We arose early this morning to try to see Venice without tens of thousands of tourists. We had an audio tour of Saint Mark’s Square, and we figured that six in the morning was the only time we would be able to do it. And indeed the square was quite deserted at that hour.
There were only a few locals around like this delivery man.
The only other tourists we saw were this Chinese couple determined to have their Venice honeymoon on a budget. Instead of the retinue of photographers the other couple had, they were taking advantage of the timer feature on their camera. We liked them.
The Doge’s Palace opened at 8:30, and I was the first person in line for tickets and we were the first tourists of the day to enter. I do not think I would have enjoyed it so much if there had been a lot of people.
I liked the ostentation of the Doge’s chambers a whole lot more than the pointless decor of our own accommodations.
Surprisingly, I found the prison quite fascinating. Here is the view of the city from the famous “Bridge of Sighs.”
Here is a typical cell. I looks like the walls were painted at some point. I rather wonder if artists were commissioned to do this, too.
John was rushing through to get back to the hotel by ten thirty for breakfast. The prison really was quite a labyrinth, and he hit his head a couple times on his way out. Being short, I could concentrate on the interesting details instead of the ceiling. I found the toilet interesting. I guess on booking.com they would describe this as a “shared bathroom.”
After a pretty uninteresting breakfast, John was content to rest his injured head for a bit. So I went off to explore on my own. I intended to go back to the piazza to one of the museums there, but I accidentally took the wrong boat and ended up on the island of Giudecca. It proved to be serendipitous. Giudecca is like Brooklyn, the part of the city on the other side of the water.
During the nineteenth century this was a largely industrial area. Now, the former factories have been converted into apartments, and it is a place where ordinary Venetians live. It is not as rich in art and architecture as Venezia itself, but there are nevertheless a couple churches by the great architect Andrea Palladio. And it has stunning views of Venice. I found a storefront with a marvelously reflective window and took this picture of myself.
As I wandered around, I found myself close to a rather drab church. There were a cluster of people in front. Glancing at the canal, I understood why they were there.
I suppose the body was being taken to the mainland for burial, but somehow I liked the idea of burial in the ocean for this seafaring city.
Adject to Giudecca is the island of San Giorgio. The island is small, and most of it part of a large Benedictine monastery. The abbey church, also by Palladio, is remarkably uncluttered with the usual side altars and monuments. Although the choir is large, I think the community is not. As I was leaving about eight or nine monks, most quite elderly, were chanting the noonday office of Sext. I wondered if they were all that was left of what had once been a large foundation.
Like the Duomo, San Giorgio has a bell tower. It has stunning views with no fencing to block the view.
From the bell tower, I called John and asked if he was up for more adventures. He suggested I come back and we could find the Frari church. We had an audio tour of that church. I met him, and guided by Google Maps, we went off to find this large and somewhat less visited Franciscan building. Along the way we saw the Venetian version of a farmers’ market.
The Frari church is the only example of northern Gothic in Venice. Make of simple red brick, this large building is really not that interesting. What makes it important is the art inside. The apse is dominated by a fantastic picture of the assumption of the Virgin by Titian.
The bright colors and lifelike features were considered avant-garde. The depiction of the Virgin as young and beautiful seemed erotic to people at the time. And even today there seems something a little disconcerting about seeing the Virgin in bright red.
This picture really marks the beginning of the Baroque style in Venice. One of the more recent additions to the church is the funeral monument to the sculptor Antonio Canova. This is done in the high neoclassical style of the mid-nineteenth century.
See how the lion, the symbol of Venice, is crying at the death of her favorite artist. John immediately thought of The Wizard of Oz.
Canova we learned from our audio tour, is actually buried somewhere else, but his heart is interred in this monument. You are supposed to be able to see in through the open door, but it seemed a bit gruesome for us.
We jumped back on the boat to do our final audio tour, one of the Grand Canal itself. We did not particularly learn a whole lot new from this, but it did make us aware of just how much the city is imperiled by rising seas. This house, for example, would originally have had three or four steps leading down to the water. Many of these houses are empty, and none use the ground floor rooms any more.
After our trip down the canal, I suggested that we jump on another ship and go over to the Lido. We had recently watched parts of Death in Venice, which takes place on the Lido, and we wondered how much of the palatial homes and grand hotels of that era were left. As it turned out, not much of it is still there. But were rented bikes and rode up and down most of the length of the island. This is the only place in Venice where people have cars.
I suggested that we return to Giudecca for dinner. I showed John some of the places I had found earlier in the day.
We stopped outside of Il Redentore to watch the boat traffic and to enjoy the afternoon sun. This is still Capuchin church, and one of the friars came out from time to time to walk around. He twirled his cincture endlessly and I could not figure out if he was just bored or waiting for somebody.
As the sun went down, we had dinner right on the water at a small ristorante.
For once, we absolutely savored the glacially slow service. It gave us an opportunity to enjoy our view.
Back at hotel, I edited photographs while John took some more.
We leave Venice tomorrow for Milan.
