VENICE – canals & dougs
Monday – we are woken from our slumber by chimes and a very nice voice saying ‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen – we hope you had a pleasant sleep. We will shortly be arriving in Venice’. What a lovely way to start the day – except that Mr Lovely Voice didn’t tell us it was 5.10am! I am sure that he didn’t want to shock us all so early in the morning. Time to get moving and do the cabin shuffle once again. I had a great night’s sleep but unfortunately K&T spent a restless night. Not a great way to start a day that we plan to spend sightseeing in the City of Canals.
At about 5.45am the attendant knocks on our door to return our passports and to give us our breakfast. What a come down from our lovely Prague pastries! A roll, cheese, coffee and a thimble full of orange juice. I have more than that before I go to work. Oh well, I suppose it is better than nothing and we can always pick up something later in the morning.
While we are snacking on our breakfast we enjoy the early morning lights of Venice in the distance but it is not long before we arrive at Santa Lucia Station. We get our bags together and one by one we wiggle out of our cabin, off the train and onto the platform. Even being so early it is quite warm and humid and there is quite a bit of haze cover. Hopefully the clouds will disperse and the humidity will not climb too high. Maybe there might even be a little breeze because we are so near the water.
There are not many people inside the station – there are some snoozing backpackers but that is about all. Exiting the station, our first glimpse of the Grand Canal is amazing. There are also not many people around out here either but I am sure that it is just because it is early and that things will liven up as the day goes on.
Next part of the plan is to find our hotel – The Hotel Villa Rosa. I found this place while watching the Australian travel show Getaway. It really did look like a hidden treasure but still close to the station and everything else we wanted to do. When we looked at the rates we first though ‘Holy Venice this is expensive’ but then we compare them to other hotels and comments on Tripadvisor and realised that EVERYTHING is expensive in Venice so we bit the bullet and booked the hotel. Now all we have to do is find it.
Following our trusty map we see it is only a short walk. Turn left from the station down a street that goes at an angle to the left and then down a tiny alleyway for about 50 metres then right on another little alleyway, that is our hotel with the yellow door. We did tell the hotel that we would be arriving early but I think they are a little shocked to find out how early we meant. Kylie says that she did tell them – but it is no big problem.
We tell him that we know we are early but we are just dropping off our bags and we will be back this afternoon. We do have to check in and after all the paperwork is complete we get our cameras and all the usual clobber we take sightseeing and head off, it is about 7.15am.
When we did our schedule for Venice we relied upon the tried and true trusty traveller Rick Steves. He has many good points and tips for Venice including a free audio tour on the Grand Canal from right outside Santa Lucia station to St Marks Square. This we downloaded to our ipods along with many other audio tours by Rick. The Grand Canal is the first thing to do today.
We buy our vaporetto ticket – around $25 for a 24 hour pass but we can get on and off anywhere we like although we only plan on getting off at St Marks Square as most of what we want to see is there plus we also have a tour of the Doge’s Palace at 9.55am.
We board our Vaporetto and there is not many people so we are able to get seats outside and up the front – whacko.
We set our ipods, get our cameras ready and off we go. The haze is still with us but we are still able to get some great photos. Rick is most informative and tells us the history of the buildings along the way.
Private houses that are being ravaged by the time and tides of Venice to the Casino di Venezia. Most of the houses along this waterway are all heritage listed and as such are so very expensive to restore.
The building that is now the Casino was home to Doges and the last resting place of the composer Richard Wagner. It was opened as a casino in the 1950’s and is a perfect example of renaissance architecture, This is one of the most elegant palazzi overlooking Venice’s main waterway.
One of the most famous sights on the canal is the Rialto Bridge. Covered in graffiti, it certainly is not the bridge we see in many travel programmes. We later realise that once the city is fully awake all these shutters are taken down to reveal the bridge in its glory.
