BMW in Italy: Day III - Venice

Thursday, 30 June, 2011 - I know, I know, you're thinking glass blowing and fountain pens are nice and all, but what about St. Mark's Basilica? What about the Doge's Palace?? Well we had saved the best for last my friends. Early Thursday we woke up to try and beat the tourist crowds to San Marco Square. Our plan was to get our luggage up to the train station to store in the lockers (which they didn't have - but they did have a luggage station where they charged by the item, thus I carried the paintings I'd purchased around with me for the rest of the day so as not to pay €30), grab a pastry, and - dare I say it? - take the vaporetto sans pass back to the square. Check, check, and check.

We made it to the basilica before the lines got absurd, only having to wait five minutes before we got inside. Oh. My gosh. And I thought Vienna was opulent. The entire inside of the basilica is gold mosaic with vibrant figures depicting religious figures and scenes (as one would only expect), also mosaic. Unfortunately we were a) ushered through a roped-off path which toured the perimeter of the basilica and had a constant stream of gawkers and admirers flowing through, making it difficult to stop, and b) no pictures allowed inside. However, I've pilfered one from Sights and Culture just because you have to have a visual of it:

I think I could have spent over an hour in there between the nave and everything on the main floor and the upper level museum where you could get a closer view of the domes and a plethora of relics on display. Easily my favorite were the four horses of St. Mark (also called the Triumphal Quadriga); the originals, which may be from as early as the 4th century BC and have been in Venice since the mid 13th century (minus a trip to Paris thanks to Napoleon), were housed inside and replicas had replaced them outside overlooking San Marco Square.

We headed to the Doge's Palace - the large Gothic building next to the basilica that everyone recognizes when they see pictures of Venice, this very building in fact:

Although the crowds around San Marco Square were building, we only had to wait in line for about ten minutes to get into the Doge's Palace. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but the place was immense and very informative. Again, of course, no pictures were allowed inside, which is a shame because the rooms - mostly the Doge's apartments and reception rooms - were remarkable. Many of the rooms had carved wooden ceilings with gilding against various colored backgrounds, Lombardy-style fireplaces, elaborate coats of arms, sculptures, and friezes with putti and allusions to the feats of each Doge. The Doge, derived from Latin's Dux, was the highest political position in Venice. Once elected, he held the position for life, although he had no executive, legislative, or decision-making power. Nor was he allowed to represent the city. Essentially he was a figure-head, although public business was paralyzed when he died until a new Doge was elected. Gee, great position to have.

The most spectacular room in the palace was the Sala del Maggiore Consiglio, or the Hall of the Great Council. This hall, situated on the corner of the pier and the square, is 117 feet long, 82 feet wide, and 50 feet tall. Think of it this way: a professional-sized basketball court is 94 feet by 50 feet. And the most amazing part? It's completely free of internal support columns. Apparently the almost 10,000 square foot ceiling is actually an upside down boat with the deck as the ceiling and the ribbing rising high above, unseen from the hall, much like cathedrals. Light pours in through seven large lancet windows which unfortunately make it a little difficult to see the oil paintings of the first 76 doges... minus Marino Faliero. This senile fellow, the 55th doge, only held the title from 1354-1355 because it was discovered that he was plotting a coup and planned on declaring himself prince (why he wouldn't aim for king, I'm not certain). So he was beheaded and his portrait in the Hall of the Great Council is represented by a black vail.

A little more about the Doge's Palace (if your eyes are starting to glaze over or you're contemplating checking your Facebook go ahead and skip to the next paragraph): The construction started in the 9th century, though it was then a fortified building, and wasn't stripped of this fortification and turned into an elegant building until the 12th century. There was a fire in 1483, again in 1574, and yet again in 1577. The other noteworthy part of the palace is the Scala dei Giganti, the Giant's Staircase. Completed in 1565, the newly appointed doges were crowned here overlooked by two colossal marble statues of Mars and Neptune.

