the war, a Venetian enthusiast established the Istituto Italiano Antonio Vivaldi, and the works began to be recorded and disseminated once again, catching the attention of modern audiences (BaroqueMusic.Org).

Other Vivaldi works have been discovered since — besides this year’s discovery, Vivaldi works have been most recently unearthed in 2004, 2005, and 2006. It’s thought that many others may exist that have yet to be found.

We plan to take students to a Vivaldi concert while in Venice, although when and where depends on the schedule once we get there. I went to a little concert in a church while I was last there in 2006, and having seen how many are offered, I’m not worried about our finding a suitable performance while we’re there. Rick Steeves advises, “There’s music most nights at Scuola San Teodoro (east side of Rialto Bridge) and San Vitale Church (north end of Accademia Bridge), among others. Consider the venue carefully. The general rule of thumb: musicians in wigs and tights offer better spectacle, musicians in black and white suits are better performers.” I admit that I love to see people in period costume, but since it’s an educational trip, we may have to sacrifice the amusing visuals and go for performance quality, instead.

Image Source: Engraved portrait of Antonio Vivaldi, 1725, François Morellon de La Cave

When I was in Venice for my sabbatical in 2006, one of my friends there, a smart and strong-minded woman named Marina, told me all about a woman who was trying become Venice’s first female gondolier but had been barred from the licensing process by the infamously tight boys’ club. No woman has been allowed into the gondoliers’ association since its founding in 1094.

Now another woman seems poised to break into that club — Giorgia Boscolo, 24, the daughter of a gondolier. She has passed the final exam in a 6-month, 400-hour gondoliering course and simply needs to pay for her license.

Living Venice reported last year about her entrance into the course:

According to the article in the Gazzettino, a procession of gondoliers present at the organizational seat made no secret of their opinion as to whether or not a woman should be allowed into the famous clan. It was the fist of Aldo Rosso, president of the Ente Gondola, slamming soundly on the table that got their attention.

“If you wanted the position reserved only for men, you should have said so before,” yelled Rosso, furious. “I am the one who conducts the admission and evaluation of the substitute gondoliers: according to the law it’s open to everyone, male and female. If a woman passed the test, it means she’s capable. Period.”

Congratulazioni, Giorgia, and good luck — it’s never easy for a woman trying to buck centuries of discrimination. Two other women were also enrolled in the course, but they did not pass their final exams. One can only  hope that they try again and succeed, so that she has some support on the canals.

For the record, the first woman to make this attempt — the one that Marina was telling me about — was Alexandra Hai, a German woman. She failed to pass her exam three times, began private gondoliering for a hotel, was fined for it, but won the case on appeal, according to the Telegraph.

Personally, I’m hoping that the ever-contemplative Commissario Guido Brunetti will mull this over in the next novel from Donna Leon.

Photo Credit: REUTERS