Tuesday, October 17, 2006
SEPTEMBER 5th TRAVEL TO VENICE
We left Barcelona at about nine o’clock on Tuesday night and had a sleeper compartment going to Milan, Italy. The next morning in Milan we changed trains to go to Venice. We stayed outside the city at a hotel about a ten minute train ride from the Historic City Center. After we settled into our hotel we went down to the city went to a tourism office to check on city tours. The tourist office was in the train station which was right on the Grand Canal. There were no city bus tours like we have taken in most other cities, because there are no city buses. Once you enter the city there are no motor vehicles on land. The entire city is accessible only by using some type of water transportation on the canals. There are waterbuses which move large groups of people to bus stops just like a land bus lines. There are water taxis which operate on the canals just like streets and there are gondolas which are operated by a gondolier; one guy with a single long oar. They are what everyone expects to see and ride in when they come to Venice. So we rode in a gondola!!
We took a group ride in a gondola. They had what they called a gondola promenade with serenade. I guess there were about ten boats in our group and one of them had a pretty good singer and a guy playing an accordion. We went down the Grand Canal which is sorta like Main Street and took some of the smaller canals which went into residential areas. The Grand Canal is lined with hotels and restaurants and fancy private mansions. The side streets have apartment buildings, etc. We went about 7:30 pm so we had the benefit of daylight, sunset and dark with the lamps highlighting the canals. When we bought our tickets the young lady selling them told Mary that this is supposed to be romantic, so snuggle!
Since there are no motor vehicles on land inside the city, the police either walk or they have boats which patrol the canals. All the materials needed to keep the city functioning are delivered by boat. Anything which would be delivered by truck anywhere else is delivered by boat. We saw laundry being picked up from hotels. There were grocery stores getting shipments of stock. We even saw a UPS boat. The buildings have boat docks and /or short steps leading to their entrances, and many have private motor boats tied up at their docks as well as regular traffic.
Once you leave the canals there are narrow streets which are really no more than alleys. You walk and the city is built around squares or plazas. These squares usually have a key attraction which it is built around. All of the small side streets and alleys have shops and eating establishments along them. I really that this is the most unique city we have visited.
On Wednesday morning we took a waterbus to Piazza San Marco and took a tour of The Basilica di San Marco. We had an English speaking guide and she told us more about St. Mark and the city of Venice than a person should have to absorb in three hours. The Basilica was completed and concentrated in1094 AD There had been a chapel or church on this spot since 828. St. Mark is the patron of Venice and looks over and protects the city. St. Mark’s burial place was moved from his original burial place in Alexandra, Egypt where he had been First Bishop of the Church. We were not able to get close to the tomb, but we did see the tomb of St Mark. The construction of the Basilica took 30 years. The painting of the Mosaics took over 300 years. The art reflects the changing of the time. It ranges from oil on canvas to cut glass and 24kt gold leaf. The original bell tower doubled as a light house. There is a figure on each side of the bell with a hammer. As the bell chimes the figures move as though they are striking the bell with their hammer. The new bell tower of red brick was constructed in the early 1900’s. The floor of the Basilica is the lowest point in the city and it floods with the high tide usually between May and September each year. At the rear of the square which faces the sea there are two spires with statures on top. One is the winged lion which is the symbol of St Mark. The other figure became the symbol of Venice’s control of the land and the sea.
After Venice defeated Constantinople the Doge who is the head of state in the region of Venice became the High Priest of the Basilica even though he was a secular leader and not a religious leader. In the early 1400’s the Palace of the Doge is joined to the Basilica and the Doge had his own private entrance to the Church. As Venice grew and became more important it developed into the second most important trading center on the Mediterranean Sea, next to Constantinople. Venice became the staging point for the Holy Crusaders. They came to Venice for provisions and blessings for their crusade before they boarded a ship for the Holy Lands.
As Venice grew in importance so did the Doge. He was elected for life by the nobility of Venice. He had a Council of Ten who was selected to be his advisors. Be that as it may, he was all powerful over both Church and State. Service for life meant that if the guy did not have approval of his peers the only option for removal from power was death. There were a good many assainations and excommunications form the church. We walked through the Palace after we had seen the church
Entering the Palace we walked up the Stairway of Gold. At the bottom there is a statue of Hercules on one side and Atlas on the other side of the stairs. The guide said that this was created because the Doge though that Venice was to be the second Rome. Throughout the Palace the art work depicts the Doge as a soldier and a priest. Venice is depicted as a beautiful woman and St. Mark is the overseeing protector. We saw the largest oil on canvas painting in the world. It was done by Tintoretti and it started with the Virgin and Child and followed the development of the church to that point.
In the two major public rooms of the Palace where events of state were held there is a 24 hour clock on opposite sides of the wall. They both operate off of the same mechanism which is housed inside the wall. There are also rooms where the Senate met as well as a Hall of Justice where the Council of Ten punished crime and provided for the needy of the city. They had a very effective system in place. The prison was across a canal from the Hall of Justice. Over the canal was a bridge named the Bridge of Sighs It was a two way bridge with the coming and going lanes separated by a wall. The prisoners came over the bridge had their hearing and were sentenced. As they left the Hall of Justice they approached a three way intersection. One hallway led to freedom, the other led back across the Bridge of Sighs to the prison and the third led to the courtyard where public executions were carried out. I think we might be able to benefit from something like that in our justice system today.
As in most of our experiences we needed a lot more time to see this unique city. Someday if we ever come back maybe we can spend more time. Now we have to go to Florence and continue our introduction to Italy.
