Day 2 - Venice, Italy
Even though I was so sleep deprived, I didn't get a good night's sleep. I woke up a few times and couldn't understand why. I knew this was going to backfire on me at some point that day but there was nothing I could do.
Once we were all up at the right time and ready for the day, we headed to the other hotel building for breakfast. They were doing a larger American size/style breakfast buffet, which was delicious. There was eggs, bacon, (chicken) sausage links, mini hash-brown rounds, sautéed champignon mushrooms, baked date tomatoes, assorted fruit, toast, cereal, and assorted muffins and small treats. The biggest surprise was I found GREEN apple juice!!!! It tasted like Green Apple Jolly Ranchers!
After we finished breakfast we went back to the hotel with our rooms and waited to meet up with our local guide for our walking tour that day. Once she arrived, we started walking towards the St. Mark's Square, Piazza San Marco, which again was only about a block or two from our hotel. She talked to us about the history of the square and all the buildings surrounding it (From Left to Right: Procuratie Vecchie - nowadays a Museum, Torre dell' Orologio - The Astrological Clock and Clock Tower, Piazzetta dei Leoncini - Square to the left of the Basilica, Basilica San Marco - St. Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace, Piazzetta - Square along Doge Palace, Columns of San Marco and San Teodoro - near the south end of the square of the Piazzetta, Campanile - bell tower, Procuratie Nuove - nowadays a museum, and Napoleonic Wing which is now Museo Correr - the Correr Museum). After a brief history of each (see below) she told us about how often the square floods a year. It is about 15 times a year!!! It happens more often in the fall and winter months, so we were fortunate that it was not flooded while we were visiting. The flooding occurs not by the amount of rainfall, but by the level of the tide and the wind direction. The canals are a mix of fresh and salt water, and the entrance to the Grand Canal next to St. Mark's Square is where the two types of water meet. If one is at high tide and the wind is strong from the opposite the direction, this causes large waves that have no where to go but towards the square. The reason why the square floods so much is because Venice is sinking.....yes it's true. It is sinking about 4 inches every 100 years! Which may not sound like a lot, but think about how old that city is, and some of the buildings...it's actually a big problem. Our guide pointed out these massive benches, which are actually just high platforms that they set up when the square is flooded so people can use them to walk on. She said that they get very crowded and as helpful as they are, they are also very annoying.
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| Flooding platforms |
The Doge Palace is actually sinking the fastest because of the way they built the foundation. Most of Venice has vertical oak posts below the ground to support the buildings and the streets. Our guide showed us the street level of the palace and had us look at the archways and how short the columns were. They were suppose to be as tall as the Procuratie buildings....they were not... This is because when they built the palace they added a horizontal platform below the foundation. Had they not added it, it might not be sinking as fast. The palace is also made out of mostly marble, which makes it so heavy. And since this palace is right along the pier, that area of the square is so much lower and closer to the water level and so when the tide is so high the water has nowhere to go except into the square. Every number of years, the street level becomes so low that they have to build a new street on top of the existing one.
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| Doge Palace Sinking |
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| Film Cart |
As she was explaining all this, we saw a group of people and some cameras, boom mic, and a cart with other electronics. Someone was filming. She told us how most will film in the early hours of the day in order to avoid having too many tourists in the background.
Now it's time for a history lesson. ;)
Our hotel is behind the Museo Correr corridor so I will go clockwise from there.
The two buildings originally had wings on the west side of the Square, separated only by a small church. In about 1810, the wings and the church were demolished and replaced by the third building, the Napoleonic Wing of the Procuraties. It was designed in the Neoclassical style. To the left of the Museo Correr is the Procuratie Vecchie, which is the oldest of the buildings. Originally built as a two-story structure in the 12th century to house the offices and apartments of the procurators of San Marco. They were rebuilt after a fire in the 16th century as a three-story structure designed to replicate its Gothic roots.
