Last Updated on 7 February 2024 by Vanessa
Venice in Italy has plenty of places where the most beautiful cats pose against a backdrop of picturesque alleys and canals. You just have to know where to find them.
One of these wonderful spots is Ponte Storto in Venice’s Castello neighborhood, a residential area in the east of the city. Here, you will have the chance to meet the three Maine Coon cats Sadhna, Felix, and Rudolf.
Meet the Maine Coon cats of Ponte Storto in Venice
Sadhna, Felix, and Rudolf
Sadhna and Felix proudly take the roles of mom and dad, while their adorable baby son, originally named Ciumpo, now goes by the name Rudolf.
“They were the first cats I photographed in Venice,” photographer Marianna Zampieri told Traveling Cats.
“I took so many photos of these extraordinary creatures that I thought I’d ask more information about them through Facebook. It was the start of my project Cats in Venice, a series of books and calendars that denote the feline heritage of the city through pictures and stories that link individual cats to places where it is easy to find them.”
Zampieri goes on saying: “I still go cuddle these cats whenever I can. They truly own the place. They are perfect models, spoiled by passersby, and never in need of love and affection. They only add to the beauty of Ponte Storto.”
Cats in Venice
In the collective imagination, Venice is linked to cats.
“When I went on trips as a child, there were so many cats, even unkempt ones. Then there was a containment and care effort by the DingoVenezia association,” says Zampieri. Now in Venice, you find well-cared-for, nourished cats with owners.
“The absence of cars in Venice allows me to find a concentration of outdoor cats. Most of them are calm, so they let me get close. Also, I really like to set the photos in a way that you can recognize the city in the background. Venice in black and white photos represents the ideal environment for me.”
“Taking black and white photos may be unusual for photographing animals, but this is a passion project, not a commission. I chose black and white because I like the idea that a photo can be seen ten years from now and not be dated. Venice is a timeless city and lends itself to my black and white photos, and there is more spirituality in the images. Additionally, black and white eliminates distractions and focuses all attention on the subject. I know that choosing to photograph animals in this way is unusual, but it’s my personal taste.”
Photographing cats
Following the adoption of Zampieri’s cat Hartur, she started, with her phone always in hand, taking pictures of the house cat until her husband gave her a DSLR. That’s when she began to venture out, always in search of cats. From that moment, her passion for cat photography exploded.
“Photography is a language to express what I see and feel in felines,” Zampieri explains. “I really enjoy being behind the camera and having the opportunity to meet a lot of cats.”
“What strikes me the most is their independence; cats always do what they want. The relationship with a feline is never guaranteed – it is built day by day, almost on equal terms. Photographing a cat is a challenge with myself. Each time, I don’t know what opportunities I will have, what I will be able to capture, or how much time the cat I will allow me to take a photo.”
“I always take the first photo from a distance to see how the animal reacts to the sound of the camera. Being stared at by a lens is like having a big eye scrutinizing them,” Zampieri explains.
“After a while, I slowly try to approach to understand how far I can go. In most cases, cats allow me to get closer. Some don’t give me time to take a picture because as soon as I crouch down to their level, they come to rub against me to be petted. For the more reserved cats, I use the phone cord, moving it to attract attention. It’s a game I propose to initiate contact, a pretext to get closer. Sometimes I make noise with rings and see if the cat likes to play.”
Where to find the cats of Venice?
“I usually go to Venice once a week, on Saturdays – mostly alone because cats don’t want to be surrounded by many people,” Zampieri explains.
“The biggest difficulty is finding the cats: I usually go where their presence has been reported. I started by asking Facebook groups for indications on areas where I could find them. Then I collected reports of places frequented by a certain cat and marked them on Google Maps.
“Unfortunately, the cat is not always present in the expected place, even if the owners live there. Now that the Cats in Venice project is better known, owners themselves contact me to have their cat photographed. The problem sometimes is that I only have the story but not the photo of the cat. For example, I’ve been looking for the same cat for over a year. Apparently, it moves a lot and doesn’t stay still in one place. Everyone has photographed it except me. If I manage to take its picture, you’ll hear me scream with joy.”
Did you like Marianna Zampieri’s photo series featuring the giant Maine Coon cats of Venice’s Ponte Storto?
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Check out these other feline-inspired photo series by Marianna Zampieri:
- Acqua Alta bookstore – These cats have made the prettiest book haven of Venice their playground!
- Cat Sound Studio in Badia Polesine – Where music and cats converge!
- Meet Leo, the “feline manager” of the Oliveti stationary store in Vicenza
- Visit Classense Library in Ravenna and its three adorable cats
- Meet Matisse, the Scottish Fold of Vicenza’s beauty salon and barber shop
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