Venice ~ La Serenissima

Early on the morning of the winter solstice, we took out the garbage, locked up the flat, and headed to Italy. Our destination: Venezia.

A fine flight, made all the more delightful by the Italian Alps.

A bus from the airport dropped at Piazzale Roma, where we walked to our accommodations in the Cannaregio district.

Already spotting domes from Ponte della Costituzione (Constitution Bridge).

San Simeone Piccolo

We dropped our bags and went to get something to eat before heading out to explore.

Family selfie!

Mostly, I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Fishmonger on Rio Terá Canal

Humans of Venice, no. 1

Rudolph, the red-nosed gondola

Who's a good boy?!!

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica to Our Lady of Health)

Angel atop Chiesa di Santa Maria del Giglio

Murano glass

Your chariot awaits

Prada's pink robot.  I hadn't realized this was a thing.

Piazza San Marco

The lighting is a little harsh, what with the stark shadows — loved the sun, but I appreciated photographing on an overcast day later in the trip.

In front of the clock tower

Zodiacal signs and constellations

Ceiling in St. Mark's (cameras forbidden after this point)

Santa Maria della Salute was built in 1631 in gratitude for the city's deliverance from the plague of 1630 in which one-third of the Venetian population died.

Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore, from the late 16th century

My lens can't resist Santa Maria della Salute in the afternoon sun.

Adjusting the awning to protect from that low winter sun.

On the vaporetto

We bought single tickets for passage on the first day and then got everyone a three-day vaporetto pass for the rest of the time.

Setting sun, from under the Ponte di Rialto.

Dinner in our neighborhood at Trattoria Vittoria da Aldo

Pasta and fries x2. Because, carbs.

Bolognese for Karl

Gnocchi!

Evening on Fondamenta Cannaregio

Friday, 22 December

Karl prepping breakfast at the kitchen table.

Bread & jam, cheese, clementines, almonds, and tea

Back on the Grand Canal, returning to Piazza di San Marco

Support by Lorenzo Quinn

Quinn's sculpture is meant to highlight the threat that climate change poses to Venice. And all of us.

Venetian Maytag Men

Mosaics on Palazzo da Mula Morosini

Palazzo Salviati

Nothing to see, Ben. Keep reading.

A familiar scene.

Taking the ferry from Falmouth to St. Mawes in the UK, July 2011. Nothing of interest here, either.

"Yeah, Mom, it's the plague church — we've seen it before." 

Okay. Fair enough.

Arrived back at Piazza di San Marco. Managed to get some pictures without all the pesky shadow lines.

Monument to the Four Tetrarchs in porphyry stone.

Ah, the spoils of conquest. The Four Tetrachs were originally located in the Philadelphion, a public square of ancient Constantinople. During the Fourth Crusade, the statues were captured in 1204 and brought to Venice ...

... minus the left foot of one guy. The heel of this foot was discovered in the 1960s by archeologists in Istanbul (not Constantinople) and now is on display in the Istanbul Archeology Museum.

Regaling the boys with archeological anecdotes, outside the Doge's Palace

Karl had read this Tetrarchian tale and was sharing it with us when a small group of Brits inquired aloud (to each other) about the history of this add-on sculpture. I directed them Karl's way, and he found a more enthusiastic audience in them.

"Good LORD! That's FASCINATING!" the matriarch of the group declared.

See, boys. Your father's fascinating.

The winged lion represents St. Mark, patron saint of Venice, and is the symbol of the city.

Campanile di San Marco

Fun fact: the St. Mark's Bell Tower was the inspiration for the bell tower of St. Euphemia in Rovinj, Croatia.

St. Euphemia from harbor 

Back to Venice

Replicas of the Triumphal Quadriga

More loot from the crusades! For preservation purposes, the original quadriga has been housed inside the Basilica since the 1980s, a move so short it's almost not worth mentioning when compared with other journeys the horses have made.

Humans of Venice, nos. 2 & 3

Pie faces at a pizzeria

Ready for their close-up!

Felt so fortunate to encounter these men in their dashing uniforms, making their way with such purpose in their gait. Then we saw them in their garb again, a day or two later, charging off down a thoroughfare with equal confidence and swagger. Now thinking they're employees of the Venetian Tourist Bureau. Fine, so be it.

Lunch at Osteria Calle 21

Post-pizza we crossed the piazza and entered the Museo Correr.

Here is where we first encountered the most memorable character from our trip: the Guy in the Green Jacket. GGJ made a bit of a spectacle of himself as he tried to get a sweeping picture of the piazza and the basilica from the museum's second-floor vantage point across the square. He was determinedly opening two layers of windows when the museum folks finally got his attention and told him he could not open the windows. GGJ made some unconvincing noises of apology before ducking down the corridor and into the café ... where he pressed on in opening their windows and getting his shot.

This was the shot he was angling for:

Piazza di San Marco from the museum

(I managed to get my picture without opening any windows.)

The boys were less than enthusiastic about touring the museum, so we challenged them to find things that were surprising in what might otherwise appear to be a building with stuffy artifacts and pictures. Here's what we got.

"Is that guy named Sex Virus?"

Santacroce's "Madonna with child between St. Jerome and St. John the Baptist" ...

... and a long-suffering cherub playing his tiny violin, wishing this conversation would end

Ben and I thought this guy looked like a young Nicolas Cage.

Carpaccio's "The Man With the Red Cap"

Immodest satyr admiring a female figurine. This one brought the guffaws.

Next we have St. Peter of Verona who was assassinated for denouncing heresy and calling out Catholics who professed their faith in words but not in deeds.

Ouch! But a fast track to martyrdom.

St. Peter was elevated to saint 11 months after his death, making his the quickest canonization in history.

Maybe that image was just a little too harsh in the presence of a young one? Francisco Bissolo's portrait of St. Peter the Martyr with the Madonna and child appears to have removed the offending axe from his head.

Nothing a little PhotoShop ... er ... OilShop can't fix

See? There's plenty of entertainment at the museum.

Free at last!

Ben: If I can't see them, they can't see me.

Sweet stop at VizioVirtù Cioccolateria

Basilica di Cioccolato

From the Ponte di Rialto

A little grocery shopping at Despar before we returned to the flat. But, wouldn't you know it? Even the grocery store is better in Venice.

Old theater converted into local Despar

And I'm just talking about the building.

I mean, come on!

The boys, trying to persuade us of the merits of a sweet treat.

And succeeding.

Next post: a trip out to the island of Burano, Leonardo da Vinci museum, the Doge's Palace, and Christmas.