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| Torre dell' Orologio |
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| St. Mark's balcony overlooking Clocktower |
This building is connected to the Torre dell' Orologio (Clocktower). The clocktower is an early Renaissance building on the north side of the square, it is also an astrological clock. Both the tower and the clock date from the last decade of the 15th century, though the mechanism of the clock has subsequently been much altered (pretty much on and off for the last 500 years). It was placed where the clock would be visible from the waters of the lagoon and give notice to everyone of the wealth and glory of Venice. The lower two floors of the tower make a monumental archway into the main street of the city, the Merceria, which linked the political and religious centre (the Piazza) with the commercial and financial centre (the Rialto). On a terrace at the top of the tower are two great bronze figures, hinged at the waist, which strike the hours on a bell. One is old and the other young, to show the passing of time and, although said to represent shepherds (they are wearing sheepskins) or giants (they are huge figures of great mass, necessary so that their form can be recognized at a distance) they are always known as "the Moors" because of the dark patina acquired by the bronze. Below this level is the winged lion of Venice with the open book (symbol of St. Mark), before a blue background with gold stars. There was originally a statue of the Doge Agostino Barbarigo (Doge 1486-1501) kneeling next to him until Napoleon invaded and removed it. Below again, is a semi-circular gallery with statues of the Virgin and Child seated, in gilt beaten copper. On either side are two large blue panels showing the time: the hour on the left in Roman Numerals and the minutes (at 5 minute intervals) on the right in Arabic Numerals. Twice a year, at Epiphany (6 January) and on Ascension Day (the Thursday 40 days after Easter, counting both days) the three Magi, led by an angel with a trumpet, emerge from one of the doorways normally taken up by these numbers and pass in procession round the gallery, bowing to the Virgin and child, before disappearing through the other door. In front of the clocktower in the Piazzetta dei Leoncini, which is an extension off the St. Mark's Square.
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| Red Verona Lions |
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| Piazzetta dei Leoncini |
This was the site of a former vegetable market. A pair of red Verona stone Lions (1722) are crouching on the stairs leading up to an old "well head" or water basin no longer in use. To the right of the piazetta is St. Mark's Basilica.
The basilica is the most famous and most recognizable of all the churches in Venice. Its design mixes eastern and western building styles in a unique way, best known as Italo-Byzantine architecture. Originally it was the chapel of the Doge, and has only been the city's cathedral since 1807. The original St. Mark's Church was situated inside the complex of the Doge's Palace and was constructed in 828. It was built to house the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist, which were supposedly stolen by Venetian merchants from Alexandria, Egypt several years earlier during the 4th Crusade in Constantinople 1204. The church burned down in 976 during an uprising. It was rebuilt twice, the last time in 1063. At that time, the power of the Venetian Republic has risen dramatically, and the new basilica, consecrated in 1094, would come to symbolize the republic's growing power and wealth. This basilica is the one we see today. The Basilica of San Marco is known for its opulent design and gilded interior mosaics, and nicknamed Chiesa d' Oro, "Church of Gold." Connected to the basilica is still the Doge's Palace.
I took these photos off google because mine were a little dark with the overcast and had some scaffolding on one of the domes and you couldn't fully appreciate the "golden" Church from them.
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| St. Mark's Basilica |
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| St. Mark's Basilica |
The Doge's Palace is one of the most important buildings in Venice. It was the center of power, from where the Venetian Republic was ruled. The Doge's Palace sits on a site that was once occupied by a 10th century wooden stockade with watch towers and moat and, later, another similar fort, both eventually destroyed by fire and other disasters.
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| Doge's Palace Courtyard |
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| Doge's Palace |
By the fourteenth century, the hierarchy of Venice decided that a grand palace was needed, a building befitting the city's new wealth and power. Designs for the Doge's Palace were created by Filippo Calendario (who was later executed for treason in 1355) and work on the structure began. Because of Calendario's death, the Palazzo Ducale was constructed in two phases. The eastern wing, which faces the Rio di Palazzo, was built between 1301 and 1340. The western wing, facing the Piazetta San Marco, took an additional 110 years to build and was completed in 1450. The architectural style is generally referred to as Venetian Gothic - a gothic structure with byzantine influences. However, due to numerous fires and natural disasters, the oldest part of the exterior of the palace is the facade overlooking the lagoon. Most "newer" facades incorporated some later styles such as Roman. A perfect example is that the lower levels have pointed arches which were considered Gothic, and rounded ones were considered Romanesque. After entering the inner courtyard you'll find a flight of stairs that led to the Doge's private quarters, known as the "Scala dei Giganti" and flanked by huge statues of Mars and Neptune. The facade facing the courtyard is more classical in style, having been rebuilt after a fire in the mid 1500s. The doge's apartment was on the second floor while the chancellery offices were located on the first. On the third level was the Sala del Collegio, where the doge met with foreign ambassadors. Here, today's visitors will find portraits of all of Venice's doges, except one, who disgraced himself by attempting a coup d'etat. Visitors can also explore the map room and the armory. The Grand Chamber Council, also on the second floor, is the largest room inside the Palazzo Ducale, measuring nearly the entire length of the southern facade, which looks out onto the waterfront. This was where the ruling elite of Venice met, usually about one thousand individuals total. In this room, guests can view Tintoretto's "Paradise", an amazing full-wall work completed in 1577. Finally, in the basement were several prison cells, which housed convicts awaiting trial. When the "new" prison was built on the other side of the Rio di Palazzo the facility was no longer used. The new prison was connected to the palace via the now famous Bridge of Sighs. The plaza or square in front of Doge's Palace is known as the Piazzetta.
