Guadeloupe, Zurich, Melbourne, Venice: this summer The duty trip… to Quebec and Ontario! First report of a series on these villages here whose name is best known for their international cousins.
Venice-in-Quebec. The name refers to the sweet life of the Adriatic Sea or the splendors of Saint Mark’s Square. The Quebec village, even without a sublime ancient building and rather located on the shores of Lake Champlain, turns out to be a high place of idleness and even hides a real gondola.
The nickname “Venice of the North” goes to several cities around the world. Stockholm, Bruges and Saint Petersburg all share this nickname for the same reason: they were erected among canals. Conversely, the village of Venise-en-Québec assumes the name, but does not have any waterways as such. A dive into the village archives brings the appellation back to the year 1892. A small post office named “Venice” is recorded in the vicinity of the large bay located at the very north of Lake Champlain. So there was once a stopover between New York and Montreal.
The name “Venice” nevertheless reflects the importance of water for the municipality. Each spring, the melting snow floods the swamps that border its northern shore and the passage is cracked by streams, making the image of Venice dangle to those who have never seen Italy.
Today, a low cement wall surrounds what is called the bay of Venice. The creek arms have been backfilled with a meter of rocks and earth, and the channels have disappeared. We must now venture further inland to see more. But the name stuck.
Like the real Venice, the vitality of the village of Venise-en-Québec is based on tourism. In 1950, when Quebec formalized the Italianate toponym for its brand new municipality, an aura of resort was already radiating there.
A certain “Château Blanc” has been in business since 1933, and the balls held there will be the heyday of the first Venetian people. People come from afar to dance to the rhythm of Classels, Claude Blanchard, Ti-Blanc Richard or to make fun of Léo Rivest’s burlesque.
Some rumors associate the institution with the underworld. The corner, it is true, was a “hesting spot” for smugglers during the era of prohibition in the United States.
A major fire at the “Château de Venise” in 1973 sounded the death knell for that era. Long quiet decades followed, until the arrival of a new mayor, Jacques Landry, in 2005. “The reputation was gone. There was a letting go, ”confides to the To have to the newly retired man.
The Renaissance
With the help of equally motivated fellow citizens, Jacques Landry restored the image of his village. He relies on the evocative name of the municipality to capture attention. For a time, he considered replacing this name with “Venise-sur-le-Lac” in order to “give a boost”, but ended up abandoning the idea.
He throws out of the city certain shady groups who still spawn in the area. He bought, with others, the important buildings. And to play on the Italian pastiche, he offers his village a gondola. A real gondola.
“The shell arrived completely pierced. With a citizen, we worked on it for a whole winter,” he says. Electric motor, sound, light and canopy were then added to the machine to ensure modern fun. “We only play music from Italy,” emphasizes Mr. Landry, who is still very active in his community.
The boat has been stored for a few years, but thanks to increased tourism, with a little luck, it will be possible to see it on the waves of Lake Champlain this summer, assures Mr. Landry. “We are back in service this year! »
In the absence of a gondola, visitors can also admire Lake Champlain from a pontoon. John Sauro, a wildlife management biologist, takes us for a ride.
Wedged in his almost new boat, he boasts of the 90 species of fish found in the lake, including 60 only on the Quebec side.
The great Richelieu valley has nearly 300 different species of birds, explains the environmentalist. “We are at the southern limit of northern species and at the northern limit of southern species,” he explains. This is also why the Missisquoi region bears this name, the term meaning in Abenaki “where the aquatic birds are found”.
By canoe in the canals
Just like the real Venice, Venise-en-Québec occasionally finds itself with its feet in the water, sometimes even up to its knees.
The snowy winter and rainy spring of 2011 had notably caused historic flooding. The immemorial canals of Venise-en-Québec had reappeared right in the middle of the village.
From this sad and tiring spring some keep some happier memories. Pranksters had taken out their canoes to move on the water in the middle of the city.
This acqua-alta untimely had nevertheless forced the mobilization of the army and the entire political class. The damage was mopped up, but the bill amounted to several million dollars.
The threat of flooding is never far away for local residents. When passing the To have to in the municipality, a vast pond lay in the middle of the town, the result of a gloomy spring.
Another rebirth
Venise-en-Québec is now at the gates of a new renaissance, the pandemic having revived the appeal of the countryside.
More than 300 home transactions were concluded last year in the municipality of 2,000 inhabitants, a record. The overflow of builders’ appetite has even forced the town hall to prohibit the construction of new buildings in certain districts, because the sewer and the aqueduct are saturated.
The new mayor, Raymond Paquette, intends to take up the challenge of growth. If it was once necessary to invest in advertising to attract tourists, this era is over, he says, the popularity of this corner of the country being well established. He now cherishes the idea of attracting telecommuting families.
It is also worth noting the presence of several snowbirds in the area, attracted by the warmth of this municipality located at the southern tip of Quebec. Some even call Venise-en-Québec the “Florida of Quebec”, points out Jacques Landry. “But there is also a Venice in Florida. It should not be confused ! »