Venice, Second Evening

I returned to the hotel after the Doge's Palace, where my wife took advantage to sneak off to the Geusati church. I got a little shuteye in before the kids woke up and my wife returned. We all had a snack and then headed out for more adventures. We wandered through many streets in Venice.

Mommy and Jacob on some random bridge

Lucy hangs out by a canal

The family with the Ponte dell'Accademia

We saw a sign that was funny to me, mostly because it was in English and not Italian. Somehow, I think it was written for Americans.

That ledge is pretty small for sitting on

We enjoyed seeing various boats on the water.

Kayaking? Uncle Nate would be at home!

This boat seemed inaccessible to us

We were worried they would have to duck

The kids found a fresh water fountain that another girl was playing with and they couldn't resist getting in on the action.

Water, water everywhere AND some drops to drink!

We also saw a building undergoing major renovation.

The Gritti Palace, soon to be less gritty

Another big boat caught our attention, mostly because it had tug boats on the front and the back of it.

The tug that pulls

The tug that pushes?

And we saw the safest spot to stop on the Vaporetto.

Seems a little cheeky to name a dock after the Holy Spirit

Our ultimate destination turned out to be Santa Maria Della Salute, the Basilica of Good Health. Presumably she is set out at the end of the city as a comfort to arriving travelers, be they merchants, homeward-bound warriors, or pilgrims. The church is rather spectacular looking by Venetian standards, since it sits in a spot easily seen from many directions by land and by sea.

More on this church in a later post (we made it inside the next day!)

Finally, we returned to a restaurant near our hotel. Being Friday, we parents had fish while the kids enjoyed carbonara. I had gnocci for my first course and fried scampi for my second course. The shrimp were just split down the middle, so I ate them while they looked back at me with a "how could you?!?" look in their eyes. Lucy was very curious and asked lots of questions. My wife had seafood linguine and then a fried eel that did not look like an eel. She didn't have the issues that I had. The meal was quite pleasant.

Eventually, the children's patience wore out and they started climbing on the fake wall between us and the bar. It didn't fall down or anything but there were some close calls. My wife took the children outside while I paid the bill.

After dinner was done, we headed out for Lucy's last pre-bedtime request: Ice cream. We had another round of gelato. Jacob got a cookie. We ate our gelato on a nearby bench while Jacob entertained us and passers-by with his rendition of the Beatles' I Am the Walrus. It was very dramatic and ranged all over the small piazza.

We finally went back up to our rooms for a good night's sleep before the next day, when we'd travel to Verona.

Palazzo Ducale/Doges' Palace, Venice

The Doge's Palace (or Palazzo Ducale as it is known to the locals) was my next stop after viewing Venice from the Campanile (Bell Tower). Located right across the street, it is easy to get to and is one of the most popular sites in Venice.

After buying a ticket, you come out into the main courtyard of the palace.

First view of the interior

The courtyard features a grand exterior and the Giants' Staircase.

Arco Foscari

Giants' Staircase

The Giants' Staircase is where the new Venetian leader, called a "doge," would be crowned with the zogia or dogal cap. He'd be flanked by statues of Mars and Neptune, symbols of Venice's power. Over them is a winged lion, the symbol of the Evangelist Mark, patron of Venice. Jacopo Sansovino was the 15th century artist who designed the stairs.

Mars and Neptune with winged lion watching over them

Mars

Neptune

Nearby were other symbols precious to Venice but not so prominantly displayed.

St. George and the vanquished dragon

Covered gondola

Upstairs is where all the government offices are located as well as the residence of the doge. After going up an unimpressive set of stairs, a short walk down the aisle leads to the Scala D'oro or Golden Staircase, also designed by Sansovino. The stairs are not the golden part; rather, the ceiling is ornately designed.

Not so impressive from the outside

Scala D'oro, looking up the stairs

View from the top of the top

The entrance to the stair is notable for several things. First is the nearby "lion's mouth" of which several are found throughout the palace. It was used to drop an accusation against someone. The other side of the "mouth" has a wooden box that would catch the slip of paper. One of the governing bodies would investigate the accusation and act on it. Different boxes were for different crimes and are found all over the palace, presumably so anonymous accusations could be made.

"Snitchbox" is what I called them

The second interesting feature is the statues of Hercules and Atlas flanking the bottom of the staircase.

Hercules Killing the Hydra by Tiziano Aspetti, 16th c.

Atlas Supporting the Heavenly Vault by Aspetti, 16th c.

Up the stairs and to the left are the apartments of the Doge. I managed to take three pictures before one of the museum people told me not to take photos inside. Here's my contraband!

A nice fireplace

Adoration of the Magi (with some bishop nosing in; I'd bet he's Venetian)

The ever popular Madonna and Child

There is also a long series of rooms where various governing bodies met. At different times there were councils of three, ten, and forty men who had various civic responsibilities. One of the most impressive rooms was a large chamber called the Sala del Maggior Consiglio where about two thousand men met as the Great Council. The back wall has a painting of Paradise by Tintoretto measuring 21 feet by 85 feet, one of the largest single paintings in the world. Also along the top border of the room, all of the doges are painted in chronological order. One of the doges, Marino Falier, is blacked out because he was beheaded for conspiracy against the State in 1355. I wish I could have taken a picture of that.

