Chapter 24: Lifeline, A Water Storytelling Project
Meet me at the well....
In the last chapter, I shared news of the launch event of Quei de la Corte Nova. This one night open-air photographic exhibition featuring images from the 1930s to today hung evoking the criss-crossing of laundry lines that are characteristic of this street, telling the story of this neighborhood and celebrating Venetian vibrancy resisting the intense pressure of over tourism. Photographs were contributed by local residents, La Gondola Photographic Archive, the archive of Associazione 3 Agosto, Marcella Ferrari, and me.
The way this event was organized contributed to making it so joyous and unique.
In the weeks leading up to this special evening, my Venetian collaborator Massimiliano Smerghetto, my project manager Marcella Ferrari and I would go to Corte Nova daily and approach residents as they came and went from their homes, (assuring them that we weren’t selling anything). We invited them to share their personal stories as Corte Nova residents in informal documented interviews which will eventually be part of the project’s short film and a book project.
Confidences blossomed and then the stories flowed. One resident introduced us to another. We looked each other in the eye, evoking memories and hopes, speaking of family members, friends and traditions that are no longer. We held hands, with smiles and tears.
This is a listening project.
Here are some glimpses of the process…
Corte Nova has two Venetian wellheads, called pozzi (pozzo, singular). They quickly became our meeting points. Historically these Venetian wells provided the main access of fresh water coming from cisterns that collected rain water. In a city surrounded by and built on brackish water, these wellheads form a vital and ancient water-storytelling constellation in Venice–a fitting place of gathering for our project activities. Water is always at the center of everything.
This project, like Red Regatta, is change-making and celebrates community engagement and collective action.
Quei de la Corte Nova launches a year-long collaboration will culminate in large-scale collaborative work in spring 2026. This is just the beginning…
It’s a great collaborative effort and I can’t wait to share more with you we go.
Quei del la Corte Nova comes full circle. When I arrived in Venice for the first time in 1991, I immediately met my “Venetian Family”, the Marella family. We have stayed close and connected all these years and see each other every time I am in Venice. With love and support, they have come to every exhibition I have ever had in Italy, even traveling to those taking place in Bologna, Milan and Turin. They have visited me and my family in New York. My husband and I got married in Malamocco, at the tip of the Lido of Venice, where some of the family members live. Luca Marella was the witness at our wedding and I had the honor of returning that favor at his wedding last month. Our millefoglie wedding cake came from the same bakery where Marisa’s wedding cake was made in 1961 (Marisa the Marella family matriarch and her wedding cake was the first cake this pasticceria had ever made to order!) Our beautiful shared memories stretch over the past 34 years.
Marisa was born and grew up in Corte Nova and brought some of her childhood photographs to the opening of Quei de la Corte Nova last month. Here she is standing in the same place where her childhood photo was taken in 1943. She was 4 years old and this photo was taken to send to her father during the war when he was stationed in Sardinia, Italy.
Here’s to long friendships, looking each other in the eyes, and listening to each other deeply. Here’s to sharing in creative collaborative ways. Here’s to love.
Thank you so much for being with me here. I’ll see you at the well.
Love, MM
In these deeply challenging times, true authentic collaboration, cross-pollination and shared creative experiences that are reciprocal in nature are rare and change-making. I am dedicated to that work–focused on bringing community together in meaningful ways with lasting positive impact.
Please be a part of bringing this non-profit work to life, here’s the link to support via a tax-deductible donation. Thank you!
Loving connections that reach across oceans, clothes lines that reach between buildings; life lines to friendship, mutual caring and understanding.
I’m cruising around on the map of Venice, particularly the Lido and Malamocco to follow your story. I wonder how you came to be married there. Wonderful photos