HISTORY LESSON : called the true heart of Venice, the current structure was built in just three years, between 1588 and 1591, as a permanent replacement for the boat bridge and three wooden bridges that had spanned the Grand Canal at various times since the 12th Century. It remained the only way to cross the Grand Canal on foot until the Accademia Bridge was built in 1854. The Rialto Bridge’s 7.5-meter (24-foot) arch was designed to allow passage of galleys, and the massive structure was built on some 12,000 wooden pilings that still support the bridge more than 400 years later.
And of course what cruise down the Canal would be complete without the ever present gondolas? Here they are all lined up and ready to take in the huge prices charged to tourists. For centuries gondolas were the chief means of transportation and most common watercraft within Venice. It is propelled by a person (the gondolier) who stands facing the bow and rows with a forward stroke, followed by a compensating backward stroke. Until the early 20th century, gondolas were often fitted with a small cabin, to protect the passengers from the weather or from onlookers. Its windows could be closed with louvered shutters—the original “venetian blinds”. While in previous centuries gondolas could be many different colors, a sumptuary law of Venice required that gondolas should be painted black like they are now.
By the time we get to St Mark’s there are a few more boats on the water delivering whatever to the shops. There are no cars in Venice only boats. So if you want something you better believe that it gets to the shops by boat. This is a wonderful cruise and we are taking so many photos all the time listening to Rick and his commentary about certain houses which makes our heads spin around.
This is the Santa Maria della Salute Church. In October 1630, the Venetian Senate decreed that if the city was delivered from the currently raging plague that had killed about a third of Venice’s population, then a new church would be built and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
The city was so delivered, and Baldassare Longhena, then only 26 years old, was selected to design the new church. It was consecrated in 1681, the year before Longhena’s death, and completed in 1687.
As you can see the haze is still with us – but I think it gives the photos an added depth. Maybe with raging sun and blue skies it would detract from the actual church itself.
Our stop is St Mark’s. This is our first glimpse of the entrance to the famous Piazza and the famous Bridge of Sighs but more about those later on.
When we alight we notice that there is still hardly anyone around. Good for us to walk around and take photos – bad for us because none of the little coffee shops are open and we are in serious need of a mega caffeine fix.
It is nearly 8am – if we are up they should be open. Kylie asks someone setting up when things will be open and the reply is ‘oh about 10.30, ‘we stay open late’. So we do some more walking around and take some more photos. Obviously around 10.30 is when all the tourists on their Insight or Trafalgar or whatever tours arrive for their rushed day in Venice.
We finally hear the opening of a door at the Cafe Americano just up near St Marks and rush in so that we can get our coffee. We also get some toasted foccacia’s with fresh tomato and olives along with some mozzarella. As there are no sitting areas in our little cafe we take our treasure and sit on the steps of this small square – the Piazzetta dei Leoncini where this photo is taken.
HISTORY LESSON: these two lions were sculpted by Giovanni Bonazza in 1722 and are made of red marble. Apparently later in the day these statues are covered with children and others all wanting to have their photo taken with them. Just goes to show what getting up early can do.
While we sit in the quiet we notice that there is a lot of construction/restoration work going on. So what else is new? Let’s just hope that the interior of St Marks and the Doges Palace don’t have scaffolding all over them. We still have a bit of time left before we have our Secret Itinerary Tour of the Doges Palace (doesn’t that sound intriguing?) so we wander around Piazza San Marco and of course, take some more photos. Before we know it is nearly time for our tour so we make our way over to the Doges Palace.
HISTORY LESSON: The Doge’s Palace sits on a site that was once occupied by a 10th century wooden stockade with watch towers and moat and, later, another similar fort, both eventually destroyed by fire and other disasters. By the 14th century, the hierarchy of Venice decided that a grand Palazzo Ducale palace was needed, a building befitting the city’s new wealth and power. Designs for the Doge’s Palace were created by Filippo Calendario (who was later executed for treason in 1355) and work on the structure began. Because of Calendario’s death, the Palazzo Ducale was constructed in two phases. The eastern wing, which faces the Rio di Palazzo, was built between 1301 and 1340. The western wing, facing the Piazetta San Marco, took an additional 110 years to build and was completed in 1450. The architectural style is generally referred to as Venetian Gothic – a gothic structure with byzantine influences.
