Welcome to my blog, which is about a recent trip to Venice. In other blogs I share some of my experiences in a variety of other places, including Budapest, Prague, Israel, Jordan, and various places in the U. S. I hope you enjoy the pictures and commentary.
Venice, Italy November 21-25, 2007
One of Venice's many canals
Having read several books about, or set in, Venice, I felt a bit like I knew the city, even though I'd never been there. (These included all of the books in Donna Leon's series of mystery novels featuring a fictional Venice police commisario named Guido Brunetti.) When I got there, I found the real Venice was much more beautiful and interesting than the Venice of my imagination.
Made up of 118 islands, and located about 2.5 miles from the Italian mainland. Venice is connected to the mainland with a rail and highway bridge, but no motorized vehicles are allowed in Venice itself. There are approximatley 150 canals in Venice, comprising 28 miles of waterways, crossed by about 400 bridges. From the pictures I'd seen and the books I'd read, my image of Venice was of a fascinating place, and I wasn't disappointed.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Arriving at the Marco Polo International Airport, on the Italian mainland, you'll find there are several ways to get to Venice itself--a land bus, water taxi, water bus, or vaporetto. Each has a different cost and takes different amounts of time to get to San Marco, the district where many hotels are located.
Made up of 118 islands, and located about 2.5 miles from the Italian mainland. Venice is connected to the mainland with a rail and highway bridge, but no motorized vehicles are allowed in Venice itself. There are approximatley 150 canals in Venice, comprising 28 miles of waterways, crossed by about 400 bridges. From the pictures I'd seen and the books I'd read, my image of Venice was of a fascinating place, and I wasn't disappointed.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Arriving at the Marco Polo International Airport, on the Italian mainland, you'll find there are several ways to get to Venice itself--a land bus, water taxi, water bus, or vaporetto. Each has a different cost and takes different amounts of time to get to San Marco, the district where many hotels are located.
To get from the airport terminal to the water transportation dock area requires a walk of about a quarter mile under a covered walkway. There are helpful signs along the way that indicate approximately how many minutes you are from the dock, but the whole walk takes only about 10 minutes and isn't difficult if you have a suitcase on wheels. By the way, a wheeled suitcase is extremely helpful for a visit to Venice, since you likely will find that you will have to walk some distance from one of the boat docks to your hotel. The suitcase should be light enough to carry up and down the steps of the many bridges you may cross enroute to your hotel.
The prices of the various modes of water travel vary considerably, from 100 Euros for a water taxi, which takes about 30 minutes to Piazza San Marco, to 23 Euros for a water bus, which takes about 50 minutes, to 14 Euros for a vaporetto which makes a number of stops and takes up to an hour and a half to get to Piazza San Marco. What ever type of boat you choose, you'll find that the boat ride across the Laguna Veneta is great, traveling around islands and through channels, to arrive at the dock near Piazza San Marco.
The prices of the various modes of water travel vary considerably, from 100 Euros for a water taxi, which takes about 30 minutes to Piazza San Marco, to 23 Euros for a water bus, which takes about 50 minutes, to 14 Euros for a vaporetto which makes a number of stops and takes up to an hour and a half to get to Piazza San Marco. What ever type of boat you choose, you'll find that the boat ride across the Laguna Veneta is great, traveling around islands and through channels, to arrive at the dock near Piazza San Marco.
Views on the way in from the airport
It's good to have one or more travel guides when you go to Venice, and some good maps are essential since you'll be walking a great deal. One useful guidebook is Top 10 Venice, which identifies the top things to see and do. Another is Venice: The City in Section-By-Section Maps, which has detailed foldout maps of each of Venice's districts.
Heading for the hotel, with suitcase in tow
Our hotel, the Gorizia A La Valigia, was in a great location on Calle De Faria, about midway between Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal. The room was clean and fairly large, by European standards, with a very comfortable king-sized bed.
One of many attractive street signs
Walking around Venice is an eye-popping experience. In any direction you'll see amazing views--without a doubt, Venice is a photographer's paradise. Since there are no motorized vehicles in Venice, foot transportation is the best way to get around. Unless you are going around the Grand Canal on a vaporetto, you'd better be prepared for a lot of walking and lot of climbing up and down the stairs of the many bridges.
If you are going around the Grand Canal, a vaporetto provides for a nice inexpensive boat ride. Of course, you can also take a gondola ride, but these generally go through small canals and are more for sightseeing than for getting from one point to another. In addition, the gondola rides are expensive, costing from 60 to 100 euros for about a half-hour to forty-five minute ride.
Walking around Piazza San Marco, you'll view the cathedral, and the thousands of pigeons in the square. There are a couple of stands there that sell seed to feed the pigeons, and some people actually stand and let pigeons land all over them. It's ok if you like that sort of thing, but where I come from pigeons are considered more like flying rats than birds that you'd want cozying up to you. Nonetheless, it's amusing to see other people covered in pigeons.
