Venezia: Leg One of Italia

Venice, known to some as the Floating City, the City of Water, Queen of the Adriatic, and the former seat of the Venetian Republic, was an important stop on my Easter tour of Italy for a number of reasons:

1. I've always wanted to go to Venice.

2. There is a night train leaving from Amstetten to Venice often (more than once a week) - one of the few international trains that makes a stop in Amstetten! The others I know about go to Budapest and Hamburg.

3. Not only an important part of Italian history and tourism, the city of Venice is important part of Austrian history as well, having been bought off Napoleon by the Habsburgs circa 1797... 

4. Venetian masks have intrigued me for some time. Also, what Grand Tour of Europe is complete without a stopover in Venice?

Callie in front of canal

Other Italian destinations included: Genoa and the Cinque Terre. In Genoa, we met up with our Lawrence buddy Sarah and made our way down to the Cinque Terre (five villages on the Italian Riviera...also a national park) to enjoy some hiking and sunshine and great food!

Our B&B: founded in 1288!!!

But, I will try my best to keep to Venice for this post. While in Venice, we took it easy - leisurely breakfasts in the morning at our amazing (and Rick Steves recommended) B & B; long walks around the lagoon and through the winding streets of Venice; indulging in aperitivi at overpriced canal-side bars...

The Grand Canal 

On Monday, we visited the Palazzo Ducale (doge's palace), former home to il doge, i.e. the duke of Venice - the last being Ludovico Manin, abdicated in 1797. The palazzo is amazing, a great 14th century structure with facades facing the lagoon and St. Mark's Square. AND, if you go exactly at noon, the line is six times shorter than at any other time of day (presumably because this is when all the tourists decide to take their lunch breaks). Admission is  14 euro, but considering the size of the place and all of the restoration work they have to do, it's worth it, in my opinion.

Callie pointing to a map of Venice

Here are some photos of St. Mark's Square:

And even gondolas in the lagoon!

Very romantic.







Considering one of Venice's most famous sons is Casanova, it's no wonder there's a certain "romance" to the city...this may not bode well for honeymooning couples, however...and we saw quite a few! It seems Venice is the "it" place to honeymoon?


And here are pictures of the Palazzo:

the Bridge of Sighs - unfortunately under repair

columns in the palazzo

facade of palazzo

 

 A funny story about the palazzo/ducal prison: Casanova, imprisoned for licentiousness or some such other offense, purportedly escaped the prison by digging a hole through the ceiling...with a file. He then escaped to Paris.

Perhaps the ducal prison didn't have the security of Alcatraz. But it does have the Bridge of Sighs!

photo in piazza of Doge's palace

Tuesday and Wednesday we took it easy, visiting St. Mark's Basilica (Chiesa d'Oro) and the Frari church (which has painitngs by Titian - most famously the Assumption - placed in their original, appropriate spots in the church/sanctum). We also went shopping, and looked at all the beautiful Murano glass jewlery - and other things - and realized how incredibly expensive Venice really is (having previously been warned). Great for a few days, but living here and not being a millionaire would be impossible!

Another interesting fact: the tap water in Venice is superb, mostly because it is sourced directly from run-off from the Alps. Neat, eh?

ceiling in Doge's palace

view from the Bridge of Sighs

Other fun things we did in Venice:

1. Visit mask and costume shops

2. Drool in the windows of all of the pastry shops getting ready for Easter

3. Get "lost" in the narrow, winding streets of Venice (we were never actually lost)

4. Take the Vaparetto all the way down the Grand Canal instead of paying for a gondola ride

 

5. Have REAL Bellinis at Hotel Metropole (and fooling the bartender into thinking we were guests at the hotel)

Click here or here for more information on our sojourn in Venice :)