Venice is a city to walk in, because it is a city with an inner core of islands linked to each other by bridges over the canals. The famous philosopher Jean Paul Sartre walked here together with the writer Simone de Beauvoir. In their private letters you can read that they walked around Venice in the evenings and nights talking, and that they then had breakfast at Caffe Florian in St. Mark’s Square. Which they loved to do. My husband and I are also going there to have breakfast. When we walk, I think about the city.
The author Simone de Beauvoir and the city of Venice both served as muses for Jean-Paul Sartre, and it is said that he formulated many of his thoughts on existentialism right there in Venice. The two probably walked here, discussing different topics lively. Sartre believed that we humans control our own destiny, that we have a responsibility for our lives and the choices we make. Philosophical existentialism was seen as a reaction against traditional philosophy, looking at life from the “inside” through individual and lived experience. A core theme is the anxiety of knowing about the responsibility of one’s own actions. Sartre wrote that we are “condemned to be free.” Each individual is free to choose and shape their own destiny — a theory that has not gone unchallenged but which attracted a lot of attention in its time.
Jean Paul Sartre said that the city of Venice, left him “in a constant struggle with himself”. What Sartre advocated was that man should live an authentic life and dare to go against the flow. I think about this, when I walk around the city. Is it easier to follow a rule book than to follow your own heart? Is it easier to leave decision-making to some one else, than to consider and make your own decisions? In some cases, the line between what we consider good or evil is clear. But sometimes moral and philosophical dilemmas can challenge us. But no matter what we do, we make a choice. Even not making a choice is making a choice. There is a great responsibility that we have over our lives, but also a freedom, according to Sartre.
Every word has consequence. So does every silence.
Paul Sartre
It is quick to walk around the most famous places in the city: St. Mark’s Square, Piazza del Duomo, the Sea of Sighs. Venice is famous for its gondola rides, but there are also other local boats to take if you get tired of making your way through all the tourists.
Traveling is meeting not only other people but also other thoughts and perspectives on life. To be able to live together on this planet, in the best way, we need to try to understand each other. In Sartre’s extensialism, an independent person is the goal.
Venice is a much-loved city. Many return. I have been to Venice several times myself. There are more famous people associated with the city than the philosopher Sartre. Marco Polo, the famous explorer, where from Venice. He wrote about his travels to China. Venice also has its own theater man, Carlo Goldoni, a Venetian playwright who wrote several famous Italian comedies. Speaking of theatre, William Shakespeare wrote a play called “The Merchant of Venice”. The play is about the merchant Antonio who goes on bail with his own person, when his best friend Bassanio needs money. It is a play that has been played in many theaters all over the world and also made in to a movie.
The very first time I was in Venice, we took a boat over to the Vivaldi Church and listened to “The Four Seasons” by the famous Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi. Magical. You can listen to Vivaldi’s concerts in the Vivaldi Church or at the La Fenice opera house. If you are in Venice, you should. I recommend three things if you are in Venice. Take a long walk and think about life, listen to a Vivaldi concert and have breakfast at Cafe Florian.
Can you fall in love with a city? If so, I did. When you go by boat at dusk on the canals and the moon is shining, Venice is like a beautiful theater or a film set that floats by on the water. Maybe Sartre felt the same thing, thought the same way. Here, it feels like we are all in the middle of a film shoot, like having the main role in your own film — your own life as a film. Imagine that we can all be the main characters in our own films at the same time. What an opportunity, what a responsibility, and what a freedom. I walked around Venice and thought: Where in my film am I right now? And if I toy with the idea that I am writing the plot for the movie of my life — what would I like to see happening next?
He who never leaves his country is full of prejudices.
Carlo Goldoni