Our visit to Venice,
Italy continues
with more rides in the vaporetto on the canals and many hours of walking. Our stay was only 3 days as the city of Venice is not a large one
but we certainly wasted no time during those days, we walked for hours every
day and saw almost every corner of this wonderful city. Be sure to wear good walking shoes and carry
a map.
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| Ponti de Rialto on the Grand Canal in Venice |
What is now known as the Ponti de Rialto was originally a
floating bridge and the only crossing on the Grand Canal. It has collapsed, then replaced, burned then
collapsed again so was totally gone by 1524.
This stone replacement was done in 1591 and then given its’ name we know
it by now. The bridge has shops on
either side and is a landmark in Venice,
recognized throughout the world.
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| Crowds in San Marco Plaza in Venice, Italy |
San Marco
Plaza might be considered the heart of the city of Venice. It is here that one will see crowds of people
at any given time, day or night. The
water bus dropped us off at the terminal and we set out to see the sights that
this plaza is famous for. The large
building on the right of this photo is Doge’s Palace, click here for more
information.
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| Street performer in Venice, Italy |
There are street performers at almost every turn in Marco Plaza
but we didn’t find them to be too intrusive.
This person was standing on something high and posing for pictures with
anyone who might be willing to pay them for their time. Venice
is a city known for their masks and costumes at festival times of the year and
I believe this was to be symbolic of that.
I give him credit for his efforts.
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| Artists at work in San Marco Plaza |
I can only imagine having the talent of an artist and being
able to sit here and paint the magic of this incredible city. We spoke to one artist who was fulfilling his lifetime dream of visiting Venice to paint. Although I was tempted to purchase one of
these paintings, I wasn’t willing to spend our day of walking carrying it so
passed on the opportunity.
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| Doge's Palace at San Marco Plaza on the Grand Canal |
The other dominant building around San Marco Plaza is the Doge’s Palace. A beautiful gothic structure, it faces the
Venetian lagoon and was completed in the early 15th century, though
portions of it were rebuilt after a fire in 1574.
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| St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy |
St. Mark’s Basilica, the
Catholic Church adjacent to Doge’s Palace is a great architectural sight and
jumps out as we come around the corner of the Palace. There had been churches built here before but
demolished during different battles until this one was built in 1063.
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| The crowds wait to see inside St. Mark's Basilica |
There are mosaics from 28 meters wide to 21 meters high and
they cover over 8,000 square meters of walls, cupolas and vaults. We didn’t go inside, there was a very long
lineup but these mosaics outside were magnificent.
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| Mosaics on St. Mark's Basilica, Venice, Italy |
The mosaics of St. Mark’s Basilica are beautiful with golden
backgrounds that light up depending on the time of day and offer different
effects. There have been replacements
done over the centuries but they have now found a way to remove and restore
then return these mosaics so they will remain original.
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| Gesuiti in Venice, Italy |
The Santa Maria Assunta, known locally as Gesuiti is a
twelfth century church and convent. It
was one of thirty convents at one time but there are now only a few left. We came upon it on a wandering stroll through the city where
it sits surrounded by homes in a quiet neighborhood. It wasn’t open at the time of our visit so we
didn’t see inside but I loved those huge doors.
Venice is definitely a city
that should be on your list if you are planning a trip to Europe. There are many beautiful places to visit but
I think Venice
is very unique and I would go back in a heartbeat, there are still some sights
we didn’t see enough of. If visiting churches
and museums are on your list, then you must allow more time than 3 days. Stay awhile and enjoy this lovely city.
