38th Venice Vogalonga

The Vogalonga is an act of love for Venice and its waters, for its lagoon and its islands, for rowing and its boats. The Vogalonga retains over time its original purpose: to disseminate knowledge, awareness and respect for the essence and culture of our city. The Vogalonga is a celebration for the entire ‘people of the oar,’ and today, just as in the beginning, it is a peaceful testimony against the wave-motion, so dangerous for the city and the lagoon.

More images can be found here

The Vogalonga is a non-competitive race  where any kind of rowing craft can take part, and rowers take over the lagoon and canals. This year,at the 38th Vogalonga, there were a record 6.500 participants, in over 1.700 boats (Marco Secchi)

Red Light (Spells Danger)

Venice 25th October A light in the "Canale Petroli" in the Venice lagoon is seen on on a stormy weather day HOW TO LICENCE THIS PICTURE: please contact us via e-mail at sales@xianpix.com or call London   +44 (0)207 1939846 for prices and terms of copyright. First Use Only ,Editorial Use Only, All repros payable, No Archiving.© MARCO SECCHI (Marco Secchi) While sailing in the Lagoon at the entrance of  "Canale dei Petroli" I saw the two lights for the tankers. The red one caught my attention and reminded me the Billy Ocean song......

Red light spells danger Can't hold out much longer Cos red light means warning Can't hold out I'm burning No, no, no

It is estimated that one third of a large oil tanker's load would be enough to provoke a true ecological disaster in the lagoon and also in the Adriatic coast. The presence of oil tankers is thus an enormous risk for the lagoon of Venice.

NO Cruise Ships....in Venice

The protest against the Cruise Ships was held today on the Grand Canal and just after the Punta della Salute....for pure coincidence...a large...no a very LARGE Cruise Ship...the Cunard Queen Victoria was crossing St Mark's Basin.... Protesters on small boats display banners against Cruise Ships crossing Venice get as close as they can to the Queen Victoria Cruise Ship in St Mark's Basin (Marco Secchi/XianPix) (Marco Secchi /XianPix)

Few more pictures of today protest organized by Comitato NO Grandi Navi are here. I just realized I took the pictures in Southampton few years ago when the Queen Victoria was named and pictures are here....

As usual was a very well organized and behaved protest!

 

Frozen Venice Lagoon....today

Italy as most of Europe is under a spell of very cold weather, it is more than 20 years since the Venice Lagoon last froze, so today I took some pictures for my agency...you can see them here if you are interested.I wrote before about the 1929 frozen lagoon and is here VENICE, ITALY - FEBRUARY 05:  A general view of the Canal of Cannaregio partially frozen on February 5, 2012 in Venice, Italy. Italy as most of Europe is under a spell of very cold weather, it is more than 20 years aince the Venice Lagoon last froze.  (Photo by Marco Secchi/Getty Images) (Marco Secchi/Getty Images)

Rosemary (Colours of the lagoon)

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. The name "rosemary" derives from the Latin name rosmarinus, which is from "dew" (ros) and "sea" (marinus), or "dew of the sea" because in many locations it needs no other water than the humidity carried by the sea breeze to live. Venice Laguna Nord Murano Burano Torcello, S Ariano San Francesco al Deserto..HOW TO LICENCE THIS PICTURE: please contact us via e-mail at sales@xianpix.com or call our offices in London   +44 (0)207 1939846 for prices and terms of copyright. First Use Only ,Editorial Use Only, All repros payable, No Archiving.© MARCO SECCHI (Marco Secchi)

Rosemary plant growing  on the Island of Santa Cristina

Baked Mackerel with Rosemary

The ingredients for two people are: 2 mackerels  1 garlic clove, 1 lemon, and 2 big fresh rosemary branches.

Cut the lemon in half, thinly slice the garlic and wash the rosemary branches.Now you need to clean the mackerels: You can cut the belly such that you can remove the entrails. Wash the fish well removing all the remains of the entrails otherwise the meat could get an unpleasant sour taste.

Once they have been rinsed, dry them well outside and inside so that there is no water left. Then  place some garlic slices and one rosemary branch inside the mackerel’s belly cavity.

Make two rectangles of aluminium foil and place the fish on one of them,  squeeze the lemon juice inside and on the mackerel, then folds the foil over the fish.

Lastly, bake the fish at 200 °C (390 °F) for 20-25 minutes.

The spaceship

.HOW TO LICENCE THIS PICTURE: please contact us via e-mail at sales@xianpix.com or call our offices in Milan at (+39) 02 400 47313 or London   +44 (0)207 1939846 for prices and terms of copyright. First Use Only ,Editorial Use Only, All repros payable, No Archiving.© MARCO SECCHI (Marco Secchi) Late afternoon at the water bus stop of Madonna dell'Orto

I've always thought that a lot of the problems in the world would be solved if a spaceship did arrive, then anyone with one head and two arms and two legs would be your brother! It wouldn't matter where they were from or what they believed or anything. It might be good for us. Sigourney Weaver