Between the Houses
in Venice
When we think of Venice, we think of water. We think of spectacle — domes, reflections, boats gliding like theatre. But what if Venice is most itself where no one is looking?
I took this photograph in a narrow passage between two houses. Brick against brick. Light caught mid-morning. Laundry stretched across the sky like quiet flags of daily life.
There is something deeply human about the space between buildings. It is where conversations echo. Where footsteps soften. Where ordinary life continues without performance. The sea gives Venice its fame. But the alleys give Venice its soul.
And I wonder. Where, in our own lives, is the “between”? Not the grand announcement. Not the public success. But the unseen corridors where real living unfolds.
Venice does not only rise from water. It rises from these quiet, human spaces.
Perhaps we should all take more photographs between the houses.
Rebecca
Thank you for the restack @Paula Bardell-Hedley. Have a great weekend.
Oh, I know exactly what you mean. In my childhood I lived In Brooklyn, NY and I loved the alleys between buildings, even if they were not as picturesque as those in Venice - or maybe they were, just in a different way. The shade from the buildings, the emergence on the other side onto a different street, the wash hanging on lines, the cooking sounds from the windows. Secretive, too. Thank you for reminding me.