Visitors to the Venice Biennale will get to taste coffee made with canal water this spring
Ever strolled along the Thames and thought that lovely brown water would make a solid flat white? Or sipped a café au lait and pondered whether it lacked the Seine flavour? No, neither have we.
But it's time to open your minds, folks, as this year at the Venice Biennale, coffee aficionados will have the chance to sample espresso made with water straight from the city's canals.
Yes, you read that right. As reported by the New York Times, an offbeat project at this year's Architecture Biennale will invite visitors to literally get a flavour of Venice in the form of a coffee made with water straight from the lagoon.
But don't fret – espresso cups aren't being dunked into the canals willy-nilly. Instead, the Canal Café, a project by New York-based design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro, will be utilising some pretty swanky-sounding tech to purify canal water before our very eyes.
The project was first thought up in 2008, but it's taken until 2025 for it to actually materialise thanks to the development of more advanced filtration systems.
So, how will it work exactly? Well, the café will be installed outside and water will be drawn directly from the Arsenale Lagoon through clear pipes and split into two streams: one will be treated through reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection, the other biologically through a 'micro-wetland' of salt-tolerant plants. Sciency, right?
After that, the two streams of water will re-join each other and – get this – Michelin-starred chef Davide Oldani will sample the combination and alter it to produce a distinct local flavour, as well as selecting the coffee blend to 'deliver the most authentically Venetian taste'.
The project is 'about combining the sort of pleasure of drinking beautiful espresso while also thinking about the complexity that it takes to actually have potable water,' said Elizabeth Diller, co-founder of the studio. 'I will drink the first cup of espresso, and I will be the guinea pig.'
The Canal Café can be found at the back of Arsenale, Venice's former shipyard and one of the Biennale's main sites.
Venice and climate change
Due to rising sea levels, Venice's MOSE system, which was installed to protect the city from storm surges, will likely become obsolete in years to come, and some scientists predict that Venice itself will be entirely underwater by 2150.
Carlo Ratti, director of the 2025 Biennale, said that Venice won't just be facing the challenge of too much water, but will also have to grapple with ensuring there is enough clean, drinkable water.
'We could say that the project is a prototype of the global dilemmas we face in a time of increased climate change when our infrastructures must adapt,' he said.
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Wales Online
41 minutes ago
- Wales Online
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Daily Mail
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A former mafia boss has discussed 10 of the lines described as the best ever from gangster films. Michael Franzese, who is originally from New York and served as a caporegime in the Colombo crime family, is now a motivational speaker, TV personality and content creator. He has a YouTube channel where he regularly speaks candidly about the crime organisation and life afterwards. In a recent video, the father-of-seven read an article titled The 10 Best Quotes in Gangster Movies, Ranked published by Collider, and offered his thoughts on the lines presented in the piece. Speaking about the piece, Mr Franzese said: 'There are so many great quotes from so many of the mob movies that most of you are familiar with. 'I came across an article, and I want to talk about 10 of the greatest quotes according to this article, from all the different mob movies. 'Some of you are going to disagree with that. Some of you are going to agree. I have my own opinion, but it's a good article. 'I think you're going to enjoy it. Let's go through it. Let's face it, you know, many of these mob movies, they're just iconic, and some of the lines that come out of them and the way they're delivered are just great. They stick with you.' 10. 'You don't keep a man waiting. The only time you do is when you want to say something. When you want to say f*** you.' (The Irishman, 2019) Speaking about this quote in his video, Mr Franzese said: 'How many of you right now can guess where that line came from? I could because I love the scene.' The line is from the 2019 movie The Irishman directed by Martin Scorsese. Describing the scene the line is in, Mr Franzese said: 'Al Pacino played Jimmy Hoffa [...] I thought he was brilliant.' The scene shows mobster Anthony Provenzano (Stephen Graham) meeting with Hoffa and his employee Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro). Provenzano is late - something Hoffa despises. As the two men wait for his arrival, Hoffa says to Sheeran: 'You don't keep a man waiting. The only time you do is when you want to say something. When you want to say f*** you.' 9. 'You slap me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize.' (Angels with Dirty Faces, 1938) Many contemporary film fans may remember a very similar line from Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, but the original came from 1938 classic Angels with Dirty Faces. 'You slap me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize,' said Mr Franzese of the line. 'Think about that [...] What a gangster, gangster quote that is [...] if you haven't seen [the film, it's]. It's in black and white, but Cagney was brilliant back then. Different kind of way they carried themselves. 'It wasn't really mob mafia type. It was just a gangster [...] an old school gangster movie that still holds up well, benefiting from the fact that it stars the likes of James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, of course.' 8. Policeman: 'What's in the car?' Turkish: 'Seats and a steering wheel.' (Snatch, 2000) Describing Guy Ritchie as a 'brilliant' director, Mr Franzese said his style is defined by 'fast paced editing, bursts of shocking violence, numerous characters, all interacting in unpredictable ways, and lots of dark humor, all qualities that are apparent in the movie snatch, great movie'. Describing the exchange between a policeman and the character Turkish (played by Jason Statham), in which the policeman asks what is in the car, and Statham's character replies that there is a steering wheel and seats, Franzese saiid: 'It's [Statham's] unique style and voice and overall bluntness that really sells it. So go see Snatch.' 