Children in Venice occupy space in ways that defy the usual order. They perceive it differently, crafting their own rules long before they are taught to be contained, straightened, or acquainted with the idea of negotiation, of watching out. In this city, where every step is a conversation with the stones beneath, children on foot are slow-moving, easily wearied. Yet, they are granted a unique privilege—the only ones permitted to reclaim the freedom of two wheels, whether pushed, pulled, or autonomously propelled.
This special allowance transforms their experience, multiplying and enhancing the space they cover. They surpass others, moving at a pace and within a space reserved just for them. And when they are not in motion, they spill into the pavement, unafraid to sit down in the very middle of what others consider a street, a motorway even. Here, they are free—playing, gathering, moving—turning the city into a landscape of their own making.
“We don’t use the scooter every day, even though it’s indeed the only way to get them to move faster.” – Mother with her 5-year-old daughter
“I pick him up from school, and because we’re always in a rush and he tends to go where he wants, I often have to drag him.” – Young man with his 5-year-old cousin
“They don’t really like walking. Scooter, yes; bicycle, yes; walking, not so much. That’s really the only instance in which I have to pull them.” – Mother with a 3-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son
“Luckily, I don’t have to monitor them at every step. I can let them be on their scooter and just keep a loose eye on them. Without cars, they have more freedom to roam and be independent.” – Mother with her 4-year-old son
Shaping Spaces is a series investigating the ever-elusive idea of space and the concept of enoughness in relation to life in Venice. By observing how we exist within it—we, all of us: locals and visitors, young and old, individuals and the collective, fast- and slow-moving bodies and objects—we can, on one hand, begin to grasp its underlying paradigms, the silent rules that govern it; and on the other, shift our perception and, perhaps, our way of inhabiting it. Read more.
Words by Valeria Necchio | Photos by Giacomo Gandola
