Venice

Well I am back and nowhere near rested up from my weekend in Venice. I would say the tired part started the Thursday night before I left. Katie and I each had about half the supplies for a decent dinner so we cooked together that night. I made peppered chicken pasta and she made the salad. It was great! I had just asked my mom for instructions on making that chicken that very morning. Who knew it would come in handy that quickly?
Later that night was the “toga party” which ended up being a sort of badly-remembered-Greco-Roman-mythology-and-Renaissance-drapery party. It was pretty different and everyone actually did wear their bed linens over shorts and tank tops. Most had walked through Florence like that to get there! I fortunately live right next door and had only a few feet to go. I had only planned on staying an hour so that I could get a proper amount of sleep but ended up not coming home until about 2.
It was so hard to wake up the next morning! But I had to work fast because I hadn’t finished packing. Katie waited for me and we made it to the train station in plenty of time. It was very busy but we were able to find Helen and our classmates pretty quickly. I think one of the trains must have been running a little behind because it was only at the very last minute that our platform number was posted. There was quite a dash for the carozzi! After reuniting with our group in carozzo 7, we settled in and rode the Eurostar (a much nicer train than the one I rode to Viareggio that even included little Hogwarts Express-type cabins for higher-priced tickets) for approximately three hours before reaching the Venice train station. This emptied out onto our first view of the Grand Canal whose name could hardly be improved upon. It was extremely bright that day and we got the full effect of the famous Venetian sense of color and pattern so unlike the sober and often austere Florence.
We had plenty of time to admire this sight as we were obliged to wait for quite a long time while Helen stood in line in order to purchase all of our weekend vaporetto passes. The vaporetti are the large bus-boats that ferry passengers around the edges of the main islands of Venice and in between the smaller and more distant islands, like Murano. They are absolute life-savers. We were eventually able to board one that took us on a very scenic route from the train station down the Grand Canal and just a few yards from St. Mark’s Square before we got off to find our hotels. Looking at the buildings and houses along the way I was reminded a bit of the Lake of the Ozarks. For both, the only way to get to many places is by boat. I would have to say that the similarities end there, however. I also noticed a lot of the Eastern influence art history teachers always mention when speaking of Venice; it is certainly not seen in the Doge’s Palace alone!
For the rest of this entry, I must say that I have waited around all week before finishing it up. Venice was beautiful but I confess myself to have been relieved to return to Florence. It was so packed with people during the day and more than a little scary at night on streets away from San Marco’s square. Often, the streets felt more like open-air hallways because they were so narrow. However, islands a little away from Venice such as Murano or Torcello managed to maintain a rather rural look and feel. I think the best way to proceed from these generalizations is to very briefly mention what I got to see and when and what the highlights of each were rather than to give an in-depth account now that my experience is behind me a few days. I think I will take my computer to Rome so that I can write each night rather than trying to remember everything when I get back
After the vaporetto ride we checked into our hotels. It was a bit unfair, because we all had to pay the same amount, that everyone was scattered between three hotels. The first housed the most people and was by far the very nicest. Mine, “Hotel Bridge,” was in the middle and I thought myself very comfortable during my stay. The last, however, seemed to be of poor quality and I know that those who stayed there certainly felt some injustice.
The rest of the afternoon was given over to free time. I wandered around the San Marco area with friends, stopping for lunch in a trattoria. I even received a compliment from my waiter on my Italian while there. While exploring I bought a couple of etchings that had some nice aquatinting. That night, Katie and I met up with Lesley and Allison (who had come independent of the school trip and were staying at a campground in a suburb) for dinner and then enjoyed live music in St. Mark’s Square.
The next morning we ate breakfast in our hotel. My roommates and I were actually given room service because the hotel had run out of tables in their “sala di colazione.” Everyone then met at the largest hotel and walked to Piazza San Marco, listening to Helen’s lecture on the surrounding architecture while dodging pigeons. Our first real stop was the Doge’s Palace, the old palace of the ruler of Venice. Of course, pictures were not allowed anywhere but the courtyard but I managed a few inside anyway. Most are quite blurry but I’m sure you’ll forgive me as I had to take them rather surreptitiously. It was certainly my first real palace! It was absolutely dripping with decoration. We also enjoyed a quick trip to the old prison that is connected to the palace by means of a bridge. I can’t imagine the horrible living conditions therein.
We then boarded another vaporetto and went to the island on which San Giorgio Maggiore is built, entering the church after pausing to contemplate its Palladian façade. The interior was beautiful: so fresh and light. We got to go up the bell tower by means of an elevator while the noonday bells were ringing. The view was wonderful.
