Venice

Day Three

Checked out from our Florence hotel in the morning at about 5.30 am as we need to catch an early train to Venice. Bought a McMuffin and a cup of coffee from the station at EUR 3.70 (left photo below) and had it as breakfast on the train (right photo below).

Venice

Venice or Venezia in Italian, is a city in north-eastern Italy and renowned for its beauty of their settings, architecture and artwork. Sadly the city is facing several challenges including an excessive number of tourists and problems caused by population and tide peaks. Venice is sinking at a rate of about 1 to 2 mm a year and if this rate continues over 20 years, it will sink by around 80 mm relative to sea level.

The lagoon and part of the Venice city has been listed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987.

After checked in to our Venice hotel, we then took a bus from Mestre to Piazzale Roma. At about 10 am we bought our tickets and boarded the Vaporetto for our canal tour from Piazzale Roma to St. Marco station.

Venice Canal tour

The Vaporetto passed through several bridges or ponte in Italian and palace or palazzo in Italian that represent every style of architecture from 12th to early 18th century.

• Ponte de la Croce (left photo below) is a pedestrian bridge and segmental arch bridge located in Santa Croce.
  
  
• Palazzo Giovanelli (right photo below) is a palace located in the Santa Croce district with noble floors decorated with quadriforas flanked by pairs of single-light windows.
  
  
  

• Fondaco dei Turchi (left photo below) is a Veneto-Gothic style palazzo and it now houses Natural History Museum of Venice or Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia in Italian.
  
  
• Church of San Stae (right photo below), of lavish Baroque façade richly decorated with statues and sculptures, caught my attention.
  
  
  

• Hotel San Cassiano (left photo below) is an elegant 4-star luxurious hotel located in the Santa Croce district.
  
  
• Rialto Fish Market (right photo below) has been taking place on the same location for nearly 1,000 years. Records showed that there has been a market taking place in an incredible Venetian setting since 1097. The Rialto market opens around 7.30 or 8 am and closes slightly after 12 pm, so it is a morning-only activity.
  
  
  

• Rialto Bridge or Ponte di Rialto in Italian (left photo below) is one of the most iconic landmark in Venice city.
  
  
• Hotel Marconi (right photo below) is a 3-star hotel in San Polo district with a small Gondola jetty in front of it.
  
  
  

• Palazzo Balbi (left photo below) is a palace built in the 16th century and now it is an administrative building housing the seat of the President of the Veneto region and of the regional council.
  
  
• Palazzo Barbarigo (right photo below) can be easily distinguished by the mosaics of Murano glass applied on its façade. Part of the Palazzo Barbarigo is now a showroom and shop of Murano glass.
  
  
  
  

• San Giorgio Maggiore (left photo below) is a 16th-century Benedictine church on the island of the same name. The church is in the classical Renaissance style and its brilliant white marble gleams above the blue water of the lagoon which forms the focal point of the view from every part of the promenade of Piazzetta San Marco.
  
  
• The Zecca (right photo below) is a 16th century building that once housed the mint of the Republic of Venice. Currently it has housed the main part of the Marciana Library.
  
  
  

Hard Rock Café Venice

After alighting at St. Marco station, we proceeded to Hard Rock Café Venice (left photo below) to get our souvenirs. Remarkably located, this café is just within short distance from the St. Mark's Square. There were lots of souvenirs available in this rock shop (right photo below).

Gondolas

The gondola is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat that is well suited to the conditions of Venetian lagoon. The image of a gondolier using a rowing oar propelling through the Venetian canals, is definitely familiar to everyone. Today there are about 400 licensed gondoliers in Venice. As it was raining during our visit, most of the gondolas were docked (left photo below) or parked at their moorings (right photo below).

It cost about EUR 80 for a 25 to 30-minutes private ride. We didn't take any gondola ride because to its hefty price.

Saint Mark's Square

Saint Mark's Square or Piazza San Marco in Italian is the famous public square in Venice consisting of Piazza and Plazzetta.

The Piazza is dominated by St. Mark's Basilica and Campanile (left photo below) at its east. The rest of the three sides of Piazza is enclosed by Procuratie (right photo below), namely Procuratie Vecchie at its north, Procuratie Nuove at its south and Procuratie Nuovissime at its west. The Procuratie is built in Classical style and now its ground floor was rented out to stores, workshops and coffeehouses.

St. Mark's Campanile or Campanile di San Marco in Italian (left photo below) is a bell tower of St. Mark's Basilica standing at a height of 98.6-meters. The tower is capped by a pyramidal spire at the top of which there is a golden weather vane in the form of the archangel Gabriel. It is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Venice.

St. Mark's Clocktower or Torre dell'Orologio in Italian (right photo below) is an early Renaissance building adjacent to Procuratie Vecchie. On the top terrace of the tower are two great bronze figures, which strike the hours on a bell. Below is the winged Lion of Saint Mark with the open book, in front of a blue background with gold stars. On next lower level is a semi-circular gallery with statues of the seated Virgin and Child. Further below this is the great clock face in blue and gold inside a fixed circle of marble engraved with the 24 hours of the day in Roman numerals.

