Thursday 24th January 1923 continued…
Gremanci Family: Makers of dolls and automatons. Gremanci dolls are popular with Venetian children and touritsts. French troops, as far back as 1797, purchased dolls to send back to their families at home, resulting in Gremanci goods becoming popular in Paris.
In 1630 an Alvise Gremanci was investigated by the secretive and terrifying Council of Ten (inquisitors) for allegations of witchcraft after an anonymous letter was deposited in the Bocca di Leone (Lion’s Mouth) in St. Mark’s Square. He was accused of creating dolls in the likeness of political enemies and burning them. The Council of Ten found no truth in the matter.
Police Station (Mario Rossi): We attempt to gain access to the morgue to view the body of Mario Rossi. We are denied entrance but the desk officer does allow us to view the police report. His body was lofted up and impaled on a 10ft iron railing, throat torn and drained of blood. He was exsanguinated before impalement. Photos of the deceased’s wounds suggest the throat injuries were from claw-like lacerations (not bites).
Police Station (Anselma Morietti): Miss Morietti , Mario Rossi’s fiancé, is still in police custody. Ludwig’s credentials gain us access. We are not allowed to enter her cell, but viewed her through the hatch of the cell door. She is crazed: Rocking, twitching, screaming and clawing at herself. Her only coherent words, according to police – is that she has seen Satan. She notices us –throws herself against the cell door and bites through her own tongue. Her mouth pours with blood. We are asked to leave.
Atmosphere: An air of hysteria is building in Venice. The black canal waters have reportedly caused deaths. There is religious mania and talk of plague. Looting, robbery and assault is spiralling out of control. People are attacking each other; hurling victims into the canals. Priests have been seen exorcizing people being held down by mobs. An epileptic was stabbed during a fit.
Gremanci Factory: We head out after dark by water taxi (being charged a king’s ransom for the transport) to the Campo de La Bambino in the Cannaregio district. Smoke rises above the city. A glow of fire lights the sky. We witness terrible scenes of disorder and hear animal howling on the way. The district is a decrepit slum. Many buildings have boarded-up windows and doors and the air smells of ages-old industry. Old war veterans huddle in the dark alleys and the plaza. They appear destitute, bereft of hope and are inflicted with the scars and amputations that the war dealt to them.
We force entry to the Gremanci factory. Inside are many untidy workstations and an office. Inside the factory office, we search through the many ledgers and records. We discover a ledger for 1916-1818, much thinner than other records due to lack of materials, lack of workers and lack of output during the war period. Highlights of what we discover include:
•In December 1917 Marco Gremanci receives a telegram dated 22 November informing him that his grandson, also Marco Gremanci, was missing in action at Mount Grappa.
•Entry for 29 December 1917, a blizzard rages above Venice. An odd freak of lightening struck the campanile of the Palazzo Rezzoniani. Marco resolves to check on his old friends in the clock tower to check they are okay.
•Entry 15 January 1918, Marco (snr) has had a painful flare up of arthritis in his left leg. This has not happened before.
•Entry 15 March 1918, Marco (snr) reports that Signor Rezzoniani has died.
•Entry 09 April 1918 (in a different hand), Grandfather Marco died this day of old age, pain and grief.
Friday 25th January 1923
Morning: Venice awakes to the smell of smouldering buildings, pungent incense from churches and the sound of army boots marching in the streets. In the hotel there is fewer staff available to serve breakfast and they have all become curt and aloof. No papers published today. The Hotel Manager coldly urges us to leave Venice.
Palazzo Rezzoniani: We head directly to the Palazzo. Smog hangs in the air, screams emanate from alleyways and burning buildings. Religious mania hits fever pitch. Many Venetians are self-flagellating in the squares on their way to churches that reek of incense and are already filled with panicked worshippers.
The Palazzo is a wonder of architecture with a striking façade facing the canal. The door knocker is held in the mouth of a venetian winged lion. The caretaker, Nonno Fidele, answers. There are unsurprisingly, in view of the chaos in Venice, no visitors today – but for a handful of lire Nonno relents and we are admitted. The courtyard of the palace has a grand display of statuary – but nothing that interests us. We turn our attention to the clock tower, as we look up, the clock strikes the hour and to accompany the chimes a procession of automatons appears from a recess and moves across the clock face disappearing into a recess on the opposite side. The automatons are a Venetian winged lion being chased by a soldier; representing the surrender of Venice to the French.
Portents: We realise we’ve seen all this before – in Dream Lausanne. On the way to the trial of Edgar Wellington we had witnessed chaotic scenes in the streets. We witnessed a procession of flagellants, weeping tears of blood from emotionless china-blue eyes like a doll’s, bells are chiming and there is the smell of incense. Some of the flagellants are dressed in the likeness Death and of a lion and a soldier. The lion sprouts wings and flies as the soldier chases. These things we witnessed in Dream Lausanne were portents of our experiences now, in Venice.
It’s time to get what we came for and depart Venice while we still can.