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| Columns |
Once an inlet for boats and witness to the arrival of distinguished visitors during the Republic's heyday, this now fully paved mini square fronts the lagoon. At the front of this square overlooking the lagoon are the columns of San Marco and San Teodoro. These two granite columns of the saints were erected in 1172 by Nicolò Barattieri. The one on the left is a winged lion which is the symbol for St. Mark, and the one on the right is St. Theodoro. Public executions were also carried out between these two columns, and it is considered "bad luck" to walk between them. To the right of the columns is one side of the Procuratie Nuove. This was built in the classical style, and designed to afford more space to offices connected with the procurators. Work began on this in 1586 and completed in 1640. And finally, rounding out the square is the Campanile, or bell tower for St. Mark's Basilica.
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| Campanile |
This bell tower has an interesting history. The first tower standing at the site of the campanile was built in the seventh century, possibly as a lighthouse. The first clock tower dates from around the year 900. Throughout the centuries, it was rebuilt a number of times, finally reaching its current look around 1513, after a restoration following a damaging earthquake. The restoration project was initially led by Venetian architect Giorgio Spavento and later taken over by Lombardian architect Bartolomeo Bon. The latter was responsible for the upper part of the tower's current design, which included the addition of the belfry and the attic. The gold-leaf spire was topped with a gilded wooden statue of the Angel Gabriel. In 1540 the Logetta was added, an ornate podium at the entrance of the tower. Several calamities hit the tower in the following centuries. Another fire occurred in the early seventeenth century and, this time, Baldassarre Longhena, a well-known Venetian architect of the Baroque period led the renovations. In 1745, the Campanile di San Marco was struck by fire again, with the damage causing a collapse that killed several individuals.
Subsequent renovations added a lightning rod and the angel statue was replaced by one sculpted by Luigi Zandomeneghi. On July 14, 1902, the Campanile di San Marco collapsed completely. The Logetta and a small portion of the neighboring Biblioteca Marciana were also destroyed. Local government was quick to decide to rebuild the tower and after ten years of construction, it was reopened April 25, 1912. Care was taken to create an exact copy of the tower as it existed before its collapse, with the exception of some structural reinforcements required to prevent another collapse in the future. Campanile di San Marco stands 98.6 meters (324 feet) tall and is located near the front of the basilica. Most of the building is simply a plain bricked structure, topped by an arched belfry that houses five bells. Atop the belfry is another brick section decorated with walking lions (in honor of St. Mark) and the Goddess of Justice, representing Venice. On top of the bell tower is a pyramidal spire with a golden weather vane of top, which is in the form of the angel Gabriel. The five bells of the Campanile di San Marco each had a specific purpose. The largest rang at the beginning and end of the workday, one rang at midday, another rang to summon members to council meetings, a fourth proclaimed a session of the Senate, and the last announced executions. At the base of the tower is the Logetta, an ornate podium added in 1540. The Baroque design with marble bas-reliefs and bronze sculptures was created by Jacopo Sansovino, an architect and sculptor from Florence. The bas-reliefs depict allegorical scenes with gods representing Venice, Crete and Cyprus.
Ok, so the mini history lesson is over (for now), and I will begin again with our walking tour of the square. As I mentioned before, we started our tour in St. Mark's Square and told us the history of all the buildings as well as the floods. From there we walked across the Piazza to the Doge Palace.
Here are a few photos of the Doge's Palace courtyard .
To quote our tour guide, "It's a museum, NOT a gallery." The difference, she stressed, was that in a gallery they place the pieces of art where they choose, whereas a museum is to preserve where the art was placed when it was back then. So it still looks the same as it did when originally decorated. We started our tour up the "golden staircase" it got this nickname from the gold-leaf inlay in the frescoes all the way up the walls and ceilings the whole length of the staircase.
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| Hercules (left) and Atlas (right) |
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| Golden Staircase |
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| Golden Staircase |
At the beginning of the staircase are two statues; Hercules and Atlas. Once upstairs, we entered rooms upon rooms of paintings most of which were still original. The only reason some would be copies was if they were damaged beyond repair in a natural disaster, or were stolen as Nazi plunder. Some pieces have been returned for example a piece in one of the first rooms we looked at. (Sorry I don't know the real name) They have the copy still hanging on the ceiling, but since the original was returned, they have it display on the floor below it showing just how big it truly is. This example is along the back wall of the photo.