The Plazzetta (left photo below) is an adjoining open space connecting the south side of the Piazza to the waterway of the lagoon. Near to the lagoon on the south side are two rectangular pillars known as the 'Pillars of Acre' (right photo below). These two large granite columns are thought to be erected between 1172 to 1177 bearing the symbols of the two patron saints of Venice, namely Column of the Lion and Column of San Todaro.

The Doge's Palace or Palazzo Ducale in Italian (left photo below), is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style which used to be the residence of the Doge of Venice, but now it is a museum.

The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark (right photo below) located on the west side of the Plazzetta used to be a public library containing manuscripts and classical books. Today this historical building is referred as 'Biblioteca nazionale Marciana' and is largely a museum.

The best view of Piazza and Plazzetta is from the porch of St. Mark's Basilica.

Porta della Carta

This is the main entrance to the courtyard of Doge's Palace located at its northwest corner (left photo below). Statue of Justice is positioned at the top of the porta and a bust of St. Mark occupied the roundel of the tympanum. The sculpture above the doorway depicts Doge Francesco Foscari kneeling before the lion of St. Mark (right photo below).

St. Mark's Basilica

Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark or Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco in Italian, is known commonly as St Mark's Basilica (left photo below). It was founded in the 9th century to house the corpse of Saint Mark after wily Venetian merchants smuggled it out of Egypt in a barrel of pork lard. Due to its opulent design, gold ground mosaics used and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power from 11th century, St. Mark's Basilica has been known by the nickname of 'Church of Gold' or Chiesa d'Oro in Italian.

The façade of the basilica is lavishly decorated (right photo below). The top of its gable has a statue of the apostle St. Mark flanked by angels, while underneath is a winged lion which is a symbol of the saint and of Venice. The four bronze horses stood at the porch and the upper mosaics in the lunettes has the scene of the Life of Christ.

The Horses of Saint Mark, also known as the Triumphal Quadriga, is a set of bronze statues of four horses placed on the façade on the loggia above the porch of St. Mark's Basilica. These horses were looted by Napoleon in 1797 and only returned in 1815. Now, these original sculptures have been removed from the façade and placed in the interior of St. Mark's Museum for conservation purposes (left photo below), with the replicas (right photo below) replaced on the loggia in their actual position.

Unlike most Italian churches, St. Mark's Basilica never transit to fresco wall paintings in the 13th century, instead it continued to add mosaics until the 19th century. This was probably due to a wish to support the local Murano glass industry. The upper levels of its interior are completely covered with bright mosaics covering an area of about 800-sqaure meters, and great majority use the traditional background of gold glass tesserae thus creating a shimmering overall effect (photos below).

Pala d'Oro or "Golden Cloth" is the high altar retable in the Basilica (photos below). This altarpiece, measuring 3-meters wide by 2-meters tall, is made of gold and silver and both front and rear sides are decorated with 187 enamel plaques and 1,927 precious stones. These include 526 pearls, 330 garnets, 320 emeralds, 255 sapphires, 183 amethysts, 175 agates, 75 rubies, 34 topazes, 16 carnelians, and 13 jaspers. Admission of EUR 2 per person is required in order to see this amazing treasures.

Entrance to the Basilica is free but admission to St. Mark's Museum cost EUR 4. The advantages of the museum ticket enabled visitors:

▪ to see the glorious mosaics from a higher vantage point with a commanding view of the entire Basilica.
▪ to go outdoors to see St. Mark's Square from the porch.
▪ to access to the museum to see original Horses of St. Mark and the porphyry statue of the Four Tetrarchs.

Acqua alta

Acqua alta or "high water" is the term used in Veneto region of Italy to describe exceptional tide peaks that occur periodically where it causes partial flooding of Venice and Chioggia area.

Perhaps it rained since morning, so could have contributed to the acqua alta during our visit. As a result, tourists entering (left photo below) and touring (right photo below) St. Mark's Basilica had to step on the temporary gangways.

Partial flooding might be common sight in Venice; so it's good to be prepared both mentally and logistically. On the other side, it could be fun and memorable just like those tourists I saw from the porch of St. Mark's Basilica (photos below).

Lunch at Burger King

Decided to have lunch at this fast-food restaurant (photos below) near to St. Mark's Square. Price for this set meal cost EUR 6.10.

Bridge of Sighs

After lunch, we walked to the Bridge of Sighs or Ponte dei sospiri in Italian. This is an enclosed bridge made of white limestone which connects the New Prison or Prigioni Nuove in Italian to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. The view from the Bridge was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment, thus suggested prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice. However in reality, little could be seen from inside the bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows.

Disappointedly the Bridge of Sighs underwent maintenance during our visit (photos below). Sigh!

Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

Not far from the Bridge of Sighs is the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II (left photo below). Dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II, first King of unified Italy in 1861.

