Took the high speed train from Rome to Venice on Wednesday, May 20th and it took about four hours. The thing that amazes about about the high speed trains here in Europe, is that you look up and realize the train is going 247 km. per hour and yet doesn't seem that way and is also very smooth. What a civilized way to travel.
The City of Venice is completely surrounded by water and the city's shape can be compared to a big fish. It's character is shaped by two very different modes of transport - waterways and routes accessible by foot. It is made up of 118 small islands separated by canals and connected by bridges. It has six districts (sestieri). These are Dorsoduru (what we look onto from our apartment), San Marco, Castello, San Polo, Sante Croce and Cannaregio. The City as well as it's lagoon are listed on the Unesco World Heritage list.....tick, another one off that list!
As far as history is concerned, the Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. A staging area for the Crusades, it was also an important centre of commerce, especially for silk, grain and rice. Venice has been a wealthy city for most of it's history. A major centre for art, symphonic and operatic music (birthplace of Vivaldi). The administration of Venice was headed by a Doge, an elected leader whose powers were clearly defined by a constitution. Real power lay with The Council of Ten and the two thousand members of the Grand Council (does this sound like our Parliament?) . The council was normally made up of aristocracy and merchants, who made up the wealthy class. Apparently one Doge was beheaded for plotting to become absolute leader.
I have always been curious in regards to the construction of Venice, considering the buildings float on water. The buildings are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles. Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on plates of Istrian limestone placed on top of the piles,and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay. Submerged by water, in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not decay as rapidly as on the surface. (Who knew, this could be on the quiz!). They use alder for the pilings, as this is supposed to be the best type of wood for this purpose. Most of the alder is supplied from Slovenia. I thought this was interesting, as on this trip we will be visiting both the Istria Peninsula and Slovenia.
The sight of Venice when one first arrives is really quite amazing. Once we arrive at the Santa Lucia railway station we disembark on the steps of the Grand Canal "The Canalazzo". I see the canal teeming with vaporetti, launches, barges, water taxis and the Calatrava pedestrian bridge crossing the Canal (didn't get a picture of this one, darn, but an ancient one pictured below) quite something to take in. Calatrava is the Spanish architect who built the Peace Bridge in our hometown of Calgary. We have also seen his bridges ...the "Puente de la Mujer" in Bueno Aires and the "James Joyce Bridge" in Dublin.
Took a Vaporetto to the Island of Giudecca. It is classified as one of the Lagoon Islands and it faces Venice. Our apartment, for the next four nights, is located in an old grain mill which was built in 1895. At it's height it engaged 1,500 people and produced 2,500 quintals of flour per day and also used as a pasta factory. A quintal you say! It is a unit of weight equivalent of 100 kg. This is starting to sound like Jeapordy, but I will not be dishing out any prizes, sorry folks, gotta to pay for the travels! The factory closed in 1955. In 2007, after being completely renovated, one half of the building opened as the Hilton Hotel and the other half is individually owned apartments. We are able to use the free Vaporetto that the Hilton runs to get back and forth to Venice.
Thursday, May 21st and once again we set out with no real agenda. I think we much prefer wandering the narrow lanes, just coming across life in general. Having said this, we do make a point is seeing the important historic sites. We take the Vaporetto across to the Dorsoduro district and start walking. Before we know it, we have already crossed three or four pedestrian bridges. We cross one of the only four bridges crossing the Grand Canal, the Academia Bridge, which was built out of wood in 1932. Although we passed the Academia galleria, we do plan on returning to visit. Beautiful Palazzo's all along this part of the Grand Canal. We have now crossed into the San Marco district.
Above picture is the two of us starting off our day, coats came off quite soon! Robin waiting for the Vaporetto and Claire on the Rialto Bridge.
We wind our way along the lanes, viewing the many shops. Some very high end shops selling beautiful leather purses and gloves, silk scarves and ties, colourful shoes, watches, jewellery, Murano glass and designer clothes. On the other hand, you have the tourist shops selling carnival masks, key chains, replica gondolas, requisite t-shirts and of course selfie sticks. If any of you read the comments on my last blog posted to Robin's FB, you will see that my Daughter-in-Law, Lisa, wants a selfie stick. I sent her a picture of a vendor in St. Mark's square who will sell her one for 3 Euro!
Love the winding lanes, the numerous squares, both large and small, and the pedestrian bridges everywhere. O.K. Question for today. How many pedestrian bridges in Venice? Stay tuned.
We finally make our way back to the Grand Canal to the famous Rialto Bridge. Being refurbished...grrrr. Notwithstanding, you can still get a sense of its grandeur. Got a tourist to take our picture....see, who needs a selfie stick! The Ponte Di Rialto is the oldest of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal. Rows of shops on either side of the bridge. The entire bridge is covered by a portico, but hard to see with all the construction. There are also external footpaths on either side of the bridge on the back side of the shops. We then venture into the Rialto Market, (we are now in the San Polo district) where locals still buy their fresh produce. Barges arrive every morning to unload their crates of fresh fruit and vegetables.
We make our way towards the San Marco district, and to Plazza San Marco. Although lots of people here, we line up to go into the St. Mark's Basilica, and it only takes us about 10 minutes to get in. Built in the Byzantine style of architecture, the Basilica is crowned with five domes. Staring to sound like a broken record, but the mosaic tile work, the various marbles used throughout, the gold gilt ceilings and the art work is truly spectacular. There was a roped off area where tour groups were sitting while their tour guides spoke about the interior of the cathedral. We decided to lift the rope and sit down for a while to take in the scope and scale of the interior.
Back outside to view the Campanile (meaning a "free standing Italian bell tower"). It once also served as a lighthouse for shipping. It has a copper spire topped by a statue of the Archangel Gabriel. In 1902 its foundation gave way and it suddenly collapsed, apparently large cracks were ignored. It was rebuilt in 1912.
As we are milling around the square, the bells start ringing as it is noon. What a beautiful sound, one could hear bells everywhere across the City. Also an ancient clock, Torro dell'Orologio (pictured above), above one of the arches leading into the square and it registered XII. It is a beautifully decorated in the Renaissance style. It was built in the late 15th century and displays the phases of the moon and the zodiac and is made of blue enamel. I also read one story that says that the eyes of the two clockmakers were gouged out, so they would never replicate it. Incredible that this clock still works today.
Also pictured above is "The Bridge of Sighs" (Ponte della Paglia), rebuilt in 1847. It was originally built in 1600 to link the Doge's Palace with the prison and the bridge takes it's name from the cries of the prisoners as they made their way across. The last views of their beloved City and the fact that they were going to meet their inquisitors and executioners.
Two large granite columns also dominate the square, the columns of San Maro and San Tedoro, which were erected in 1172. The columns have been significant throughout the years. The architect who designed and built the Rialto Bridge, was given the rights to place gambling tables between the two columns. It is also reported that criminals were executed between the two columns. It is said that many Venetians are very superstitious and they will not walk between the two columns. I just love reading about this sort of thing!
Spend some time in the square taking in the sights, the people and the larger lagoon and outer islands. Spend about another hour wondering the various Districts, venturing into Castello and San Croce. Back to St. Mark's Square to catch our Vaporetto back to Giudecca. Rain threatening a lot of the day, but only a few sprinkles. Back to our apartment about 3:30 p.m. and about an hour later the heavens open and a great downpour occurs. Seem to have timed it right today; we went out for dinner here on the island and nice walk there and back. Lots of lightening while we were having dinner, quite spectacular. The skies opened again once we got home.
This apartment has great views of the water looking over to Venice. Its's great to sit in the kitchen reading or writing my blog and watching the various boats going by, even kayaker's. When we woke up this morning, four cruise boats are moored across the way in Venice. Wonder what the crowds will be like today - Friday, May 22nd.
We make our way to Santa Maria della Salute, a great Baroque style church that sits at the end of Dorsoduro district, facing the Grand Canal. It is actually almost more imposing than the Basilica, from the outside only, as is really quite a landmark. When one is standing in St.Mark's square near the lagoon, it is very prominent.
We try to make our way to the Doge's Palace, but getting through the small lanes is nearly impossible. We now know where the people from the four cruise boats are in Venice, they are all headed towards St. Mark's Square. Fortunately, we had bought tickets to go to the Palace yesterday, so we were able to skip the line. Notwithstanding this, many tour groups are visiting the Palace and makes getting around quite difficult; but even having said that, certainly glad we made the effort to wind our way around them. The Palazzo Ducale started life in the 9th century as a fortified castle. The building that now stands on this site was built in the 14th and 15th centuries. Once we enter, we climb up the Scala d'Oro, a wide staircase with an arched ceiling embellished in a gold coloured stucco. We then toured the State Apartments, which are just large rooms. Although no furniture in the majority of the rooms, it is the paintings, tapestries, art work and huge fireplaces that make up the splendor of the Palace. On the third floor are the council chambers. First you have the Sala Della Quatro Porte (not sure of the purpose of this room), then the Anticollegio (the waiting room), next is the Sala del Collegio which is where the Doge and his counsellors met foreign visitors and the Sala del Senato where the Doge would sit with some 200 Senators to discuss foreign matters. The next room was the Sala del Consiglio which is where the powerful group of 10 met (I referred to them earlier in the blog). Finally the Armeria. If you think today's weapons can do harm, my gosh these weapons look like you don't want to be around anyone who has one. You could do a lot of damage with these. I particularly liked the maces. Robin and I were commenting that these weapons are huge and everything looks so heavy. Amazing how the men of those times were able to handle these weapons.