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| Example of recovered artwork |
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| Original artwork |
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| Copy of artwork |
We were told how to recognize certain symbols in paintings, since that was the medium for telling stories to most of the illiterate people. In order to name the saints, there were symbols around them. St. Mark for example would have a winged lion and/or be hold a book (the bible) open (it would be open to the chapter he wrote; the book of Mark). There was one painting she pointed out that the lion was ruthless and energetic, but in the next, which was the one on display on the ground, the lion was sleepy. She said they were painted some years apart and that the energetic lion was painted when Venice was a main stop along the trade route and was considered the gate to the Orient.
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| Energetic lion |
The painting where the lion looks sleepy was painted after the discovery of oceans and the new world, and so the Rialto Market and the rest of Venice was not as important and the lion (Venice) was tired. The recovered artwork was the example of the sleepy lion whereas this other artwork was the energetic lion. A few rooms later (I believe it was the Senate Room), she pointed out the odd clock. She said it was a later discovery, long after the clocks had stopped working that they realized how they worked. They believe the clock numbers moved and rotated and the hands were stationary. That is why the I is not always in the correct position.
However, Venice is the only place they have seen this, where the numbers moved and not the hands. But they found clocks that had the numbers in all different locations.
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| Tintoretto's Paradise |
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| Great Council Chamber |
We then walked into The Majestic Great Council Chamber lined with portraits of all of Venice's doges, except one, who disgraced himself by attempting a coup d'etat; Marin Falier. She also pointed out Tintoretto's "Paradise", an amazing full-wall work completed in 1577 which takes up most of one of the side walls. For a while this was the largest room in Europe.
Here are some views out the windows of the Doge's Palace.
From there we crossed the Bridge of Sighs to enter the new prison building. The "new" prisons held the people that were accused of a crime and were being held until proven guilty of not guilty.
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| Bridge of Sighs |
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| Me walking through the Bridge of Sighs |
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| Me walking through the Bridge of |
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| Looking out the Bridge of Sighs |
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| Looking out the Bridge of Sighs |
Some were proven not guilty and were let free, but if you were proven guilty, you were taken back across the Bridge of Sighs, through the Doge Palace and had your sentence carried out in the piazza below. According to our guide (not sure if she was kidding or not) but you could have your choice in how you would have your sentence carried out: Hanging, Beheading by the broad sword, or Drowned in the lagoon in front of the piazza. Back in the Doge's Palace courtyard was the Giant's Staircase, which is this massive marble staircase. It used to be one of the original entrances to the palace, now its part of the exit.
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| Giant's Staircase |
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| Giant's Staircase |
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| Shaunna with staircase |
After we walked out of the Doge Palace, she took us in front of St. Mark's Basilica and gave a brief history on the church and the façade. She couldn't take us inside because it was a Catholic holiday celebration for the basilica, but it would be open later in the afternoon if we would like to go in there on our own. That was the end of our walking tour, but Katarina (our tour director) had one more piece planned on our tour for that day. We were going to see a Venetian glassblower!We went to Vecchia Murano Glass Factory, where we were given a glassblowing demonstration. It was amazing how fast he worked! We got to watch one of the few glass masters left with the skill to do the Venetian craftsmanship in Murano glass. We got to see him make a water pitcher and then a galloping horse. He always kept the hot glass rolling or moving because if he kept it still too long if would start to sag. It's definitely a technique that took a very long time to master; they said the usual apprenticeship is around 15-20 years. The was the end of our walking tour that day.
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Now Shaunna, Matt, and I had made some nice long lists of everything we wanted to see or do in each city and Venice's was pretty long! In order to get everything done, we just kept moving. The first thing on our list was to climb the Campanile, bell tower, in St. Mark's Square. The line wasn't that long so we started planning out the rest of our day while we waited. When we got to the front we realized it was an elevator ride to the top, this was that alteration they did for the complete reconstruction in the early 1900s. The views from the top were unbelievably gorgeous! Not only was the weather perfect for photos, but just the scenery itself is beautiful. When we looked up inside the tower, we realized the bells that still ring every hour are only a few feet above our head completely exposed. If you are above average height you could probably touch them...and yes they ring whether tourists are up there or not. We had suggested the tower to another couple on the trip and on the bus the next day they said they were up there when the bells went off and it was very very VERY loud. I'm glad we just missed the hour mark both going up and coming down. After we came down, we were ready for lunch. We had passed a few places that caught our eye on the way to the glass factory earlier and figured they would be perfect for a quick bite. We had to be quick because we were meeting back up with some of our group to go inside St. Mark's Basilica.
