“You have too much respect upon the world; They lose it that do buy it with much care”.
– The Merchant of Venice (1:1:75)

Venice, located in Northern Italy, is a lively, inspiring and
neat city, housing the Headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The whole of Italy itself is a tourist centre, with tourism accounting as the most important source of foreign currencies. Right from ancient times Venice has been a notable commercial and sea-faring centre, with Shakespeares’ Merchant of Venice providing some inspiring history about the city of Venice.
We also have Senator Brabantio, a reluctant father-in-law of Othello, the Moor of Venice, whose daughter, Desdemona, was strangulated by her husband. Anyone who has been to Venice would give inspiring testimonies about human ingenuity and ability to transform the state of Nature, yet preserving its beauty. Challenges can be transformed!
Unfortunately, with a foreign news headline in The Tide newspaper of Friday, November 15, 2019; saying “Flood: Italy to Declare State of Emergency in Venice”, many people would feel quite sad. Those who have seen pictures of the reactions of individuals and authorities to the disaster which fell upon Venice, would be inspired by the indomitability of the human spirit.
It is quite sad enough for the ancient city of Venice to experience an unusual flood disaster, with bad weather said to have driven the high tides. There is an inspiring lesson to learn that during the disaster, there were “sirens warning of fresh flooding ringing through the canal city”. Despite the depressing occurrence, jolly good fellows did not allow their spirit to be broken or optimism be dampened. Beer and coffee drinkers did not abandon flooded bars. They drank their “espresso while standing in several inches of water”. Great and hilarious fellow!
We did not hear about “area-boys” or cultists or other criminal groups, taking advantage of the disaster to cause more agonies and disasters. We did not hear that members of the armed forces went to town with weapons of mass destruction, to cause panic in a situation that demands empathy and succor. We did not hear that some marabouts, prayer warriors and exorcists went to scenes of disaster to engage in “casting and binding” of evil forces.
International media covering of the flood in Venice obviously raises humanitarian concerns, with mixed emotions seeing Venice’s famous square half submerged by flood. Italy’s Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, described the flooding as “a blow to the heart of our country”. Much of Italy is geologically unstable, with four active volcanoes – namely Etna, Vestuvius, Stromboli etc.The Italians are endowed with a high and indomitable spirit, able to dare where other people may fear to go.
We have an example of the Italian daring spirit in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, where a rascally lachimo, using cunning, got into the bed room of Princess Imogen, and stole her bracelet. We learn from that play that “t is gold which makes the true man killed and saves the thief; what can it not do and undo?”
Ancient Venice is associated with Shylock, a rich Jew who must have “a pound of flesh” of Antonio for defaulting in payment of a debt. There was a lesson for shylock: “take thou thy pound of flesh, but in the cutting it, if thou dost shed one drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are, by the Laws of Venice, confisticated unto the state of Venice”. That lesson remains alive in the minds of merchants, money lenders and all people visiting or doing business in Venice.
With regards to the flood in Venice currently, we learn that the Italian government would pay 5,000 euros to residents whose houses got flooded, and 20,000 euros for restaurants and shop owners as aids. State authorities are also assessing the extent of the damage done to St. Marks’ Basilica, which is one of the highly valued cultural treasures of Venice. There are other architectural wonders in Venice such as aqueducts built a long time ago.
The fact that Venice is referred to as “UNESCO City” gives a testimony about the rich artifacts which are associated with Venice. The Phoenitians of old were great sea-farers, with the cities of Tyre, Sidon and Venice featuring in tales of great seamanship. The Vikings were more of plunderers and sea pirates.
Although Italy has other major cities such as Milan, Naples, Turin, Genoa, Polermo, Florence, etc, Venice stands out for its beauty and Rome for being the capital. The Vatican City, though within the territory of Rome, is an independent Roman Catholic State, with its own government.
The unusual flood in Venice, Italy, may be associated with unusual weather and climate changes, which are of global concern. Within the context of global warming and weather disasters, there are inspiring lessons which we in Nigeria can learn. Like the opening quotation taken from The Merchant of Venice, those who put too much value on what the world provides, stand at a loss. Disasters, whether caused by flood or fire, are meant to remind humans that those who hold materialistic world-view are myopic indeed.
The idiom or story of Job in the Scriptures is meant to convey some inspiring lessons for those who see the world and its glories as ultimate values. There is a book titled: Talks with a Devil, by a Russian philosopher, P.D. Ouspensky. Its vital message is that wars, disasters, loses etc, are meant to teach man to look beyond the sphere of matter for real values and meanings in life. Flood and disaster would come and go, but the illuminating lessons of Venice is that non-perishable values make life beautiful. Venice, like Vienna, are cities of grandeur. Take a holiday once!
Dr Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.