zoyi

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SabraAngel

*pist* How do you attach pics to posts?

Arw65

'A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ' ~Leopold Stokowski

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=42719

solosater

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=41074

“Four Brothers and a Major Scema (a stupid person)”

She woke up when some one pulled the heave drapes away from the window letting in sheer, unadulterated sunlight. It nearly took her head off, “What time is it?”

“It is after noon signorina; your brothers, they await you in the dining room. Come I will help you dress then escort you down.”

“Thank you.” She looked around for her bag and was relieved to see it by what she thought must be the closet.

After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and dressing she felt almost human and thought she was ready to face Renata’s brothers.

She was wrong.

They waited until she’d filled a plate for herself and the footman had poured her a cup of coffee, in fact just as she sat down it all went to hell in a hand basket.

“So,” said Cosimo, “where are you from, or should I say when, and what is your name?”

She looked at each of her “brothers” in turn and saw almost identical expressions of inquiry. Oh, crap, Crap, CRAP! What had she done wrong and how was she to handle it?

Emilio held up his hand and said, “Look our sister is profoundly deaf and mute. You are the fourth ‘visitor’ we have had in the past couple of weeks and while you all look exactly like our Renata you are not her.”

Drago spoke up next saying, “She loves Carnival because she can hide in the crowd and be like everyone else, that is why I insisted on taking you last night; then you started talking and I realized once again we did not get our sister back. It was a just a wish on my part but one I had little faith in.”

“So what can you tell us about this mess; will we see her again, when will we see her again?” this from Dom sounding much less laidback than the night before.

“I don’t know the answers to your questions. This is my third jump and I still don’t have a clue how it works or why. I’m a History professor in the 21st century and found a rift in my home that I believed went only one place, the 14th century; I went right back to my own time and started to prepare myself for a two week stay so I could live what I’d only read before.

“When I reentered the rift I landed on a ship to San Francisco in the mid 18th century, that was four days then I spent four days in 15th century Ireland and yesterday I landed here, I’m guessing the late 17th century Venice?” The brothers nodded.

“I’ve tried to blend in as much as possible but this is the first time I’ve had close family to deal with, and in my last two jumps no one noticed that I wasn’t speaking the correct language or with the correct accent so I just assumed the rift took care of such things.”

“You are speaking perfect Italian; all the Renatas have. We didn’t realize that was not normal for them until the last one came she did speak Italian but it was very poor Italian with a lot of colloquial speech and we realized she was more familiar with the language but spoke it poorly.” this from Emilio.

“I’d guess she’s from the future then, speech in general has become very lazy.

“As for you sister, I don’t know where your she is, if she’s ahead of me or behind me or on another track altogether. I just don’t know; I wish I did. I wish I knew what was happening in my time with my family, but I haven’t a clue.”

“I would assume that if I’m speaking Italian and have had no understanding of the language in the past that she may be hearing and speaking as well. She’s probably not been noticed any more than I have been. The rift seems to take care of it all. I’ve been two different shades of blond and when I looked in the mirror this morning I realized I’m a very dark auburn, I’m guessing I was wearing a wig last night? I could have sworn I was blond again.

“Anyway my point is, while I don’t know where she is or when you might get her back, I’d not worry too much, I can’t be sure of course but I think we will all eventually be returned to our own homes.”

She pushed her untouched plate away; she’d lost her appetite and was ever so slightly queasy. “What are you going to do with me?”

“We are not going to harm you, it seems you are just as much a victim as our Renata. You did not tell us your name.” this again from Cosimo.

“No I didn’t, I don’t want to cause problems with the time line or anything, if I tell you about the future you may make different decisions and the future as I know it will be changed. They call it a paradox or paradox effect I think but it’s just a real bad idea. Even the fact you know the others and I have been here is really bad. Your staff all knows I’m sure, they’ll talk to others and in short order the whole thing could come crashing down about our ears.”

“We have explained that Renata went to stay with some family in Rome and that our cousin has come to stay with us for a time to get away after her father died. They do not all believe it and perhaps none of them do but they are very loyal and that is the story they will put out. That is why the wig, and it being Carnival helps of course with the masks.” this from Drago.

“We have been calling the others Rena, that seems to work. During Carnival you can pretty much wear a mask anywhere and we have plenty and wigs too so for the time you are with us we can show you about Venice and give you the history lesson you wanted perhaps.” Dom said, “I’m free today and tonight, what would you like to see?”

“Oh, do we have time to do the Grand Canal?”

“Not the whole of it though we could do that tomorrow if you like.” He said, “Why not spend the rest of today at the Santa Maria della Salute and the surrounding area? We can get back home in the early evening for a family dinner and get a good nights rest for a long tour tomorrow.”

“I can take her tomorrow, I have the whole day free.” Oh Goody she thought a whole day with Cosimo.

“That’s great, would anyone else like to come?” she said hoping someone else would volunteer to come along… No takers.

Well today would be good with Dom.

They left almost immediately for a trip across the Canale della Giudecca, she hadn’t realized it last night as it was dark and she wasn’t familiar with the area but she and Drago had not been on the Grand Canal as she had thought but rather on the Canale della Giudecca. They lived in the southern part of Venice.

As they crossed Dom told her the history of Santa Maria della Salute, it was only a few years old now, it had been completed in 1681. It was commissioned after an outbreak of the plague in the 1620s and 30s when the Venetian Senate decided a new church, one dedicated to the Virgin Mary, would prove the city’s piety and so perhaps save them from the plague.

“I do not know about all that but it is a beautiful building and I believe you will enjoy seeing it.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m not Catholic; I’m sure I’ll enjoy seeing the architecture and while it’s still so new. In my time it’s more than 300 years old.”

When they arrived at the landing he helped her from the gondola and offered his arm; she took it and they started toward the church.

From the outside it was amazing, octagonal in shape with so much decorative marble and stonework it was almost too much to take in. The dome brought to mind St. Peter’s in Rome and the Cathedral in Florence but Santa Maria della Salute was a much smaller church meant for pilgrimages inside the city and not for the whole populace. It still looked massive to her and it was pristine, unlike anything she’d seen in her own time where buildings were dirtied by pollution before they were even finished.

Dom told her that the great dome represents Mary’s crown, the cavernous interior her womb, the eight sides the eight points on her symbolic star. That was all very well for the catholics but she was just looking at the beauty of the thing.

The interior architectural elements were marked by the color of the matieral with which they were made and the central nave had a ring of saints atop a bulastrade. The high alter was Barogue and sheltered an iconic Bysantine Madonna and Child of the 12th or 13th century. There was work by Josse de Corte, Alessandro Varotari, Tintoretto and Titian.

While she could not be worshipful of the icons and saints she certainly could and did appreciate the workmanship and the design; as a historian to see this so fresh and clean and whole was an experience she wouldn’t have missed for anything.

Dom kept trying to get her to go so they could look around the area but by the time he finally convinced her it was time to return home. She was not disappointed; she was elated at having been in that wonderful place in such a wonderful time.

They returned home just in time to dine with the other brothers and she was getting to know them all a little more. she even felt she would not be terrified of Cosimo the next day on their tour of the Grand canal.

She went up to bed early, so they could get an early start in the morning; as she didn’t feel the need to leave notes for the next Renata / Rena she just put her thoughts down in her own journal and went to bed.



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Santa_Maria_della_Salute_Venice.JPG

solosater

btw, it is the 17th century not the 18th, she was just so tired and all...