People and pigeons in Piazza San Marco
All around Piazza San Marco are lots of little side streets, many interesting shops, and numerous cafes and restaurants. A walk in any direction is a visual delight, with many remarkable small passageways, and, of course, lots of bridges and canals. Just standing by canals and watching people going by in gondolas is remarkable. One of several bridges that cross the Grand Canal is the Rialto Bridge. As darkness falls, the bridge and the areas on both sides of the Grand Canal are lit up and look very festive.
The Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal at night
Thursday, November 22, 2007
The Piazza San Marco is a very large square, with the immense Basilica at one end, which dates from 1071, as well as the Doge's Palace, which housed the city's rulers for nearly 900 years. The other three sides of the square hold numerous shops with mostly high-quality (and high-priced) merchandise.
Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco is named for Saint Mark, the patron saint of Venice. As the story goes, in the early days of its status as an independent republic, the people of Venice felt in need of a saint they could call their own. Thus, in 828 AD, two Venetian merchants went to Alexandria and "liberated" the body of Saint Mark from its resting place in a monastery. Supposedly, they hid the body under layers of pork fat to conceal it from Muslim guards. The population of Venice was delighted to have Saint Mark with them, and the body had an honored place in the Basilica until the body was somehow misplaced for a number of years. Then, in 1094, in answer to prayer, St. Mark's arm miraculously popped out of a column in the basilica, at a spot now marked by brass cross. Today, the body of Saint Mark is said to lie at rest beneath the Basilica's main altar.
From the Piazza San Marco you can wind your way through narrow streets, over bridges crossing small canals, and ultimately cross the Accademia Bridge into the Dorsoduro section. A few blocks from the bridge is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, where one of the world's most important art collections is housed in the one story pallazo on the Grand Canal that was Guggenheim's home for many years. As you wander through the galleries, you'll see works by such artists as Picasso, Dali, Miro, Klee, Calder, and many others.
From the Piazza San Marco you can wind your way through narrow streets, over bridges crossing small canals, and ultimately cross the Accademia Bridge into the Dorsoduro section. A few blocks from the bridge is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, where one of the world's most important art collections is housed in the one story pallazo on the Grand Canal that was Guggenheim's home for many years. As you wander through the galleries, you'll see works by such artists as Picasso, Dali, Miro, Klee, Calder, and many others.
Peggy Gugenheim's home and garden on the Grand Canal, now an art museum displaying items from her personal collection
After spending time at the Guggenheim, you can head back over to the Rialto Bridge area to the Rialto Market. It's been in existence since medieval times, and some claim it is the best such market in the world.
The Rialto Bridge and one of the nearby markets
You may want to catch a vaporetto and ride across the lagoon to the island of Murano, famous for its glass factories where craftsmen have been blowing glass for centuries.
A Murano glass blower
If you have the time to wander around Murano you can see great artwork and a quaint village. Both on the island of Murano and at shops in the San Marco District you can see a lot of really artistic pieces of Murano glass, but much of the Murano glass is expensive, and I've see found identical pieces for the same prices or less at a shop on New York's Upper West Side.
Le Bistrot Venise is an excellent restaurant located in the middle of the San Marco District.
One of Venice's fine restaurants
Friday, November 23, 2007
When it rains in Venice and when the tide is just right, you may see lots of people wearing boots of one sort or another, some of which are colorful cheap plastic boots that cover their shoes and go up to about their knees, while others may have on more substantial boots. You'll quickly discover why--the Piazza San Marco and some surrounding areas may be flooded. This is the Aqua Alta (high water) that you may have read about. When the Aqua Alta occurs, which I've been told is about 100 times a year, the Piazza itself can have more than a foot of water on it, and it spills over into some surrounding streets and alleyways and into many of the stores surrounding the Piazza.
When it rains in Venice and when the tide is just right, you may see lots of people wearing boots of one sort or another, some of which are colorful cheap plastic boots that cover their shoes and go up to about their knees, while others may have on more substantial boots. You'll quickly discover why--the Piazza San Marco and some surrounding areas may be flooded. This is the Aqua Alta (high water) that you may have read about. When the Aqua Alta occurs, which I've been told is about 100 times a year, the Piazza itself can have more than a foot of water on it, and it spills over into some surrounding streets and alleyways and into many of the stores surrounding the Piazza.
Tourists in disposable plastic boots
When the Aqua Alta occurs, temporary walkways made of pipes and plywood are installed all around the Piazza, so it's possible to walk around and get to the Basilica without getting your feet wet. One benefit of the flooding, I suppose, is that it washes away some of the pigeon excrement that ordinarily covered the Piazza.