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| St. Mark's Square |
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| Entrance to the Grand Canal |
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| Doge's Palace |
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| Piazzetta |
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| Column of San Marco |
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| Me in the Campanile |
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| Me in the Campanile |
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| The bells were so close! |
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| Glad they didn't really go off! |
We found a little take away (take out) bar that was part of a restaurant and each got a slice of pizza. Mine was a vegetarian style but with veggies we don't normally serve on pizza back home, it was delicious! Shaunna and Matt stuck with the classic pepperoni pizza. We ate it as we walked back to the piazza and met up with the group near the flagpoles.
We went into the Basilica to look at the famous original statues of the 4 horses. Back to the history lesson briefly: The Horses of Saint Mark, also known as the Triumphal Quadriga, is a set of bronze statues of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a quadriga (a four-horse carriage used for chariot racing). The horses were placed on the façade, on the loggia above the porch, of St. Mark's after the sack of Constantinople in 1204. They remained there until looted by Napoleon in 1797 but were returned in 1815. The sculptures have been removed from the façade and placed in the interior of St. Mark's for conservation purposes, with replicas in their position on the loggia. The sculptures date from classical antiquity and have been attributed to the 4th century BC Greek sculptor Lysippos, although this has not been widely accepted. It is certain that the horses, along with the quadriga with which they were depicted were long displayed at the Hippodrome of Constantinople; they may be the "four gilt horses that stand above the Hippodrome" that "came from the island of Chios under Theodosius II" mentioned in the 8th- or early 9th-century. They were still there in 1204, when they were looted by Venetian forces as part of the sack of the capital of the Byzantine Empire in the Fourth Crusade. The collars on the four horses were added in 1204 to obscure where the animals heads had been severed to allow them to be transported from Constantinople to Venice. Shortly after the Fourth Crusade, Doge Enrico Dandolo sent the horses to Venice, where they were installed on the terrace of the façade of St. Mark's Basilica in 1254. In 1797, Napoleon had the horses forcibly removed from the basilica and carried off to Paris, where they were used in the design of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel together with a quadriga. In 1815 the horses were returned to Venice by Captain Dumaresq. The horses remained in the terrace over St. Marks until the early 1980s, when the ongoing damage from growing air pollution forced their replacement with exact copies. Since then, the originals have been on display just inside the basilica as part of the small museum. There was a small fee to go to see them, but I think it was worth it ;)
We were able to go out onto the terrace where the replica stand and it was a nice lookout onto the square. We also saw where the original horses are now living. They are magnificent, it is amazing the talent sculptors had even back then. You can see the craftsmanship in making them look lifelike.
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| Balcony overlooking St. Mark's Square |
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| Me, Shaunna, and Matt on the balcony |
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| Me overlooking St. Mark's Square |
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| Me with replica horses |
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| Me with replica horses |
We also walked around the rest of the basilica, which is so beautiful. Almost every wall you look at was a gold-leaf gilded mosaics. The upper levels of the interior are completely covered with bright mosaics covering an area of about 8000 m2. The great majority use the traditional background of gold glass tesserae, creating the shimmering overall effect. Unfortunately, the Doge retained a workshop of mosaicists until the late 18th century, and in the 19th century contracted a mosaic workshop run by the Salviati glassmaking firm, and the majority of the medieval mosaics have been "restored" by removing and resetting, usually with a considerable loss of quality, so that "only about one-third of the mosaic surface can be regarded as original". The earliest surviving work, in the main porch, perhaps dates to as early as 1070, and was probably by a workshop that had left Constantinople in the mid-11th century and worked at Torcello Cathedral. The interior is based on a Greek cross, with each arm divided into three naves with a dome of its own as well as the main dome above the crossing. The dome above the crossing and the western dome are bigger than the other three. This is based on Constantine's Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photos inside the Basilica so these photos below are from google. Even though it was very sunny when we were there, it didn't shine this bright inside. Could you imagine what people would think the first time they walked in there, even back when it was first built? What a sight that would be! It still left me breathless!
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| Inside St. Mark's Basilica |
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| Inside St. Mark's Basilica |
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| Inside St. Mark's Basilica |
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| Inside St. Mark's Basilica |
After we saw the basilica, we went back to our hotel to change. We wore long sleeves and pants since we were going into the church that morning and you must have your shoulders and knees covered. But the weather was so nice out that we changed into capris and shorter sleeves. We then headed back out to do some more sightseeing.