7. 'One of us had to die. With me, it tends to be the other guy'. (The Departed, 2006) Martin Scorsese's 2006 remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs marks the only time the celebrated director and top actor Jack Nicholson worked together - a partnership which yielded on screen gold. In the movie, Nicholson's character Frank Costello was based on the real life notorious gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger. Speaking about Costello's line: 'One of us had to die. With me, it tends to be the other guy,' Mr Franzese said many gangsters are funny in real life. He said: 'They don't even know they're funny [...]Guys on the street are funny, I got to tell you.' 6. 'I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.' (The Godfather, 1972) Speaking about this cinematic classic, the former mobster said: 'Everybody and their brother knows this line. And of course, it was brilliant [...] Obviously we know who that was brilliant, brilliant film. 'You can't really talk about iconic gangster movies without at least briefly bringing up the Godfather.' He added: 'Corleone is obviously a character for the ages, no doubt, demonstrating charisma, loyalty, empathy and ruthlessness, sometimes all within one scene. How do you pull that off, all those emotions in one scene? And [actor Marlon Brando] pulled it off brilliantly.' 5. 'Made it, Ma! Top of the world!' (White Heat, 1949) Describing White Heat as a 'final and explosive last hurrah for the Golden Age of Hollywood gangster movie', Mr Franzese described the film as 'arguably James Cagney's best gangster movie', adding that is 'really saying something'. The line, which comes at the climax of the film, marks the final words of Cagney's character, before he is killed. Simply summing up the picture, Mr Franzese said: 'Gangster film, brilliant movie.' 4. 'From now on, I want you to put an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin.' (Casino, 1995) Casino is another picture helmed by American Italian auteur Martin Scorsese - often considered the greatest living director. Robert De Niro plays Sam 'Ace' Rothstein in the picture, which tells the story of the mob's involvement in the development of Las Vegas. While overseeing the daily operations of a major casino, Rothstein gets angry with a chef because one muffin is full of blueberries and another only has a few. He orders the chef to ensure there is an 'equal amount of blueberries in each muffin' - a task the chef says will take hours. The line represents the controlling nature and perfectionism of De Niro's character. Mr Franzese said of the film: 'As a consumer, and a guy that loves blueberry muffins, I'd be a little upset if there wasn't enough blueberries in my muffin. 'So I think that was a good line. It made sense, but it was delivered like a true gangster. Love it.' 3. 'So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you.' (Scarface, 1983) 'Everybody knows this,' Mr Franzese said of this line from Scarface. The picture stars Al Pacino as a Cuban refugee who comes to America and becomes a major player in the criminal world. Speaking about the quote, which takes place when Montana causes a scene in a restaurant, Mr Franzese describes the performance as his best. He also noted another very famous line from the talkie: 'Say hello to my little friend.' 'Unbelievable movie,' said the former mafioso. 'That was the way it ended, when he's fighting [...] Just a brilliant movie.' 2. 'I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to f****** amuse you?' (Goodfellas, 1990) Another exceptional film directed by Martin Scorsese is Goodfellas, based on the memoire of real-life character Henry Hill. In fact, Michael Franzese is himself name checked in the movie. During an early scene in a bar, where the camera pans past a number of characters, narrator Henry Hill (played by the late Ray Liotta) names them. One of the characters, referred to as 'Michael Francesi' is, in fact, representative of Michael Franzese. While the movie is packed full of quotable lines, one of the most popular scenes features the volatile and unpredictable character Tommy DeVito (played by Joe Pesci). In it, Henry laughs when Tommy says something amusing. This becomes a terse interchange in which Tommy asks Henry if he sees him as a clown, there simply to amuse him, before finally laughing and revealing he was just teasing. Because of Tommy's mercurial and violent nature, the characters around him grow increasingly tense, unsure of whether he is being serious. Mr Franzese said of the line: 'It is legendary, unbelievable. Come on, think about that line. Funny how think about and [...] it was a joke, but look at how everybody got scared because they knew what kind of a maniac he was. Was he going to get up and shoot Henry Hill at that point? What was he going to do? Was he going to knock the table over, throw the glasses over? It was all. Nobody knew what he was going to do. 'And all of a sudden, the way, he broke [...] into that line [...] And then, of course, they break out in laughter.' He added: 'Brilliant line. There were other brilliant lines in that film, but Joe Pesci, he is the typical gangster without a doubt.' 1. 'I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies.' (The Godfather: Part II, 1974) The second instalment in the Godfather saga saw the further corruption of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) as he inherited his father Vito's empire. Speaking about the line, which Corleone said to his consigliere Tom, Mr Franzese noted how it highlighted how Corleone ended up alienated from everyone because of his own lifestyle. He also spoke about how the line resonated with his own life experience, describing how his father's commitment to the lifestyle affected his family. He said: 'You know the reason people, I say the mob life is an evil lifestyle - and I'm not calling the men evil, I'm calling the mob life bad and evil - is because families get destroyed. 'The families have made members get destroyed, and at the end of the day, guys end up in prison with nobody you know, or they end up dead, or they end up broke, or they end up everybody being alienated from them. It happens very often. Any lifestyle [...] that causes that to a family, is a bad lifestyle. 'It's something that I realized. I experienced it with my own family that was destroyed because of my father's involvement in that life. So I get it. I really get what was being said there.'