We are still a bit early so a wander around the inside courtyard is a good way to spend the time. From the outside of the Palace it does not seem to cover that much ground but once we are in the courtyard we find out how wrong we are. It is huge!
After entering the inner courtyard there is a flight of stairs that led to the Doge’s private quarters, known as the “Scala dei Giganti” and flanked by huge statues of Mars and Neptune. The façade facing the courtyard is more classical in style, having been rebuilt after a fire in the mid 1500s. A most elegant place to say the least. I can imagine at its height – the lords and ladies of the court dressed in costume complete with masks – the Doge looking out his window – ready to receive the nobility – ah would have been wonderful.
Tucked away in the corner is this gondola – I am sure that it belonged to one of the Doge.
Anyway enough for now it is time for the Secret Itinerary Tour. We rendezvous at the marked place where we meet our guide Nicoletta. Our group is rather a mixed bag and after giving us the once over – Kylie and I are told that we must put our bags in the security section. What is it, do we look like crooks? Obviously. We tell Nicoletta we are not happy especially when the older decrepid members of the tour are allowed to carry their bags with them – she most probably thinks they are full of medicines and oxygen masks – so off we go to the desk – and we are assured that everything will be safe. We are given a tag so that when we come back we can collect our belongings. Somehow I trust these guys – not like the storm troopers at the Berlin Museum! So let us begin.
Along the corridor are many interesting murals and carvings. This one is called ‘The Lion’s Mouth”. It was used as a post box for anonymous denunciations. Text translation: “Secret denunciations (condemnations) against anyone who will conceal favors and services or will collude to hide the true revenue from them.” Interesting.
Before we start to climb up the lavishly decorated Scala d’Oro or the Golden Staircase Nicoletta tells us that this is the only place inside the Palace that we can take photos. This staircase expresses the great wealth that the Venetians once possessed.
This staircase is decorated with gold leaf – that’s right pure gold. We are wondering if anyone would notice us taking a chunk – but we decide yes they most probably would. It really is marvellous.
We take heed at Nicoletta’s words and take lots of photos but these photos don’t really do it justice. It’s one of those ‘you have to be here’ places. While we are doing this, Nicoletta is trying to explain over the noise of passing tourists, the history of the Doge and the Palace. Unfortunately this is not the best place to explain so after letting us take more than enough photos it is time to move on. She tells us no more photos please – so away go the cameras.
She is really good explaining things to us as we go along. Some guides act like teachers and talk to us as if all of the group are idiots and have no idea of what we are seeing – but Nicoletta is different. I can tell she really has a passion for her job and takes pride in sharing with us the knowledge she has. She tells us that the Tour will take about two hours and we will enter the inner rooms and chambers that were previously off-limits to everyone except the most trusted members of the Venetian government. We come to a tall, wooden, sturdy door that’s always locked, except for those lucky enough to have reservations to enjoy a very different tour, like us.
And in saying that she opens the door and in we go. All the other tourists have a quick look and wonder where we are going and why can’t they come with us. The door is quickly shut behind us so that there are no hangers-on. We are told that behind the vast expanses of the grand halls and chambers of the public-face of the Doges Palace there are offices, corridors and other rooms where the secret work of the Venetian Empire took place.
As we walk through the corridors we have to duck our heads as the door openings are made for people not over 5 feet tall. Unfortunately Tyler is just a tad over that coming in at 6 feet so he has to keep his eyes open and his head down. On the other hand one of the Oxygen Mask brigade has to be told by his wife ‘watch your head’ every time she spies a door even if it is at the other end of the corridor. It cracks us up! The first time she said it Kylie whispered ‘Why? It’s not like there are any vital organs in it!’ We dissolve in gales of muffled snorts.
This place is very hot and very cramped but we discover treasure – an iced water cooler. Unfortunately unlike the Oxygen Brigade we do not have our water bottles so we have about 100 small cups each before progressing. We enter a tiny, tiny office which looks as if it was made for the Seven Dwarfs. This is the Chancellor’s Office.
