Day 17 - Venice

Today we rose early to be sure that we did not miss our sail into Venice. The wind had finally stopped and the sun was shining brightly. As we slowly cruised past St. Mark’s Square, for the first time, we saw the beautiful, romantic city of Venice. We viewed the city from our own private deck as we listened to Italian music from the deck above and ate our breakfast.

Venice, once Europe’s richest city  (even exceeding London in the 1400’s) was an example to the world of the “good life”. This beautiful city had everything from silks to spices, food to wine, architecture to waterways, and song and theater to love and laughter! Established over a thousand years ago by seafaring merchants and Roman refugees, it became the center for Mediterranean shipping and trade, amassing great power and wealth.  It has also produced some of Europe’s greatest artistic, architectural and cultural treasures. One of the world’s most unique and beautiful cities, Venice consists of 120 islands in the marshy Venetian lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northern Italy.  The city is often called the “City of Bridges” since there are 350 bridges that cross the many canals that run between the islands.  The maze of narrow waterways, cobblestone walkways, small squares and narrow streets make the city both intriguing and romantic.

As we cruised in we could already see the canals and the bridges that connect them all.  We also saw the many church steeples and the domed basilicas (there are 320 churches in Venice), and the multi-colored painted houses. It was early in the morning, and the canals were already filled with boats of every shape and size.

One of the many bridges and canals

San Giorgio Maggiore is a 16th century church on an island of the same name in Venice. The odd and controversial statue, a Marc Quinn work, has caused quite a stir since its placement in the piazza.

As soon as we were able, we loaded up our trusty backpack and boarded a water shuttle to the famous Piazza San Marco, the epicenter of the city, and began exploring this very unique city.

Truly, this city is unlike any other that we have visited. The day was very hot, hot, hot, and there were many people, the most crowds we have experienced. Trying to navigate was fun and interesting as always. Street signs were, again, not as one would expect and not very helpful. Jeff would try to take shortcuts to escape the crowds, but that was not always a good idea, because walkways would often end at a canal without a bridge, causing us to have to back track.  But that was what made the exploration fun (except for the wear and tear on my feet). There were lots and lots of people, canals, and bridges. But what was most obviously missing were scooters, cars, and buses.  There was no traffic noise, nor were there any crosswalks or traffic signals. Everyone either walks everywhere or travels by boat.

The Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark’s Square, is filled with cafes, pigeons, and many people! At night, the cafes that line the square are filled with musicians who serenade the diners as well as those strolling through the square. The pigeons are plentiful, but are neither welcomed nor loved by the residents. In fact, they love the seagulls because they eat the pigeons. Despite the fact that they have outlawed the feeding of pigeons in 2008, we saw many people feeding the pigeons, many perching on shoulders and eating out of tourists’ hands. They say that there are 2 pigeons and 4 rats for every person in Venice.

The square, or piazza, is huge, having over 2 acres of paved surface.  It is surrounded by the Basilica di San Marco, the Torre dell’Orologio clock tower, and the arcade of Procuratie Vecchie and Nuove. 

The Basilica is a church, a cathedral, and a basilica (yes, there is a difference, but I don’t have time to explain). This huge ornate domed basilica is dates back to 1094 and is unlike any other cathedral in Europe due to its combination of Roman, Renaissance, and Byzantine architecture.

Mosaic above the main entrance with bronzed horses

Tradition states that Mark, one of the gospel writers, spent a night on the island during his missionary travels. Mark later traveled to Alexandria, Egypt where he spread the gospel and helped establish the church in Africa. He was buried in Alexandria, which came under Muslim control. In 838 AD, a Venetian merchant secretly removed his bones to Venice (Legend says that he hid them under a load of pork so the Muslims would not search his cargo and find them, since they were forbidden to touch swine).  So the church was eventually erected in Mark’s honor and his bones (at least some of them) are believed to be buried inside the basilica.

