Graffiti against a red wall with a writing reading "il diritto alla città non ha prezzo", in Venice, Italy
Venice officially is zona antifa
Old hippies in Venice are radical chic and anti-Fascist. They never smoke weed, they buy La Repubblica¹ and attend the opening of La Biennale².
They always say it was better before, looking back on an indefinite time. They never leave the lagoon and never walk too far from their favourite bacàro³. They like their spritz Cynar⁴ with the olive.
Their long dreadlocks were replaced with short hair. Their dockside shoes were marked by the Aqua Granda⁵ — it is just a trace of the brackish water. Their soles are consumed beyond the limit. When they do not walk, they take the vaporetto⁶ or they use their topa.⁷
Wall with a door and 2 windows along the canal, in Venice, Italy.
You might recognise yourself as one
On summer weekends, they reach the exotic beaches of Sant’Erasmo (also known as, Bacàn — technically a strip of land that only emerges at low tides), Alberoni, Murazzi, Ca’ Roman.⁸ They have a good time talking to the youth about the lack of social policies that take into account the specific needs of the lagoon. They do this with incredible nonchalance over an ombra (a glass of wine) of rosso della casa.⁹
The old hippies also enjoy feasting at the Festa del Peocio¹⁰ to the notes of the “last ever” concert of the Ska-J.¹¹ The farthest they go is Forte Marghera,¹² where they can socialise with other hippy couples and be sure their children will have a good time.
You might come across old Venetian hippies quite easily. Equally, you might happen to identify yourself with this description if you have lived long enough next to the brackish waters and you have found yourself opposing to 5G. There is no shame in it.
¹ La Repubblica: The second most-read Italian newspaper. The newspaper historically sympathises with leftist politics.² La Biennale: Intended herein as Biennale Arte. La Biennale di Venezia is a foundation which is responsible for international events in the domain of art, architecture, cinema, dance, music, theatre, education, and holds an historical archive for contemporary arts.³ Bàcaro: It is a typical Venetian tavern where you can enjoy an ombra of wine (a glass of wine) and some delicious cichéti (local finger food).⁴ Spritz: a long drink from Veneto, Italy, that is drunk as aperitif. It consists of Prosecco wine, soda and generally bitter, and is commonly garnished with a green olive, and an orange or a lemon slice. Cynar is simply one of the bitters in use, along with Select, Aperol, Campari.⁵ Aqua Granda: The 2019 extraordinary inundation which interested Venice. The hight tide reached 187 centimeters the night of 12 November, 2019, with disastrous consequences.⁶ Vaporetto: Public water bus service.⁷ Topa: Intended herein as "topa veneziana". A boat with flat stern, whose length ranges between 6,5 and 7,3 meters.⁸ Sant'Erasmo, Alberoni, Murazzi, Ca' Roman: These are some of the beaches on the islands of the Venetian lagoon, that face onto the 3 openings with the Adriatic Sea (also known as, "bocche di porto"). From North to South: Sant'Erasmo is located on the homonymous island; both Alberoni and Murazzi on Lido di Venezia; while, Ca' Roman on Pellestrina.⁹ Rosso della casa: House wine (in this specific case, red wine).¹⁰ Festa del Peocio: A 3-day gastronomic event held in Alberoni in late August. Different mussel (also known as, "peocio") are being served.¹¹ Ska-J: One of the major reggae bands from the Venetian lagoon.¹² Forte Marghera: One of the ex-Austro-Hungarian military outposts that were built in the Venetian mainland. They first started to build it in 1805. Forte Marghera is connected to the Venetian lagoon through the Canal Salso. Its premises are now the seat of Fondazione Forte Marghera, a cultural foundation created by the City of Venice in 2015.