Another use of the Doges' Palace was as a prison. Both the attic and the cellars were used until a prison was built on the other side of a canal. A covered passage was built above the waters that became known as the Bridge of Sighs because the guilty being led across were so despondent about their fate. Of course, this is where I could take pictures again.

View out from the Bridge of Sighs

Walking down the Bridge of Sighs

The prison was pretty bleak, though some prisoners seemed to have gotten better treatment than others.

Basic cell--nor furnishing or windows

Basic cell door

Upscale cell with hardwood beds and a window!

Upscale door

By the time I got out of prison, I thought it would be best to head back to the hotel in case the children were up. The Doges' Palace is definitely worth a visit for its magnificent artwork and fascinating history.

Campanile, Piazza San Marco, Venice

While my family napped, I headed back to Piazza San Marco to take in other must see sights. My first objective was the Campanile, or bell tower.

Campanile, rebuilt in 1912 after an unfortunate collapse

Though the line was a little long, it moved quickly, just as our neighbors back in the UK had told us. I was able to get up to the top by elevator, so no hard climbing was involved. At only 8 euros, it wasn't a bad price for the view. Upstairs it was spectacular.

Venice from above

The basilica was a little difficult to photograph from there, though I always find it fascinating to see where people can go on the roofs of churches.

The clock and the church, a la Batman villain's lair

The roof of San Marco

The other end of the piazza was pretty easy to see, though the presence of advertising spoils it a bit.

No crowds on a hot afternoon!

Plenty of other notable building were easily spotted from above.

Santa Maria della Salute

We went to this church later in the day, though we were there too late to go inside and just admired it from below. The next day, we were able to get inside, so look forward to a blog post about it soon!

This next picture shows one of the outlying islands that make up the city of Venice.

San Giorgio Maggiore (name of the island and the church!)

I also saw the part of the piazza by the water.

The other part of Piazza San Marco

The columns that greet weary sailors and tourists

The columns have a lion (the symbol of the Evangelist Mark, for whom the piazza is named) and St. George standing on a vanquished dragon (St. George is very popular in Venice).

I was also able to see my next destination, the Doges' Palace.

Palazzo Ducale is the local name for it

Inside the tower are the bells, which ring on the hour. They didn't ring while I was up there, though I did hope to get lucky.

Waiting to ring

Jacob would have loved these stairs!

Also, there was a cryptic sign about Galileo, though I suppose if I knew any Italian it would not be cryptic.

Can you guess what it's about (other than something in 1609)?

The campanile was the place where Galileo demonstrated his telescope to Doge Leonardo Dona and other Venetian statesmen. The doge doesn't seem to get any credit in the sign. Is he the "dell'uomo"? Google translate gave me this: "Galileo Galilee through his telescope from here August 21, 1609 widened the horizons of man the fourth centenary." The plaque went up in 2009, so it's pretty recent. And no mention of the doge, who was an even more distant memory in 2009 than Galileo.

After a quick elevator ride back to the ground, I headed over to the Doges' Palace for a tour.

Santa Maria del Rosario/Gesuati, Venice

While Mommy and the children were resting before lunch, I snuck off to the Gesuati church just around the corner from our hotel.

The church is Santa Maria del Rosario, or St. Mary of the Rosary. The church was founded by an order called the poveri Gesuati, not the Jesuits, as one might guess. When they were disbanded in 1668 (as opposed to the Jesuits, who were temporarily suppressed in the 18th century) the Dominicans were given charge of the church. They re-themed the church in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, so a portrait of St. Dominic was added, as was several paintings related to the Rosary. The interior is quite beautiful featuring great works from the 18th century Venetian masters.

One of my favorites from the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Tiepolo, painted the ceiling and one of the side altars.

Institution of the Rosary by Tiepolo, 18th c.

Apparition of the Virgin to St. Dominic, Tiepolo, 18th c.

The Glory of St. Dominic, Tiepolo, 18th c.

The Virgin Appears to Sts. Rose of Lima, Catherine of Siena, and Agnes of Montepulciano

Gian Maria Morlaiter provided many wonderful statues inside the church.

Aaron

St. Paul

St. Peter

Moses

Melchizedek

Morlaiter collaborated with Giambattista Piazzetta for this altar with Piazzetta's painting of Saint Dominic and Morlaiter's angels sculpted around him.

St. Dominic in his other glory!

Antonio Bosa carved a nice altar to Our Lady of the Rosary in the 19th century.

Madonna of the Rosary

The main altar and sanctuary were full of light and joy. Also it was flanked by the most amazing candlesticks.

Main altar of Gesuati Church

What a candlestick!

After returning to the hotel, I kept an eye on the kids while mommy went to get some lunch from the local grocery. She came back and we went down to the courtyard of our hotel and dined in the shade. It was a fun meal except for when Lucy tried to drink from our water bottle and didn't detach properly. Her shirt and shorts got wet. She demanded dry clothes. Since she and mommy were already mostly done with lunch, they went up to our room. Jacob and I finished up. We enjoyed watching birds and planes fly overhead, then packed up our stuff and went up for nap time. Well, the others napped while I went for other adventures in Venice.