Back on the vaporetto, we got in line for St. Mark’s Basilica. Because the tide was in, we had to walk on top of planks to cross the church’s flooded entrance. Once inside it was unbelievable. While Ravenna has breath-taking mosaics, only its Mausoleum of Galla Placidia has its original mosaic program completed and intact. Similarly, St. Mark’s mosaic program was actually carried out to completion but, being several times the size of the Mausoleum, it is many times more overwhelming. Everywhere you look there is the glitter of gold. The mosaics are so refined that until I was in a balcony area and able to scrutinize them as close range, I thought they had been painted over the gold tiles. But they are true mosaics. I wish I had had more time to look at them all.
After a very quick lunch break we walked through Venice, pausing to look at an equestrian statue by Verrocchio, and caught a vaporetto to the island of Murano. We saw a glass demonstration and looked through a shop. However, as we were running behind, we then walked across Murano until we got to a vaporetto stop near a lighthouse. We got a short break before heading to Torcello, an island that reminded me very strongly of Iowa. That is, the trees looked rather deciduous (no cypress that I could see anywhere) and the soil smelled fertile. The wild grass was also reminiscent of prairie. While there, we visited two tiny churches. The first was endowed with some very well-lit though rather ill-composed (in my opinion) mosaics while the second housed the displayed remains of a local saint. The entire island was almost impossibly adorable: absolutely everything was charming. There was even a wedding reception taking place, adding to the overall romance.
On the way back to Venice we stopped for a half hour on the island of Burano where much lace is made. Katie and I wandered around the shops there and bought something to eat in a very homey bakery.
That evening we met up with Allison and Lesley again. We were also joined by another of our friends, Megan. After trying to choose a restaurant we could all agree on, we eventually split up with Allison, Katie, and Lesley ending up at a pizzeria and Megan and I trying some more traditional Venetian fare. We located an establishment whose specialty was researching and reviving medieval and renaissance Venetian recipes. While it was the most expensive meal I have ever eaten, I think it was well worth it. We both had risotto with quail, salted cod with polenta, and crème brulee with pumpkin and walnut ice cream. The wait staff also kept bringing us all sorts of little things to try. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and didn’t end up leaving the restaurant until approximately one o’clock in the morning.
Unfortunately, as Megan was one of the guests at the poorest of the hotels, she was unsure she would be able to enter her hotel at that hour. Like all things, hotels operate differently here, too. There is only one room key and you are expected to leave it at the front desk whenever you go out, picking it up on your return. However, this system requires a staffed lobby which Megan’s hotel did not have. Therefore, her room’s one key was with an individual who had decided to try his luck at the casinos that night and would not be around to let her in. I walked her “home” to make sure she would not need to stay on the fold-out chair in my room but fortunately an already-present roommate was able to let her in.
However, this left me to walk home. Alone. At 1:30 am in twisting, dark streets away from the main piazza. I was more than a little nervous but didn’t have any trouble making it back to my own room. I was very relieved!
The next morning we all walked to Venice’s Accademia, full of wonderful Venetian Renaissance works with all their brilliant colors. I even got to see Giorgione’s Tempest, which was much smaller than I had pictured it. It still has no trouble holding its own.
Next was the Peggy Guggenheim collection which I found interesting solely for the reason that it was housed in what had been, until very recently, a private residence along the Grand Canal. I did not find that the paintings within were the best examples of those artist’s works and felt that the Chicago Art Institute had rather spoiled me when it came to more contemporary art.
After lunch, we visited the Confraternity of St. Rocco, which was covered in Tintorettos. The lighting was very low and I found it a bit difficult to see the ceiling paintings. Also, the colors have permanently dulled and I’m sure that didn’t help matters.
Our final stop was the Friari church. It houses two extremely famous Titians: The Pesaro Madonna and The Assumption of the Virgin. I saw the Pesaro Madonna first and was terribly excited to do so for here was another work I had referenced in a past paper. It is always such an amazing treat when I get to see a work of which I have spent some time analyzing reproductions. Turning around, however, I was struck by the Assumption and its amazing setting. The light could not possibly have been better for the viewing of that painting. I am sure you’ll agree with me when you look at the pictures!
We then picked up our luggage at the main hotel, boarded a vaporetto, and rode to the train station. After about a 45 minute wait, we were riding home.
A note about these pictures: I created a Venice folder with sub-folders that are more organized. However, I have only provided the link to the main Venice folder below. Once you have followed the link, simply scroll down and click on the sub-folder titles to view their contents. I just keep getting lazier, don’t I?