Venice on the clothesline
Venice on the clothesline does not have its own chapter in the guidebooks, but to me it ranges among the major attractions of the lagoon city.
Ask any Italian housewife and she will tell you that mechanical driers are a menace designed to ruin the fabric of your clothes. Even the spin in the washing machine should be avoided which explains why the RPM of my Danish washing machine is double as fast my Italian washer.
From an Italian point of view laundry should be washed at high temperatures with lots of detergent and hung outside to air and dry. The laundry is not a statement against global warming, but a sign of good housekeeping, which is all very well when you don’t need to worry about a cold, rainy climate.
Pictures of washing hung out to dry In Venice and the surrounding islands.
Tell-tale signs of family status
To me the outdoor clotheslines have become a symbol of Italy. Especially old cities like Naples and Venice where colourful garlands of socks and shirt sleeves crisscross the narrow alleys or ‘calle’ that mark the paved back entrance of the houses, while the front door face the canals. Along house fronts strands of laundry connect the windows belonging to one apartment allowing a glimpse of the tenants’ private life to be visible in public. It is not hard to deduct age, family size and social status from the items on a clothesline.
That makes clothesline studies so highly entertaining and recommendable as one of the characteristic and free Venice sights.
I can never get enough clothesline shots. I love them and personally I much prefer how the clothes smell if they’ve been dried outdoors.
Yes, the Italian housewives do have a point. Proper airing makes a difference.
Fun post and creative theme.
Thank you:)
So true! I’m glad you chose the clotheslines in Venice – I am happy about any sign that there is live in the city, and not just tourists…
That’s a good point:)
Quintessentially Italian, aren’t they…
Though I’m old enough to remember clothes lines here in Scandinavia, too (or clothes carousels). Still see them occasionally in summer.
We still have them in Denmark, though you don’t see clothes hanging outside apartment blocks anymore.
I have fond memories of clothes hanging out to dry in the Philippines growing up. I don’t remember having any clothesline shots in Venice but have quite a few in Burano. I may have been too busy admiring Venice’s doors and windows. Fun post, Mette!
Thanks. Maybe we should do a blog carnival on clothes drying around the world some day?
The clotheslines make Venice more colorful. I think I should already stop using my washing machine and drier. ;)
Good idea. Though it makes living in a cold, rainy climate seem even more unfair.
What a fun post! I think you can tell a lot by a person’s laundry which is why I hang mine hidden on my balcony. My washing machine in Germany is also much slower than mine was in Canada.
Interesting thought, Laurel. I mean, we blog about our innermost thoughts, but won’t the neighbours see our knickers:)
Clothesline sightseeing – that’s such a unique angle! Although I use a dryer, I love the feel and smell of clothes dried on the line better than those dried in a dryer. I’d like to invite you to link up every Wednesday on my blog for Wanderlust Wednesdays. You can submit at the link below.
Thank you for the comment and the generous invitation. I’d love to link up, but I am really pressed for time at the moment.
Never seen this perspective on Venice before. Love seeing a little of the “local” culture in such a touristy city.
Twisting views is always a challenge wherever you go, and particularly in a much loved city like Venice.