Our first stop was to find the Ponte di Rialto, Rialto bridge, which had stumbled across before but this time we wanted to enjoy it. The bridge is one of the four main bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice. It is the oldest bridge across the canal, and was the dividing line for the districts of San Marco and San Polo.
The first dry crossing of the Grand Canal was a pontoon bridge built in 1181 by Nicolò Barattieri. It was called the Ponte della Moneta, presumably because of the mint that stood near its eastern entrance. The development and importance of the Rialto market on the eastern bank increased traffic on the floating bridge, so it was replaced in 1255 by a wooden bridge. This structure had two inclined ramps meeting at a movable central section, that could be raised to allow the passage of tall ships. The connection with the market eventually led to a change of name for the bridge. During the first half of the 15th century, two rows of shops were built along the sides of the bridge. The rents brought an income to the State Treasury, which helped maintain the bridge. Maintenance was vital for the timber bridge. It was partly burnt in the revolt in 1310. In 1444, it collapsed under the weight of a crowd watching a boat parade and it collapsed again in 1524. The idea of rebuilding the bridge in stone was first proposed in 1503. Several projects were considered over the following decades. In 1551, the authorities requested proposals for the renewal of the Rialto Bridge, among other things. Plans were offered by famous architects, such as Jacopo Sansovino, Palladio and Vignola, but all involved a Classical approach with several arches, which was judged inappropriate to the situation. Michelangelo also was considered as designer of the bridge. The present stone bridge, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was finally completed in 1591. It is similar to the wooden bridge it succeeded; two inclined ramps lead up to a central portico and on either side of the portico, the covered ramps carry rows of shops. The engineering of the bridge was considered so audacious that architect Vincenzo Scamozzi predicted future ruin. The bridge has defied its critics to become one of the architectural icons of Venice. The shops are so small and quaint but look so cute along the bridge I couldn't imagine the bridge without them.
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| Ponte di Rialto |
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| Me with Rialto Bridge |
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| Rialto Market |
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| Rialto Market |
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| Rialto Bridge |
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| Rialto Market |
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| View from Rialto Bridge |
The Venetian Carnevale (carnival) was once a huge celebration that lasted months at a time, at Venice's height of wealth, when barely anyone had to work it would last six months! Masks were worn as a way to keep everyone who attended happy; a noblewoman could have a conversation with a local merchant and a poor man could flirt with the upper class and no harm would come from it. However, despite its popularity mask-making is a dying art in the city. While you'll find hundreds if not thousands of masks throughout the city, the majority of masks for sale were made in China and have little (if any) relationship to the local tradition.
Shaunna had read up on a shop that sold authentic carnevale masks. It is called Bottege di Mascareri and is run by brothers, Sergio and Massimo Boldrin. They are pure traditionalists, recreating beautiful and historically accurate versions of the masks of the Venetian Carnevale. It was actually pretty easy to find his shop. We crossed the Rialto Bridge and it was on our right amongst the tourist booths (San Polo 80). It was a small shop but by looking in his two shop windows and actually entering the shop, we definitely could tell there was a higher quality here. First off Sergio himself was sitting right in the shop at a table working on new masks. He greeted us and we took a look around. There were masks based on the plague doctor's masks, full masks, half masks, feathered masks, it was quite the selection. And not only that but he had photos posted up on his walls of famous celebrities with masks he created! One was of him and Robin Williams, where Robin Williams was in a bull fighting costume holding his mask. Our favorite was him with the whole cast of Criminal Minds; one was of them holding their masks with him and another was of them all wearing their masks. He also had a promotional photo from one of the seasons that they all signed for him.
He told us of how his masks were handcrafted; mixed with
papers and gold, unlike the many you see around the city. Shaunna told him that
that was why she had specifically sought his store out; he seemed surprised but
flattered. Shaunna finally decided on one of the half masks that was very
pretty; it was gold with sequins and designs. He even signed the inside of the
mask and marked it Venezia ’15. As Shaunna was paying and Sergio was wrapping
up the mask, he told us how he had only returned to Italy the week before. He
had been in California teaching those in the movie industry how to make masks;
he is often sought after because of his craftsmanship. He also informed us that
he was the first mask shop on the Rialto Bridge and in the area; thus sparking
the many copy-cats to try and imitate him with fakes. It was a great stop in
our Venice visit, a real piece of Venezia history and culture.