Mars and Neptune - symbols of military and naval might

Oh, okay, and a few more pictures of the Doge's Palace:

Chapel connected to Saint Marks Basilica in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace

Two-storied loggia in the Doge's Palace courtyard

The 16th century Golden Staircase to the Doge's Apartments

It was past 3:00 by the time we finished touring the two must-sees of Venice (we started at 10:00), so we left the San Marco Square area to find a place to get lunch, then did some more random-side-street wanderings. We came across a store that Dylan really liked and knew about, Fabriano Boutique, and the woman inside was incredibly informative and chatted with us about Venice's history for about twenty minutes. After some more wandering I also for the 'investment piece' of my dreams at ArtisticMurano by Mauro Bonaventura.

I say 'investment piece' because while I was considering the red/gold horse at the glass blowing demonstration, the shop owner had termed the other horse he was trying to sell me on an 'investment piece' - a piece of art that I would have for a lifetime. Sadly this chess set is €3000, but I WANT IT!! I'm thinking in five years maybe I'll make this purchase. Apparently you can specify exactly how you want the pieces - all red or black, all white or clear, or black with red accents (crown, pitchfork, et.), white with clear accents (halo and wings), or vice versa. I actually like it just about how it is, except I think I'd want the angel's wings to also be clear. Or perhaps clear bodies with white wings might look neat. Or if he could do clear parts with flecks of gold in them... Or if I don't end up getting it for myself any time soon, Melynn has offered to chip in and get it as my wedding gift! I guess I need to be in a relationship before I can start thinking about that, haha. We'll see which of the paths to my eventual ownership of this chess set comes first!

It was starting to approach our train departure (luckily within half an hour of each other), so we found a place for a light dinner after our late lunch, and although it was a sorta hole-in-the-wall gimmicky looking place with lots of Coke adds and other such things (i.e. not at all authentic-looking) it turned out to be great pasta. With one last look at the captivating canals we returned back to Venezia Santa Lucia Station, picked up our bags, and headed our separate ways.

I took an overnight train back to Vienna (I got a little more sleep than I did on the train to Copenhagen!) and unlocked the front door a few hours before the next hotel guest was to arrive at the house.

I would like to point out, too, that I really enjoyed travelling with Dylan and wish we would have had a chance to go to some other places. Because he was studying Palladian architecture, he was full of fascinating tidbits and a source of vast architectural information. Well, it might also help that he just really likes architecture. For instance, he pointed out the winged lion of Saint Mark, also the symbol of Venice, all over the city, and explained that if it was erected in a time of peace, the lion held an open book, but in times of war the book was closed.

The Winged Lion of Saint Mark (and Venice)

I have to say, though, that as much as I loved Venice - it was wholly charming and pleasant and mystical with devils, angles, and nymphs looking silently on from every hollow in every building - I don't think that I would want to live there for any extended period of time; I think that the charm would wear off really quickly. There's really nowhere to run or workout, the only restaurants are Italian (we didn't happen across a single 'foreign' food place despite it being such an epicenter of trade and cultures), there didn't seem to be any grocery stores, and the only things to do or occupations to have were tourist-based. I'm actually really glad I didn't study abroad at Casa Artom (not that it would have been an option as I hardly know Italian...). I'm also now fascinated by the history of this city and how it was built and will be reading into it, hopefully soon. Dylan suggested a book, Venice: Pure City, by Peter Ackroyd, who also wrote a book on London's history which Dylan really liked. I think that's currently the 14th book in my queue of books to read sooner rather than later.

Okay, so I don't think I would want to live there, but Venice is absolutely a must-see destination with the reflections in the water, the phenomenal display of colors, the mixed architectural styles, and the mystical intrigue of this city! I'll be back (and not just to get that chess set). As usual, because my words will never do justice to what I saw, a few final pictures to convince you of how fascinating this city truly is: