|
 | Venice Things To Do | Tips 1 - 10 of 3441 |  |
A good opportunity to visit the Isola di San Michele, the cemetery of Venice, is on returning from a "tourist trap" visit to a Murano glass factory offered by your hotel with a commission for them on your purchases of glass. The island is surrounded with a red-brick wall and a line of tall cypress trees rising high behind it. The pontoon gives access directly to the entrance of the cemetery.
In fact two islands, the one containing the convent and the other one uninhabited, were joined by decision of Napoleon's occupying forces who told the Venetians to start hauling their dead across the water instead of burying them all over town.
Only a few large monuments exist here. The cemetery is divided into sections by plain pale walls, or walls of burial niches. It is a romantic place which alternates cypress, flowers, monuments, graves, and columbarium. The church San Michele built by Coducci from 1469 till 1478 is one of the first religious buildings of the Renaissance built in Venice.
The part of the cemetery most visited by the tourists is the section with the tombs of composer Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) and the founder of the "Russian Ballets" Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929). He created with Stravinsky the "Rite of the Spring". Visitors deposit small pebbles on their graves by way of homage.
This orthodox "Greek" section where rest also some noble Russian families has an atmosphere of rustic decay in contrast to the formal and beautifully tended Catholic gardens of graves.
Other moving place is the row of children's graves. Stillborn children, very young dead children plunge the guest into the fragility of the existence.
The San Michele Cemetery is crowded and the dead are left to rest just twelve years, after which the family must pay to remove what remains to small metal boxes for permanent storage, otherwise the bones will be tossed into a common bone yard.
But let us go back to Venice and its animation of the alive. Address: Isola di San MicheleCanareggio - 30121, VeneziaDirections: Take from Murano ( or in the other direction from Fondamente Nove) the linea 41 or 42 which are the only ones to stop at S. Michele. Open from April to September 7.30am to 6pm; from October to March 7.30am to 4pm 25 December and 1 January 7.30am to 12am
|
 | |  |
Visiting Venice?
Read reviews about Venice Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
It is the most beautiful palace in the Venetian floral gothic style. During numerous years the facade was hidden by the works of restoration. So that it is a pleasure to see, after the turn of the Grand Canal at the Rialto bridge, the presently white façade of the Ca' d' Oro called "golden house" due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls.
Some comments here mention a "Moorish influence" or "Islamic architectural influence", this is wrong; it is a style of Byzantine inspiration. When the Ca' d'Oro Palazzo was built in 1430 for the Contarini family, Constantinople had not been taken over by the Turks yet.
Inside the collection Franchetti is certainly estimable but can not be compared with the collections of the Accademia or the museum Correr.
The visit justifies itself more by the beauty of the inner courtyard, the portico onto the Grand Canal and by the enclosed balcony of the principal salon on the "piano nobile". The columns and arches of this balcony have capitals which in turn support a row of quatrefoil windows of great delicacy; above this balcony is another enclosed balcony or loggia of a similar yet even lighter design.
One has a magnificent view, through the beautiful arches, on the Grand Canal, the "Pescheria", the "Fabriche Nuove" and the "Fabriche Vecchie" of the Rialto.
The movement of Vaporetti, Motoscafi, barges of all kind supplying the Mercato, water taxis and gondolas is a spectacle worthwhile by itself to visit the Ca' d'Oro.
The entrance is by the narrow alley which connects the pontoon Ca'd' Oro with Strada Nova.
Opening hours 08.15 to 19.15h. On Monday 08.15 - 14.00h Address: Ca' d'Oro, CannaregioDirections: Vaporetto linea 1, Ca'd'Oro.
|
| | |
On every visit of the doge's palace I was surprised by the contrast between the brightness, the clear colours and the elegance of the outside facades and the rather dark decoration from the inside of the Doges Palace.
The sculptured and gilded wooden ceilings, the paintings of the masters Tintoret, Veronese, Bassano, Palma the Young and others do not really cheer up the somewhat ponderous decoration, essentially of the end of the 16th century.
I believe that this serious, sometimes dark decoration resulted from the function of this palace. It is not here the palace of a sovereign but a building dedicated to the meetings of the various councils and assemblies of the oligarchy governing the republic of Venice. The Doge, elected leader of this oligarchy, occupies, as a tenant, the rather modest private apartments. What a contrast with Versailles under Louis XIV!
The Palazzo Ducale is essentially a building in with each organ of public administration and government is housed within its own specific premises.
The functions of government, justice and administration explain probably that serious and dark decoration. No place here for fantasy.