Many shops around the Piazza have terazzo floors and after the flooding the shopkeepers sweep water out of their shops, which are open for business. When we asked one shopkeepr how often the Aqua Alta occurred she replied, "About 100 times each year!" Actually, it is kind of neat to actually be there when it happens. Within a couple hours the water in the Piazza recedes and you might not have know it had been flooded except for a number of dead and presumably drowned pigeons lying around being picked at by seagulls--not a great sight.
One of the interesting places to visit is La Fenice, Venice's famous opera house. John Berent has written The City of Falling Angels, a book about the fire that nearly destroyed La Fenice. The building has since been restored and there are self-guided tours available. If you get a chance, sit for a few minutes in the Royal Box.
One of the interesting places to visit is La Fenice, Venice's famous opera house. John Berent has written The City of Falling Angels, a book about the fire that nearly destroyed La Fenice. The building has since been restored and there are self-guided tours available. If you get a chance, sit for a few minutes in the Royal Box.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
One of the more interesting places to visit is the Palazzo Ducale, or Doges Palace. I recommend that you take the Secret Itineraries Tour, which is a kind of "behind the scenes" guided tour. You also can take a self-guided tour through the Palace, but you don't get to go to many of the places that are included in the Secret Itineraries tour. If the Aqua Alta has flooded the Piazza San Marco, you can get to the Doges Palace, which is adjacent to the Basilica San Marco, via the elevated temporary walkways.
Temporary walkways in front of the Basilica
The Doges Palace is a remarkable building that served as the official residence of the 120 doges, the fellows who ruled Venice for about 900 years, from 697 to 1797. The Palace also served as the administrative center of the government, kind of like the U.S. Capitol Building, Supreme Court Building, and White House all rolled into one structure. The building combines the architectual styles of the Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance periods. In addition to housing the doges, who were elected for life to be the chief administrative officers of the Venetian city-state, the Palace includes the immense Sala del Maggior Consiglio, or Great Council Chamber, as well as the Sala del Senato, where the Senate members met, and prison cells, torture chambers, and court rooms.
The Doges Palace
The Palace itself contains some prison cells, and it's connected to another prison building on the other side of a small canal. Some prisoners were kept in the Palace below ground level, while in the upper level of the Doges Palace there were a few special cells, one of which housed the famous Casanova. There is also a bridge to the complex of prison cells on the other side of the canal, known as the Ponte dei Sospiri, or Bridge of Sighs, supposedly because prisoners being taken across the bridge were known to sigh with realization that their freedom was being taken away as they crossed the bridge.
The Bridge of Sighs
One impressive feature of the Palace is the Scala d'Oro, or Golden Staircase. which is decorated with 24-carat gold leaf that frames beautiful frescoes. This was a dazzling sight, and one which we had to frame in our memory since our camera was broken! Guests of honor were brought up this staircase to the various rooms on the second floor. Presumably, prisoners did not climb this staircase on their way to the Bridge of Sighs.
In additon to the Golden Staircase, the Doges Palace is full of remarkable works of art. Some of the artists whose work is prominent in the Palace include Bellini, Sansoveno,Tintoretto, Titian, and Veronese. Tintoretto's magnificant painting, called "The Triumph of Venice", dominates the Sala del Senato, and what may be the world's largest oil painting, by Jacopo and Comenico Tintoretto, is located in the Sal del Maddior Consiglio. Every room holds some kind or another master piece of art, and the experience of visitng the Doges Palace is one you won't soon forget.
You may decide that you really shouldn't end your visit to Venice without taking a gondola ride. If so, you may find a gondolier who is willing to bargain a bit. For example, we got our ride for 60 eurios when the asking price was 80 euros. In the evening a ride can typically be 100 euros.
In additon to the Golden Staircase, the Doges Palace is full of remarkable works of art. Some of the artists whose work is prominent in the Palace include Bellini, Sansoveno,Tintoretto, Titian, and Veronese. Tintoretto's magnificant painting, called "The Triumph of Venice", dominates the Sala del Senato, and what may be the world's largest oil painting, by Jacopo and Comenico Tintoretto, is located in the Sal del Maddior Consiglio. Every room holds some kind or another master piece of art, and the experience of visitng the Doges Palace is one you won't soon forget.
You may decide that you really shouldn't end your visit to Venice without taking a gondola ride. If so, you may find a gondolier who is willing to bargain a bit. For example, we got our ride for 60 eurios when the asking price was 80 euros. In the evening a ride can typically be 100 euros.
Tourists boarding gondolas
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Just another beautiful canal!
When you're ready to leave Venice, you might want to ask around your hotel to see if you can find some others to share a water taxi to the airport. You can arrange for a water taxi driver to pick you up at your hotel at a specific time. Then enjoy speeding across the lagoon, and you'll make it to the airport in about 30 minutes--plenty of time to check in for your flight, get through security, and have a few minutes to sit and relax.
A water taxi heading for the airport.
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