Provost Emma Flynn: Exploring the Warwick Venice Centre and experiencing the Historical Regatta
An invitation to the Venice Historical Regatta – a rowing event dating back to the second half of the 13th century – was an opportunity for Professor Emma Flynn, our Provost, to not only strengthen Warwick’s relationship with Ca’ Foscari (University of Venice), but also to witness our brilliant Warwick Venice Centre in action. In this blog, she shares her experience.
“We haven’t seen a car in three days”. This inconsequential remark, made by my 16-year-old daughter, brought home the uniqueness of Venice, beyond the spectacular vistas and the overwhelming sense of time and history which permeates the city.
At Warwick we thrive on the exchange of ideas across disciplines, sectors and borders – and so we have invested in building extensive partnerships, regionally, nationally and internationally. It is this strategic focus that means we have a base in Venice, close to our partners in Europe, especially Ca’ Foscari, University of Venice.
Our collaboration with Ca’ Foscari has existed for a long time, extending beyond research and educational collaborations. This is how I found myself with an invitation from the Rector of Ca’ Foscari to travel to the Historical Regatta in Venice, where a team of Warwick rowers were set to compete against the Universities of Zurich, Bari Aldo Moro and Ca’ Foscari in the International Universities Boat Challenge.
The Historical Regatta
The Historical Regatta is a significant event in the Venetian calendar, with a procession of boats along the Grand Canal and an afternoon of races. It is televised, and the banks of the Grand Canal are filled with people in boats, on balconies, and in bars, watching the event.
For the first time, the universities-led segment of the Regatta had women-only teams. Our nine-person team was amazing and demonstrated the best of Warwick. Their collegiality to each other, to the other teams and to the organisers was exemplary; when asked for two or three volunteers from each team to row the boats over to the race site after the heats, our whole team volunteered to help out. After a hot and challenging set of heats, this was no minor offer.
The rowers had never rowed as a team before, and none of them had rowed these types of boats. Despite this, it was a close competition against the University of Zurich for second place across the four teams. We were just pipped at the post, which meant the team was in Final B against the University of Bari Aldo Moro in the Regatta.
My daughter and I were able to stand on the balcony of Ca’ Foscari University and look in both directions: left towards the Rialto bridge, where the race started, and right to Ponte dell'Accademia, one of Venice’s famous bridges. We cheered as a happy but exhausted rowing team won their final race. I wonder if the rowers will ever compete in a more spectacular location. To add to the sense of community of the event, some of the rowers had travelled to Venice with their families, some of whom were Warwick alumni.
Exploring our Warwick Venice Centre
My trip to Venice meant that I was also able to see our base in the city, and experience in person what I had only heard about in the abstract at planning meetings. Warwick Venice Centre resides in a 17th century building that sits on the Grand Canal, so you can arrive on foot or by boat. I learnt that use of the Centre isn’t simply attractive to the Arts departments but that meetings have been held across all faculties, as well as interdisciplinary meetings.
When I happened to glance up during my discussion, I realised why. The breathtaking fresco on the ceiling of the meeting room I happened to be in represented so much of what we want to achieve here: a creative, inspiring environment to motivate people to come together to exchange ideas and address complex challenges. It provides ‘space’ both physically and mentally. Space not simply for Warwick scholars, but also to bring together those all-important partners.
