The moment I'll remember most from my recent visit to Venice was when I emerged from a dark alley onto a wide sidewalk on the banks of a busy canal. It was very early and the canal was alive. Water taxis and vaporettos, delivery boats and cargo barges. The sounds of motors blaring from boats going to and fro, their captains calling out to each other. The hurried pace of locals and tourists, on my side of the canal and on the far bank, scurrying up the stairs to the Santa Lucia Train Station.
I hadn't expected this wondrous moment. 'Good morning, Venice!' I almost said aloud. I couldn't believe that I had arrived in this marvelous city, crisscrossed with canals instead of streets. The sun had yet to rise and here I was, witnessing the dawn while strolling along the Grand Canal.
We
stayed three nights in the Albergo Marin, a small hotel just a short
walk from the Piazzale Roma bus terminal. Albergo Marin advertises itself as a 'charming,
sanitized one-star boutique hotel—it was a really pleasant place to stay. Except
possibly for the very steep, narrow steps we needed to climb to our
second-floor room.
We
took a vaporetto to St. Mark's Square and made our way through the throngs of
tourists, but didn't bother to stand in the long line leading into St Mark's
Basilica. We took the elevator to the top of Campanile di San Marco, the bell
tower with an observation platform offering a panoramic view over the Square,
the city's orange rooftops, the canals, and the islands.
Some
highlights of our Venetian stay:
Doges Palace (Palazzo Ducale) - the residence and the seat of Venetian
government, symbol of Venice and a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, has
incredible interiors including intricately gilded and painting-covered
ceilings. We did something extra special when we visited. We took the Secret Itinerary tour, a small guided tour of palace rooms "where the delicate work of some
of the most important bodies in the Venetian administration was carried
out." Climbing up one steep darkened staircase after another, we saw the
palace's jail cells, including the one where Casanova was held prisoner and
from which he later escaped. We saw the complex's torture chamber and the
Chamber of the Council of Ten, seat of the administrative body that worked with
the Doge and his counselors to rule the Venetian state. By taking this tour, we
also had the chance to walk inside the famous Bridge of Sighs!
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| Inside the Doges Palace |
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| The view from inside the Bridge of Sighs |
Burano – we rode the vaporetto past Murano, the island famous for Venetian glass production (much of which has shut down following the pandemic and the rise in natural gas prices) and arrived on the island of Burano. We strolled along its canals, fascinated by the colorful houses along their banks and amused by the island's leaning bell tower. We sat down for espresso and essi (Burano's traditional s-shaped biscuits) and admired the view. For lunch, we had pasta in a restaurant alongside a canal. Overall, a wonderful relaxful morning – highly recommended!
Vivaldi Concert - The Italian composer Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) was born in Venice and it is said that he composed many of his works in the Santa Maria della Visitazione church, also known as the Vivaldi Church. What an amazing place to hear a performance of Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons' (composed around 1720, the modern church was built three decades later)! The performance was by a string ensemble conducted by master violinist Alberto Martini. With the church's excellent acoustics, this was a concert to remember!
What else will I remember from our short stay in Venice? Eating bite-size Venetian cicchetti while drinking Campari; wandering through the streets and over canal bridges without getting lost (thanks to Google Maps, although I was disappointed by the lack of fog); the good food; our visit to colorful Burano; and the grandeur of the Doges Palace. But more than anything else, I will always cherish my memory of seeing the early morning hubbub of Venice's busy canals for the first time.
