Find Phileas
Chapter 12
In search of another original flavour, Phileas dives right in
In search of another original flavour, Phileas dives right in
Phileas' spirits were instantly lifted by the glorious sight of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice's most imposing landmark at the gateway of the Grand Canal. He remembered the words of Henry James who likened the Baroque church to "some great lady on the threshold of her salon…with her domes and scrolls, her scalloped buttresses and statues forming a pompous crown and her wide steps disposed on the ground like the train of a robe".
This romantic reverie was interrupted by a sound so deep and loud that Phileas almost fell out of the vessel. He had drifted out into the main water channel of the lagoon and the passenger ferry to the lido was giving him an urgent reminder of Venice's maritime pecking order. Gondolas were made for the shallow and narrow waterways of the city and not the choppier waters of the lagoon. As Phileas steered the gondola back towards San Marco it began to rock from side to side, a problem created entirely by his panicky punting and the frantic way in which he continued looking over his shoulder towards the ferry, as if he was being chased by some giant man-eating shark.
Up ahead, in front of La Pieta church, he could see a line of gondoliers, their legs hanging over the edge of the walled path, their gondolas moored in the waters below. They were waving their arms above their heads and animatedly beckoning Phileas towards them. For some reason known only to himself, Phileas counted each stroke aloud. It took 645 of them to reach the safety of the wall, where he crashed, ungraciously, into the collection of gondolas. Phileas was hauled up an old metal ladder by a number of the gondoliers including Mario, the young man who'd lent him the boat. The gondoliers were shouting at each other and at Phileas in a way that was both menacing and caring. Clearly they were wondering what this interloper was doing in one of their craft and Phileas could make out the odd Italian phrase and roughly decipher what they were saying. Had he stolen it? Who had lent it to him? Should they call the Police? Should they call an ambulance? Was he insane? Who had brought the salami and where was the prosecco?
Mario, who was standing apart from the rest of the boatman, was looking decidedly flushed and sheepish. Suddenly he caught Phileas' eye, winked, then pointed towards Phileas' bare feet and let out a loud exclamation. Immediately the whole group fell silent and stared intently at the Englishman's pale big feet. One by one they got the gag and began to either smile or shout vehemently at Mario. Mythology had it that gondoliers had webbed feet and consequently could never drown. Mario was suggesting that Phileas was indeed one of them, a "made you look" schoolboy joke that each one of them had fallen for.
Mario quickly volunteered to escort the 'stranger' back to the safety of the city's canals and practically hurled Phileas down the ladder and back into his gondola. Before 'pushing off' Mario shouted to one of his colleagues, who after a little persuasion, passed him a small waxed paper parcel. Mario handed it on to Phileas'.
As they glided past the house where Henry James once wrote and Monet had painted, Mario looked over his shoulder at Phileas, smiled and gestured for him to open the parcel. Inside Phileas found two large bruschetta topped with buffalo mozzarella, parma ham and lots of freshly torn basil. Phileas took one and handed the other back to Mario, who miraculously managed to punt the gondola with one hand whilst eating with the other. "More inspiration for more recipes" thought Phileas, "and another tale for the grandchildren."
Q: What is the proper name of the house which Phileas passes as he opens his lunch?