The winged lion is the symbol of Mark, has been named the patron saint of Venice. Legend has it that an angel, appearing as a lion, opened a book that read “peace to you” when Mark was distressed during his stormy night spent in the city. There are many statues of winged lions visible throughout the city.

The huge ornate Palazzo Ducale, or Doge’s Palace, is right next to St. Mark’s Cathedral.  “Doge” was the title given to the man who was the military leader and chief magistrate of the city-state of Venice.  The palace was both the residence of the Doge, as well as the seat of the very powerful government, from about 700 until Venice was conquered by Napoleon in 1797.  It was destroyed by fire on 4 separate occasions, but each time was rebuilt more grandly and gloriously than before. 

Doge's Palace

The Bridge of Sighs is an enclosed bridge that connects the Doge’s Palace to the prison next door.  The bridge has windows overlooking the town and Grand Canal, and it is said that prisoners, after receiving their sentence, would walk over this bridge and gaze out, one last time, at the beautiful city that they would never see again - causing them to sigh.

Bridge of Sighs that connects the Doge's Palace with the prison

 

Another view of Bridge of Sighs. Prison is on the left. Notice the bars on the windows.

The Torre dell’Orologio clock tower, to the left of the Basillica, is ornately decorated and shows the time, phase of the zodiac, as well as the phases of the moon.

Clock Tower

Notice the winged lion.

We then decided to go to the top of the Campanile (bell tower), originally built as a lighthouse during the 10^th century.  It is over 300 feet tall (more than a football field) with a golden statue of the archangel, Gabriel, sitting on top. We rode the lift (elevator) to the top platform (about 200 feet) and, unbeknownst to us, we had timed it just perfectly.  The bells ring at the top of each hour, and 5 minutes after we got to the top, the bell began to ring, long and LOUD. It was great! This time only 1 bell rang (There are 5 on the level we were on, plus more higher, in the very top of the tower).  Only on special occasions (2-3 times a year) do they all ring at once. The man at the gift shop at the top said that when they all ring he must ear plugs and the vibrations felt at the top of the tower are tremendous. It was a very cool experience. With the long lines, if we had tried to time it, we would have never gotten it right. We were thankful for God’s timing in bringing us to the right place at the right time AND the views from the top were spectacular.

Campanile

Campanile and Piazzo San Marco

Views from the Campanile

Another view with the domes of St. Mark's

As part of day we found our way to the Rialto Bridge and had lunch – of course: caprese salad and pizza. We quickly learned the rules for outdoor, canal-front dining in Venice: 1) No sharing! 2) Minimum of 40 euros tab if you want to use a credit card 3) You may not have a table by the water if only ordering pizza!

So, we ordered more than pizza, each got our own, and paid by cash.  Nevertheless, the pizza was good, the view was amazing, and we loved every minute.  Although, this first dining experience did confirm our observations up to that point that the Venetians are not near as friendly as the Romans.

View of our restaurant (with the red awnings) from the Rialto Bridge. 

View from Rialto Bridge

We very much enjoyed out first day in Venice, meandering through this uniquely picturesque maze of canals, boats, bridges, and colorful houses with window boxes filled with gorgeous petunias and ivy geraniums. And, amazingly, we really never got lost –we were always on an island and could only go so far before finding a familiar landmark!

Of course, we are very happy to be back in Italy –the land of pizza and gelati.  And yes, we did have gelati!

We finally had to rush to get back to the ship by 6:00, this time not because the ship was leaving, but because we did not want to miss our last night with Sean and Laura, and Colin and Sue at dinner.  We barely made it in time and had no time to change or “freshen up” after a long day of walking, rushing into the Grand Cuvee dining room about 10 minutes late.  We had another great meal and then, sadly, said our farewells to our new friends.  We would love for them to come visit us in the States, and we now have invitations from them to visit both coasts of Australia.

Then, the dreaded task of beginning to get everything we brought with us, plus what we have gathered on our trip, packed into already full suitcases.  I think our carry-ons will weigh more than our checked luggage.  No problem…Jeff will be carrying them!

Buona Notte