My parents first brought me to Venice when I was 14 – and I’ve been in love with it ever since
In this series, household names revisit their favourite childhood holiday destinations. This week, River Cafe co-founder and podcast host RUTH ROGERS returns to Venice.
EVERY time I go to Venice it’s like seeing the city for the first time. As a writer for the New Yorker magazine once pleaded in a telegram to his editor: ‘Streets full of water – please advise.’
I first went to Venice aged 14 with my parents, and it was magical. We had been to visit my sister, the artist Susan Elias, who was studying art in Aix-en-Provence in southern France, and we then went on to Venice by train.
I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the city – its architecture, merchants, bridges – and all connected by vaporetto taxis, which are the best form of public transport anywhere. Hop on a vaporetto and you’ll see everyone, from people in tuxedos going to the opera to someone taking clothes to the launderette.
That trip with my parents was the beginning of my love for Venice, and it continued after I married my late husband Richard. As an architect, he introduced me to the city through its buildings. We loved the gardens behind San Giorgio Maggiore church, and we never missed seeing the Renaissance statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni in Campo Santi Giovanni, pictured left.
If you go in summer, you can sit in St Mark’s Square, drink a Campari and absorb the heat and light. But Richard and I would often go on the first weekend in December, too, as we did the first year after our son Bo died in 2011. We found Venice was the perfect place to think and to be together quietly. It was rainy and grey, but it didn’t matter. If you go to Rome and it rains, you feel terrible. But if you go to Venice and it rains, it fits.
I returned to Venice last month for its Film Festival to watch Ferrari, a new movie directed by my friend Michael Mann. The way to deal with Venice at such busy times is to simply explore. Go up to the Ghetto neighbourhood, go behind Accademia, go to Giudecca – it’s not hard to get away from crowds.
Of course, food is a huge part of my love for Venice. My ultimate dish is black cuttlefish risotto – it should completely coat your lips. And Venice is a place for polenta rather than pasta, with many wonderful restaurants such as Harry’s Bar, Ristorante da Ivo and Al Covo.
How to do it: Doubles at Hotel Danieli from £590 (hoteldanieli. com). BA returns from London to Venice from £88 (ba.com).
Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast is available on streaming platforms. Its third series began this month.