We then head over to the Island of Murano, a series of small islands connected with bridges; just like Venice. Took about 40 minutes by Vaporetto. The island is know for its glassworks, which have been hand made since 1291. It is said that the glass craftsmen were moved to this island to get them away from the City in case of fires. One is warned to be wary of fake glass from China; all Murano glass is said to bear a seal. Walk around the streets of Murano, beautiful blue glass sculpture in the main area, and we venture into many of the shops, but don't buy anything. Back to our apartment about 5 p.m. Where do the days go? It showered all day today but didn't stop us from doing anything, adds atmosphere to the pictures.
Ok. sitting here working on my blog, a barge full of linens and towels has just gone by. I also just finished washing a load of clothes. Where does the grey water go, let alone any other kind of drainage? O.K, I looked this up, but I am not going to comment any further. I am presently enjoying a glass of wine and don't want to ruin my enjoyment of it. I will leave the answer to my question to your imaginations!
I am sure all of you have seen the pictures of the famous "striped barber type poles" of Venice. These are mooring poles for the gondolas. In ancient times, the poles colours represented Families who owned the gondolas and the gondoliers wore the same coloured shirts and hat bands, so the one could tell which Family they worked for.
When eating out at restaurants they always offer you water (still or sparkling) and they will charge you for It accordingly. We asked for tap water at the first restaurant we went to in Rome and we were told that was not possible, along with severe eye rolling from the waiter. So being my curious self, I investigated if there was some kind of health issue around this. Well, it just comes down to the fact that Italians do not drink tap water, even at home. It's just not done. Bread...they always bring bread to your table, and a charge will appear on your bill based on the number of people at the table. One little difference I noted here in Venice, is that they always have very thin bread sticks along with the bread. Tomatoes.....yum, they taste like tomatoes fresh out of the garden. We have also had some very good lamb.
Will say that Venice is much cleaner than Rome. The merchants are out cleaning in front of their establishments, and seem to be enough garbage bins around to handle the tourist's garbage. Great to see.
News Flash...newspapers report that Berlusconi (Mr. Bunga Bunga) is bowing out of politics, but not before he appoints his "heir" of a new party he wants to start.....does this sound like he is bowing out? Also reported that he is selling large amounts of company stock in order to have liquidity to influence politics and protect his inheritance from behind the scenes. In each of his three terms in office he was regularly accused of altering the penal code to protect himself from criminal charges and to further his business interests. Well, at least he makes for interesting reading and is consistent in his actions!
Also making the news, The Shroud of Turin is being put on display after being "mothballed "for over five years. Even the Pope is travelling to Turin to see it. Some of you out there might know that there has always been controversy around the shroud. Is it really the shroud that Christ was wrapped in after his crucifixion? Apparently carbon testing of the cloth was done by experts Several years ago and they indicated the cloth was from one thousand years after Christ died, but the Cardinal of Turin said the results of these tests were an "overseas Masonic plot" meant to discredit the Roman Catholic Church. Sounds like a Dan Brown novel.
Italy is still saving migrants at sea, while the EU still trying to make up their minds whether to provide assistance. Sad.
Italy has slashed the time it takes to get a divorce to six months from three years in the latest sign of the Catholic Church's waning influence over life and politics here. Have they consulted the Pope? Oh right, the article says the Church's influence is waning.
Today, Saturday, May 21st is our last full day in Venice.it drizzled all day, our umbrellas were our best friends for the last couple of days. The Gallerie dell'Accademia was our first stop. It holds the largest collection of Venetian Art and spans five centuries. It is housed in three former religious buildings which makes for a nice setting. The collection covers the art spectrum from Byzantine through to the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo. A good number of works are religious in nature, which goes without saying considering where we are and the time period the art covers. Not our favourite form of art, but still interesting and some of the pieces covered entire walls. One must never forget to look at the ceilings, walls and doors in these museums and art galleries as they are spectacular as well.
When we were walking around today you can see that some tourists come ill prepared. I guess they don't think it should rain while they are on vacation. The vendor's have now put their selfie sticks away and they are concentrating on selling rain poncho's, umbrellas and boot/shoe protectors. I thought the boot protectors were quite ingenious, but then again, someone probably came up with this idea for the tourists when St. Mark's square is under water....but do they have to be so bright, yikes!
Back to our apartment about 3:30 p.m. Amazing how time flies. Just sitting here, the police boat just went flying by, not sure what is going on, but sure fun to be able to see all the traffic and activity on the water. Then ten minutes later a large cruise ship is leaving. The picture below is taken outside our kitchen window. Gives you the idea of the type of traffic on the water from tug boats, cruise ships, kayaker's, etc.
We have certainly enjoyed our time here in Venice. A friend, Jan Correia, said this was her most favourite City and I can understand why. Onto the next adventure, we are off tomorrow morning to pick up a car and spend the next five days in the Lake Garda area and the Dolomites.
Did you guess? There are some 400+ pedestrian bridges in Venice. Ciao!
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