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| Bottege di Mascareri |
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| Sergio's Masks |
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| Criminal Minds! |
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| Shaunna's Mask |
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| Sergio even signed it! |
The Rialto became an important district in 1097, when Venice's market moved there, and in the following century a boat bridge was set up across the Grand Canal providing access to it. This was soon replaced by the Rialto Bridge. The Rialto market grew, both as a retail and as a wholesale market. Warehouses were built, including the famous Fondaco dei Tedeschi on the other side of the bridge. Most of the buildings in the Rialto were destroyed in a fire in 1514, the sole survivor being the church San Giacomo di Rialto, while the rest of the area was gradually rebuilt. The Fabriche Vechie dates from this period, while the Fabriche Nuove is only slightly more recent, dating from 1553. The statue Il Gobbo di Rialto was also sculpted in the sixteenth century. The area is still a busy retail quarter, with the daily Erberia greengrocer market, and the fish market on the Campo della Pescheria.
Once we bought Shaunna's authentic carnevale mask, we made our way to the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari Basilica, or Frari Church as it is also commonly referred to. It is considered one of the greatest churches in the city and holds the status of a minor Basilica.
It stands on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district. It is one of Italy's most important Franciscan sites, as evidenced by the numerous pictorial and sculptural representations of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua. The Franciscans were granted land to build a church in 1250, but the building was not completed until 1338. Work almost immediately began on its much larger replacement, the current church, which took over a century to build. The campanile, the second tallest in the city after that of San Marco, was completed in 1396. The imposing edifice was built of brick, and was one of the city's three notable churches built in the Italian Gothic style. As with many Venetian churches, the exterior was rather plain. The interior contained the only rood screen still in place in Venice. The building was completed, after almost a century of construction, in 1338. It stands on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district. The church is dedicated to the Assumption. This is the main reason we needed to see this church. Titian's Assumption is the altarpiece, and it is indescribable. The colors are so bright and vibrant, as well as the size of the canvas. Titian's Assumption is the largest altarpiece in Venice. The support it needs just to hold the frame up is incredible. However, this is the only artwork that you were not allowed to take a photo of in the church; so the photos below are ones I took from the internet. We also saw the Monument to Titian, Bellini's Madonna with Child and Saints, and Vivarini's Madonna Enthroned with Child.
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| Frari Church |
Now it was time to head back towards the San Marco district since that's where our hotel was and where we planned on having dinner. There were a few small stops Shaunna and Matt had planned for on the way back, and since they were on the way it made it easy. The first was the Squero di San Trovaso, a tiny boatyard. It was established in the seventeenth century, and sits beside the Church of San Trovaso and close to the Accademia Bridge. The small wooden structures visitors view at the yard are Tyrolean in style since workers came originally from an area around Cadore, in the Dolomites, an Italian section of the Alps. Statistics show that there are about 350 gondolas on the canal each day (there were once 10,000!) and many of them are repaired at the Squero di San Trovaso, which has become more of a repair facility than a building yard. On occasion, however, a new gondola is built here, fashioned from eight different kinds of wood - mahogany, cherry, fir, walnut, oak, elm, larch and lime - as tradition dictates. The boatyard is not open to the public so you can only catch a glimpse of what's going on by watching from across the rio San Trovaso.
There were a few more stops, and a lot more photos ;) but I will skip most to get back on track. When we were finally back in the San Marco district we did a little more shopping for souvenirs. It was at this point that I couldn't pass up getting my very own Gondolier hat.
I asked the shopkeeper which was more common; the red or the navy/black. He started explaining the meaning of the colors: red is for the spring and summer months, and the navy is for the fall and winter months. Even though it was fall when I was there, I decided to get the red striped Gondolier hat (and yes it is authentic "made in Italy" style hat).
I already have the perfect summer striped dress it can go with! (Picture soon to follow of that outfit). When we had all the souvenirs we wanted, we headed for dinner. For lunch we had gotten pizza at that to go bar part of a restaurant right off St. Mark's Square, it was here we also decided to have a nice sit-down dinner. Now, it wasn't quite as fancy as our welcome dinner, but it was just as delicious. I had gnocchi with tomatoes and to drink I tried a Spritz, which is a cocktail of juice and wine. That was just ok, but I think that was mainly because I had thought I ordered a peach spritz (most recommended) and it came with an orange slice in it...I didn't like that. But the gnocchi was to die for! The restaurant filled up quickly so we decided to head back to the hotel and start packing since we were off to Levanto in the morning! Arrivederci Venice!!!
Below are a bunch of random photos from Venice!!!