We left Barcelona at about nine o’clock on Tuesday night and had a sleeper compartment going to Milan, Italy. The next morning in Milan we changed trains to go to Venice. We stayed outside the city at a hotel about a ten minute train ride from the Historic City Center. After we settled into our hotel we went down to the city went to a tourism office to check on city tours. The tourist office was in the train station which was right on the Grand Canal. There were no city bus tours like we have taken in most other cities, because there are no city buses. Once you enter the city there are no motor vehicles on land. The entire city is accessible only by using some type of water transportation on the canals. There are waterbuses which move large groups of people to bus stops just like a land bus lines. There are water taxis which operate on the canals just like streets and there are gondolas which are operated by a gondolier; one guy with a single long oar. They are what everyone expects to see and ride in when they come to Venice. So we rode in a gondola!!
We took a group ride in a gondola. They had what they called a gondola promenade with serenade. I guess there were about ten boats in our group and one of them had a pretty good singer and a guy playing an accordion. We went down the Grand Canal which is sorta like Main Street and took some of the smaller canals which went into residential areas. The Grand Canal is lined with hotels and restaurants and fancy private mansions. The side streets have apartment buildings, etc. We went about 7:30 pm so we had the benefit of daylight, sunset and dark with the lamps highlighting the canals. When we bought our tickets the young lady selling them told Mary that this is supposed to be romantic, so snuggle!
Since there are no motor vehicles on land inside the city, the police either walk or they have boats which patrol the canals. All the materials needed to keep the city functioning are delivered by boat. Anything which would be delivered by truck anywhere else is delivered by boat. We saw laundry being picked up from hotels. There were grocery stores getting shipments of stock. We even saw a UPS boat. The buildings have boat docks and /or short steps leading to their entrances, and many have private motor boats tied up at their docks as well as regular traffic.
Once you leave the canals there are narrow streets which are really no more than alleys. You walk and the city is built around squares or plazas. These squares usually have a key attraction which it is built around. All of the small side streets and alleys have shops and eating establishments along them. I really that this is the most unique city we have visited.
On Wednesday morning we took a waterbus to Piazza San Marco and took a tour of The Basilica di San Marco. We had an English speaking guide and she told us more about St. Mark and the city of Venice than a person should have to absorb in three hours. The Basilica was completed and concentrated in1094 AD There had been a chapel or church on this spot since 828. St. Mark is the patron of Venice and looks over and protects the city. St. Mark’s burial place was moved from his original burial place in Alexandra, Egypt where he had been First Bishop of the Church. We were not able to get close to the tomb, but we did see the tomb of St Mark. The construction of the Basilica took 30 years. The painting of the Mosaics took over 300 years. The art reflects the changing of the time. It ranges from oil on canvas to cut glass and 24kt gold leaf. The original bell tower doubled as a light house. There is a figure on each side of the bell with a hammer. As the bell chimes the figures move as though they are striking the bell with their hammer. The new bell tower of red brick was constructed in the early 1900’s. The floor of the Basilica is the lowest point in the city and it floods with the high tide usually between May and September each year. At the rear of the square which faces the sea there are two spires with statures on top. One is the winged lion which is the symbol of St Mark. The other figure became the symbol of Venice’s control of the land and the sea.
After Venice defeated Constantinople the Doge who is the head of state in the region of Venice became the High Priest of the Basilica even though he was a secular leader and not a religious leader. In the early 1400’s the Palace of the Doge is joined to the Basilica and the Doge had his own private entrance to the Church. As Venice grew and became more important it developed into the second most important trading center on the Mediterranean Sea, next to Constantinople. Venice became the staging point for the Holy Crusaders. They came to Venice for provisions and blessings for their crusade before they boarded a ship for the Holy Lands.
As Venice grew in importance so did the Doge. He was elected for life by the nobility of Venice. He had a Council of Ten who was selected to be his advisors. Be that as it may, he was all powerful over both Church and State. Service for life meant that if the guy did not have approval of his peers the only option for removal from power was death. There were a good many assainations and excommunications form the church. We walked through the Palace after we had seen the church
Entering the Palace we walked up the Stairway of Gold. At the bottom there is a statue of Hercules on one side and Atlas on the other side of the stairs. The guide said that this was created because the Doge though that Venice was to be the second Rome. Throughout the Palace the art work depicts the Doge as a soldier and a priest. Venice is depicted as a beautiful woman and St. Mark is the overseeing protector. We saw the largest oil on canvas painting in the world. It was done by Tintoretti and it started with the Virgin and Child and followed the development of the church to that point.
In the two major public rooms of the Palace where events of state were held there is a 24 hour clock on opposite sides of the wall. They both operate off of the same mechanism which is housed inside the wall. There are also rooms where the Senate met as well as a Hall of Justice where the Council of Ten punished crime and provided for the needy of the city. They had a very effective system in place. The prison was across a canal from the Hall of Justice. Over the canal was a bridge named the Bridge of Sighs It was a two way bridge with the coming and going lanes separated by a wall. The prisoners came over the bridge had their hearing and were sentenced. As they left the Hall of Justice they approached a three way intersection. One hallway led to freedom, the other led back across the Bridge of Sighs to the prison and the third led to the courtyard where public executions were carried out. I think we might be able to benefit from something like that in our justice system today.
As in most of our experiences we needed a lot more time to see this unique city. Someday if we ever come back maybe we can spend more time. Now we have to go to Florence and continue our introduction to Italy.
