Saca de la Toleta, Venice, Italy - 29th October 2026

I love Venice and this is the third time I have visited. A lot of people come for the art, the history or the wine. I come for the sound. In the absence of roads and the motor car, sound travels differently in Venice. Boundaries are broken with domestic sounds being audible outside, and public sounds being heard in private places. Sounds are more localised due smaller public places in alley ways and squares. And I think individual sounds appear clearer due to the lack of traffic din that usually muddies the soundscapes of other cities. In this recording my travelling companion heard the sound of an oboe being played in a room above the alley way of Saca de la Toleta, in the district of Dorsoduro. We positioned ourselves beneath the window for around 10 minutes, to finish off eating out street pizza, and to admire the beautiful juxtaposition of oboe practice from above, and passersby at close quarters below.