On top of this monument is an equestrian statue of Emanuele II. Below the equestrian statue is a woman and her winged lion on both sides of the monument (right photo below):

▪ One side is posed as if in battle with a lion gnawing at his chains
▪ On other side is a woman dressed in royal garb and a roaring lion with his claws upon two closed books

Rialto Bridge

Rialto Bridge or Ponte di Rialto in Italian (photos below), is the oldest of the four bridges spanning over the Grand Canal in Venice and is now a significant tourist attraction in the city. The bridge has three walkways: two along the outer balustrades, and a wider central walkway leading between two rows of small shops that sell jewellery, linens, Murano glass, and other items for the tourist trade.

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

While walking back to Piazzale Roma, we saw the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (left photo below) which is located in the heart of San Polo district of Venice. Its imposing edifice is built of brick and is one of the city's three notable churches still mostly retaining their Venetian Gothic appearance.

Church of Saint Roch

The Church of Saint Roch or Chiesa di San Rocco in Italian (right photo below) was built between 1489 and 1508. Its façade is decorated with statues of Gerardo Sagredo and Gregorio Barbarigo on its left and Lorenzo Giustiniani and Pietro Orseolo on its right.

Venetian Souvenirs

The traditional Venetian Masks topped the list of Venetian Souvenirs bought by tourists. These distinctive masks are associated with the 'Carnival of Venice' held every year on forty days before Easter (day before Ash Wednesday).

While strolling along the streets in Venice, we saw the exquisite masks sold in souvenir shops (left photo below) which are of higher price compared to those sold at a souvenir stall (right photo below). My guess it was due to difference between hand-painted and factory-made.

Dinner at McDonalds

Took a bus from Piazzale Roma back to Mestre railway station at about 7 pm. As our shoes were wet due to the rain and partial flooding, we decided to have 'take-away' from the fast-food restaurant at Mestre railway station and headed back to our hotel room early to dry ourselves up. Cost of the burger was EUR 3.60 (photos below).

Day Four

It was bright and sunny on our second day in Venice which formed a big contrast to previous day which was rainy and wet.

Coop Supermarket

Reached Piazzale Roma early in the morning at about 7.30 am. Got our breakfast from Coop supermarket (left photo below) which was just 2-minutes walk from Piazzale Roma. Got myself a croissant, fruit pie and peach tea at EUR 3.76 (right photo below).

After breakfast we took vaporetto again to visit the canal.

Saint Mary of Health

Saint Mary of Health or Santa Maria della Salute in Italian (left photo below) is a Roman Catholic church located on a narrow finger of Punta della Dogana between the Grand Canel and Giudecca Canal.

The church is a vast, octagonal building with two domes and a pair of picturesque bell-towers at the back. It is constructed of Istrian stone and marmorino. At the apex of the pediment stands a statue of the Virgin Mary who presides over the church which was erected in her honour. The façade is decorated with figures of Saint George, Saint Theodore, the Evangelists, the Prophets, Judith with the head of Holofernes (right photo below).

Punta della Dogana

Punta della Dogana is an art museum in one of Venice's old customs buildings (left photo below), located at a triangular area where the Grand Canal meets the Giudecca Canal. It is diagonal from the Saint Mark's Square.

On top of the building is the 17th century sculpture where there are two statues of Atlas holding a golden globe upon which Fortune stands. A more modern sculpture at the tip of Punta della Dogana is the 'Boy with Frog' which it is a eight-foot tall boy holding a frog by its leg (right photo below).

MAJER Venezia

Bought our snacks from MAJER Venezia bakery at Piazzale Roma. Got an apple pie (left photo below) and tiramisu cake (right photo below) for about EUR 5. Both pastries were tasty and appetizing.

Scenic views of Venice Canal

Venice is also known as the 'Floating City' or 'City of Canals' and thus arguably one of the World's most picturesque cities with winding canals, striking architecture and beautiful bridges.

Following are the picturesque photos taken during my trip:

Panorama view of the Canal Houses at San Marco district taken from Punta della Dogana:

Italian Lunch

Decided to have lunch at Brek Bar Ristorante (left photo below) located near Venice Santa Lucia railway station. It is a self-service restaurant where customers would need to pick up a tray and purchase from the buffet serving station. Ordered a pasta carbonara (right photo below) for myself at EUR 4.50. Taste was typical of Italian food but its price was decent given the high cost of Venetian standard.

Sites around Venice Santa Lucia railway station

We got some time after lunch so we took a walk around the railway station before taking the bus back to hotel. San Geremia church (left photo below) and San Simeone Piccolo church (right photo below) were spotted.

The beautiful façade of Santa Maria di Nazareth church (left photo below) caught my attention and Ponte degli Scalzi (right photo below) which span over the Grand Canal.

Returned back to hotel and boarded train from Mestre railway station at about 15.30 pm. After a long train ride, I finally reached Neuchâtel at about 10.30 pm.

With this, it ended our weekend trip to Northern Italy.