The first dry crossing of the Grand Canal was a pontoon bridge built in 1181 by Nicolò Barattieri. It was called the Ponte della Moneta, presumably because of the mint that stood near its eastern entrance. The development and importance of the Rialto market on the eastern bank increased traffic on the floating bridge, so it was replaced in 1255 by a wooden bridge. This structure had two inclined ramps meeting at a movable central section, that could be raised to allow the passage of tall ships. The connection with the market eventually led to a change of name for the bridge. During the first half of the 15th century, two rows of shops were built along the sides of the bridge. The rents brought an income to the State Treasury, which helped maintain the bridge. Maintenance was vital for the timber bridge. It was partly burnt in the revolt in 1310. In 1444, it collapsed under the weight of a crowd watching a boat parade and it collapsed again in 1524. The idea of rebuilding the bridge in stone was first proposed in 1503. Several projects were considered over the following decades. In 1551, the authorities requested proposals for the renewal of the Rialto Bridge, among other things. Plans were offered by famous architects, such as Jacopo Sansovino, Palladio and Vignola, but all involved a Classical approach with several arches, which was judged inappropriate to the situation. Michelangelo also was considered as designer of the bridge. The present stone bridge, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was finally completed in 1591. It is similar to the wooden bridge it succeeded; two inclined ramps lead up to a central portico and on either side of the portico, the covered ramps carry rows of shops. The engineering of the bridge was considered so audacious that architect Vincenzo Scamozzi predicted future ruin. The bridge has defied its critics to become one of the architectural icons of Venice. The shops are so small and quaint but look so cute along the bridge I couldn't imagine the bridge without them. 
Shaunna had read up on a shop that sold authentic carnevale masks. It is called Bottege di Mascareri and is run by brothers, Sergio and Massimo Boldrin. They are pure traditionalists, recreating beautiful and historically accurate versions of the masks of the Venetian Carnevale. It was actually pretty easy to find his shop. We crossed the Rialto Bridge and it was on our right amongst the tourist booths (San Polo 80). It was a small shop but by looking in his two shop windows and actually entering the shop, we definitely could tell there was a higher quality here. First off Sergio himself was sitting right in the shop at a table working on new masks. He greeted us and we took a look around. There were masks based on the plague doctor's masks, full masks, half masks, feathered masks, it was quite the selection. And not only that but he had photos posted up on his walls of famous celebrities with masks he created! One was of him and Robin Williams, where Robin Williams was in a bull fighting costume holding his mask. Our favorite was him with the whole cast of Criminal Minds; one was of them holding their masks with him and another was of them all wearing their masks. He also had a promotional photo from one of the seasons that they all signed for him.
It stands on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district. It is one of Italy's most important Franciscan sites, as evidenced by the numerous pictorial and sculptural representations of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony of Padua. The Franciscans were granted land to build a church in 1250, but the building was not completed until 1338. Work almost immediately began on its much larger replacement, the current church, which took over a century to build. The campanile, the second tallest in the city after that of San Marco, was completed in 1396. The imposing edifice was built of brick, and was one of the city's three notable churches built in the Italian Gothic style. As with many Venetian churches, the exterior was rather plain. The interior contained the only rood screen still in place in Venice. The building was completed, after almost a century of construction, in 1338. It stands on the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district. The church is dedicated to the Assumption. This is the main reason we needed to see this church. Titian's Assumption is the altarpiece, and it is indescribable. The colors are so bright and vibrant, as well as the size of the canvas. Titian's Assumption is the largest altarpiece in Venice. The support it needs just to hold the frame up is incredible. However, this is the only artwork that you were not allowed to take a photo of in the church; so the photos below are ones I took from the internet. We also saw the Monument to Titian, Bellini's Madonna with Child and Saints, and Vivarini's Madonna Enthroned with Child. 
I asked the shopkeeper which was more common; the red or the navy/black. He started explaining the meaning of the colors: red is for the spring and summer months, and the navy is for the fall and winter months. Even though it was fall when I was there, I decided to get the red striped Gondolier hat (and yes it is authentic "made in Italy" style hat). 
I already have the perfect summer striped dress it can go with! (Picture soon to follow of that outfit). When we had all the souvenirs we wanted, we headed for dinner. For lunch we had gotten pizza at that to go bar part of a restaurant right off St. Mark's Square, it was here we also decided to have a nice sit-down dinner. Now, it wasn't quite as fancy as our welcome dinner, but it was just as delicious. I had gnocchi with tomatoes and to drink I tried a Spritz, which is a cocktail of juice and wine. That was just ok, but I think that was mainly because I had thought I ordered a peach spritz (most recommended) and it came with an orange slice in it...I didn't like that. But the gnocchi was to die for! The restaurant filled up quickly so we decided to head back to the hotel and start packing since we were off to Levanto in the morning! Arrivederci Venice!!!
