We had a wonderful time at the Carnaval, beautiful costumes, some people work very hard on their costumes. Venice never disappoints, always something beautiful and different.
On a bridge in Dorsoduro.
We also decided that we would go to the Island of Torcello, which is located in the greater lagoon some 2 hours away, by the scenic long route on a motonave cruising along the Canale della Giudecca out towards the Canale di San Marco past the Giardini Biennale and then towards the Cemetery island of San Michele, Murano (blown glass) and Burano (lace) and across to Torcello, the original settlement abandoned due to malaria, only the great cathedral remains today built in the year 1039 for the first millenium. We had a wonderful lunch by one of the canals with a view of gardens and small farms and the house of the Onorevole Basilio of Milan where we stayed one night 12 years ago during our 3 day cruise of the greater lagoon on an old Venetian sail boat. I remember on arrival at the house, the keeper served a white wine made from the grapes of vineyards on the island, meaning that there is a slightly salty taste because all the surrounding water is sea water. Torcello is very peaceful, few tourist come to it. It is simply charming and makes you realize how the lagoon must have been before mass tourism.
view from our table at lunch, the house of the Honorable Basilio where we slept one night 12 years ago.
The cathedral only has religious services on 15 August and on major religious feast days, where
St-Fosca is used daily. Torcello only has a population of 60 persons.
We spent most of the day on water going from one island to another but it was so much fun and so beautiful.
Venice during the carnavale is at its most colorful but we also had one great surprise, we arrived at St-Mark's square around 4:30 in the afternoon and decided on the spur of the moment to enter the Basilica of San Marco (1063), the great Byzantine style church modeled of the Agia Sophia of Constantinople (Istanbul).
The basilica closes at 5 pm to tourists and remains open only for prayers and religious services in the evening, don't try to go in and pretend that you want to pray when all you want to do is take a few pictures and look around. Anyway we went to look at the treasury of the basilica and on coming out of the room we were all alone in the great church, with the late afternoon sun streaming in through the great windows it was so quiet and peaceful, it was like taking a step back through the centuries. Under the great main Altar is the body of St-Mark the Evangelist, brought back (stolen) from Alexandria, Egypt by clever Venetian merchants.
St-Mark's Basilica in late afternoon as the sun shines through the church.
The high Altar of the Basilica with the body of St-Mark the Evangelist lying below.
Beautiful colored marble floor of the Basilica. A very ancient style of floor from antiquity.
There is nothing quite like a visit to Venice to make you smile and feel a million miles away from the world. Venice is truly a special unique place.
I confess I would love to see Venice - with all that history and art.
ReplyDeleteI sense though it is so overrun with tourists and it is sinking that I will never see it.
You have to chose when you go and the hordes of unwash tourists can be easily avoided, most go only for the day and are in Venice between 10am and 3:30pm after that they are all gone and the place becomes quiet again. Also the masses are found mainly in 3 places, Piazza San Marco, The train Station Piazza di Roma and at the Rialto Bridge. If you avoid those places you will be alone and quiet.
ReplyDeleteI'll go back, one day !! :)
ReplyDeleteTorcello is also overrun - from April to October. I guess it's still reasonably quiet in the winter, even in carnival week.
ReplyDeleteAs for the city, there's always somewhere to escape to beyond St Mark's Square. So long as one accepts that it does mostly exist for us tourists, and what inhabitants there are live off that, a wonderful time is inevitable - even in the fog, the rain...but looks as if you had those perfect blue skies.
It is truly the hypercity of cities. Trying to get my old mum there for her 80th, but she can barely walk now so it would be tricky, and of course gondola hire is prohibitively expensive.