What a tremendous contrast between the interior of the Palazzo and the cheerfulness of Venice and the festive mood of the Venetians especially in the period of Carnival which in the 18th century would last several months. Address: Palazzo Ducale
|
| | |
Since I read that the Campanile opposite San Marco tumbled down on July 14, 1902, without any warning but without victims, I am somewhat suspicious about the resistance of Venetian monuments, being aware of the soil on which they are built.
Consequently, before climbing the steps of the Rialto Bridge I gathered some information on the supposed strength of this bridge.
The previous bridge in wood collapsed in 1444 under the weight of a crowd watching a boat parade and it collapsed again in 1524.
The new stone bridge was build between 1588 and 1592 by the architect Antonio Da Ponte (a good name for building bridges).
The overall length is 48 m, width 22 m, the single arch has a width of 28 m and maximum height of 7,50 m in order to allow the Venetian galleys, among which the famous Bucentaure, nowadays the Vaporetto, to pass under the bridge.
The engineering of the single span bridge was considered so audacious that another architect Vincenzo Scamozzi, competing to get the project for himself, predicted that the bridge would collapse.
So let's have a look at the engineering as the Rialto Bridge of A. Da Ponte is still standing and apparently presents no danger for the millions of tourists climbing her steps.
For each side of the arch 6000 "pali" piles of wood with lengths between 1 and 3,50 m were used for the foundations.
The balustrade of the bridge is made of "Pietra d'Istria" a quite resistant calcareous rock of bright white colour.
No doubt the Rialto Bridge is strong, nice and practical as wanted by the Venetian authorities of the 16th c.
|
| | |
The Doges Palace is the most outstanding civilian monument of Venice but it is also a monument of which the architecture is extraordinary in Europe by its originality.
Indeed when we approach by the lagoon, the best way for a first contact, we are struck by what the architects call an "inversion of masses".
The bottom of the southern facade of the 15th century, overlooking St. Mark’s Basin, with the open arches of the portico, the fine columns of the loggia in late Gothic style with delicate carvings, is lighter than the upper part formed by a wall of white and pink marble panels with the balcony and only six windows.
This inversion of the masses surprises the amateur of the Gothic style as used in the civil architecture of the countries of the North of Europe. See for example the city halls of Brussels, Leuven or Oudenaarde in Belgium.
Here according to a classic Gothic tradition of construction the buildings are lighter at the upper part.
The magnificent western facade which looks onto the Piazzetta is in the same late or flowery Gothic style and is based on the same architectural principle: more openings in the lower part than in the upper part of the facade.
Notice on the left side the two fine red marble columns of the loggia: it is there that were proclaimed the judgments of persons condemned to death.
|
| | |
Visiting Venice?
Read reviews about Venice Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
The main building (15th century) was once the granary of Venice.
The ground floor and the first two floors present the exploits and equipment of the Navy of Venice and of the Italian naval Fleet. The museum is owned by the Italian Navy so that the 19th and 20th century, with the commando raids by human torpedo's, are more represented than the Navy of the Venetian Republic itself.
On the first floor a room is dedicated to the Bucintoro, the ceremonial barge of the Dodge from which every year on Ascension Day he would throw a ring into the lagoon, symbolizing the marriage of Venice to the sea. There are also models of ancient ships as well as a small ceremonial galley. In other rooms are shown models of commercial ships of the 20th century.
The third floor contains models and objects from gondolas, fishing boats and other vessels from the Venetian lagoon.
A room shows models of oriental junks; another one is dedicated to the Swedish navy and finally a room contains a collection of shells. These rooms, obviously, have nothing to do with the "Serenissima"!
Besides the main building the Ship Pavilion houses some Venetian boats among which a parade galley of 18 oars the "Scalea Reale".
Actually this museum disappoints the visitors who came for the navy of Venice, a navy which from the 12th to the 16th century dominated the Adriatic and the Oriental Mediterranean Sea. The navy of the Serenissima and its maritime power is finally not much represented.
It is disappointing all the more as at the time of its glory Venice maintained permanently a hundred galleys plus the merchant ships.
The museum does not show much of this. No battle galley was preserved, you do not find here historic vessels as the "Mary Rose" or "Victory" in Portsmouth, nor a replica like in the Netherlands with the commercial vessel "Amsterdam" of the VOC exposed at the maritime museum of Amsterdam.
The amateur who wants to see galleys will even see more impressive ones in the maritime museums of Barcelona or Lisbon-Belem.
|
| | |
The name of this room "Sala dello Scudo" finds its origin in the fact that the coat of arms of the governing doge was exposed here. The presently exposed coat of arms is the one of Ludovico Manin, last doge of the Republic before the fall in 1797.
This large room is actually better known by a great decoration with maps and, in the centre of the room, two remarkable revolving globes with the celestial sphere on one and the terrestrial sphere on the other.
The original maps on the walls by Giovan Baptist Ramusio (author of the map with Italy and the Mediterranean,1483), from the Greek Giovanni Domenico Zorzi (anterior Asia) and from the cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi (Turkey and Egypt, Marco Polo's Asia) were renewed by the cartographer Francesco Grisellini (1672) who added other paintings with the description of the trips of the most famous Venetian explorers: Nicolò and Anthony Zen who went to Greenland.
I was perplexed when I read on the map of North-America that the natives were anthropophagi's!
|
| | |
C'est le monument civil le plus marquant de Venise mais c'est aussi un monument dont l'architecture, par son originalité, est extraordinaire en Europe.
En effet lorsqu'on approche par la lagune, la meilleure façon pour un premier contact, on est frappé par ce que les architectes appellent une "inversion des masses". La partie inférieure de la façade du XVe siècle, qui donne sur le bassin de St Marc, avec les arcades du portique, les fines colonnes de la loggia aux dentelles de pierre de style gothique tardif, est plus légère que la partie haute constitué d'une muraille de panneaux en marbre blanc et rose avec le balcon et seulement six fenêtres.
Cette inversion des masses surprend l'amateur de style gothique habitué à l'architecture civile des pays du Nord. Voyez par exemple les hôtels de ville de Bruxelles, Leuven ou Oudenaarde en Belgique dont les masses s'allègent de la base vers le toit selon une tradition gothique classique.
Le style gothique tardif ou fleuri se retrouve dans la magnifique façade occidentale qui donne sur la Piazzetta. Elle est basée sur le même principe architectural: les vides l'emportent dans le bas contrairement à la construction traditionnelle.
Remarquez, à gauche, les deux fines colonnes en marbre rouge de la loggia: c'est là qu'étaient proclamées les sentences de mort des condamnés.
|
| | |
Burano island is something for heart and soul. The old fishermens’ island is approximately 45 minutes to Venezia’s west, just next to Torcello. Every house is painted in a different colour. There is almost no colour possible that is not represented there. Together, this makes a magnificent mix of colours – just a feast for the eye. Try and don’t race through the village. It is worthwile to wander through the streets, take in these colours and the atmosphere. In the backstreets and canales, there are lovely options for reflection photos. Yes, make sure to take lots of film or cards and batteries.
In addition, you can visit the lace museum Museo de Merletti, learn about the skilfull art of lace making. It is open daily except Tuesdays, entry fee is 4 € in case you don’t have the Venice Card Orange (in which it is included). You can also buy lace here, but as for glass, it is not cheap. I learned that a table cloth of typical size would need 3 years, made by 10 embroiders. So calculate this before you go. The cheap stuff sold on the island is most probably also Chinese crap, but it is not yet that much condemned by Venezia’s officials – maybe as Burano is a bit more out in the lagoon.
And there is chiesa San Martino, with a very much crooked belltower and a Tiepolo painting inside.
It is easy to get there. Vaporetto line LN (Laguna Norte) leaves every half hour from Fondamenta Nuove (every 10 min and 40 min past the hour). I described more about how to get there, the boat trip itself and the island of course on my Burano page, of which I have added the link below.
You can combine Burano with a trip to Torcello. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
If you intend to buy fabulous Murano glassware, you should go directly to the island and look, instead of being taken in in a shop around the neuralgic and touristy spots in San Marco. These might sell you Chinese crap for Made in Murano. Now Venezia does a lot to demolish the dealers that dare to do this and destroy the reputation (see what I wrote in the tourist trap section). But to make sure to buy genuine work, it is better to buy directly from the manufacturers. The real work has a logo Vetro Artistico Murano (check the website given below) and is not cheap of course.
In addition, I highly recommend to visit Murano’s glass museum Museo del Vetro, as here you can learn about the process of glass making and appreciate the work behind the finished products (and understand why they are not that cheap as the Chinese crap). Entrance fee is 5,50 € in case you don’t have the Venice Card Orange (in which it is included).
But the very best is a tour through one of the glass factories. You simply go into a shop and ask for the factory. All of them are prepared to let you see the maestros at work. Don’t forget to leave a small donation for the guys in the box. I am not sure if their wages are really calculated based upon how much their work is finally sold for.
There is no real need to follow the touts that want to sell you a trip to the island and a factory tour. Vaporettos leave every 15 minutes from Fondamenta Nuove; take the circle line 41/42, which also stops at La Zaccaria, in case you stay in sestiere San Marco. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
|
 |
 |
Search Hotels
Find the best room rates |
|
 |
|
on March 7, 2007
on July 24, 2007