HISTORY LESSON : Like the position of the Doges, the Chancellor was an appointment for life. All state processions were led by the Chancellor, and he was the man responsible for writing all the secret documents of the state. Typical of the Venetians mentality, they ensured that all critical members of their government remained loyal to the state by paying them generous salaries. The Chancellor of the Republic was earning the equivalent of 600,000 € a year back in the 14th Century! For such a powerful position his office was extremely small.
Next stop is the Chancellor’s Offices where over twenty secretaries worked assisting the Chancellor in the preparation & storage of secret documents. These workers also enjoyed privileged positions and high salaries. The office is split into two-levels like a ship with railings separating each part, and the doors throughout are self closing with special hinges that closed them air-tight to prevent any snooping from the corridor outside. The secret documents were stored in the cabinets that line the rooms and along the top of these cabinets are the family crests of previous Chancellors. The Venetians did such a good job of protecting their secret documents that Venice now possesses the 3rd largest collection of documents of antiquity in the World.
It is time for another moment of slapstick comedy when Mr Watch your Head asks Nicoletta ‘who was the Doug and why were they all called Doug?’ Yep you heard right – Doug as in dug. Not only has Nicoletta been telling us the history of the Doge all the way through the tour but he calls him Doug. Kylie and I dissolve once again. It’s all too much and we have to move away before we collapse. From now on we call him Doug and the equally bright missus is Mrs Doug.
Moving along – we discover the gruesome torture chamber. Here the three State Inquisitors would torture prisoners with one simple device that being the prisoner would have his hands tied behind his back and the rope would push-out and disjoint the prisoners shoulders and back-bones as he was propelled towards the ceiling. Sounds like a visit to the chiropractor if you ask me! Prisoners awaiting to be tortured would be in cells either side of the ropes where they could see and hear their colleagues being tortured. In this room there is only one single window that would project light into the eyes of the person being tortured so that he wouldn’t be able to see his inquisitors.
We pass from these chambers to the prison cells and this is where we get to look out the two small square openings of the Ponte dei Sospiri or the Bridge of Sighs.
HISTORY LESSON : Antonio Contino’s bridge over the Rio di Palazzo was erected in the year 1600 to connect the Doge’s prisons, or Prigioni, with the inquisitor’s rooms in the main palace. The name “Bridge of Sighs” was invented in the 19th Century, when Lord Byron helped to popularize the belief that the bridge’s name was inspired by the sighs of condemned prisoners as they were led through it to the executioner.
Sorry to spoil the romantic theory but in reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals.
The bridge is all decked out in this disgraceful cover up with the working ‘Il cielo dei sospiri’ meaning The sky of Sighs. There are also signs which read this space contributes to the restoration of the Doges Palace. I’m all for restoration – but do they always have to do it when I am in town?
Continuing on through rooms and corridors and remembering to duck our heads we arrive at the famous prison cells in which Casanova was imprisoned and from where he later escaped. Casanova was a very popular man with the women of Venice, but unfortunately not-so popular with the powerful men whose wives Casanova had conquered. After several attempts to arrest him on trumped up charges, his enemies finally got their way when books on magic were found in his rooms. Possession of such books could lead to the death penalty, but fortunately for Casanova the law had been changed just six-months earlier and so he received a prison sentence instead. The cells with low ceilings were not very accommodating for a man some two-metres tall, but knowing the right people Casanova was granted an armchair, exercise time in the attic as well as food brought to him from good-wishers outside the prison.
Casanova attempted twice to escape from the prisons. The first attempt failed as he was transferred to another cell just before he had a chance to escape via a whole in the floor he had made with a piece of marble and iron that he found while taking exercise in the attic of the Doges Palace. His second attempt from another cell was more successful and after a meandering route through the Palace he actually walked through the main entrance of Doges Palace, “La Porta Della Carta” to his freedom.
The last two rooms are the offices of the State Inquisitors and the offices of the Judges of the infamous ‘Council of Ten’. Each chamber boasts works by famous Venetian artists Tintoretto and Veronese. These are the only rooms with original decorations and furnishings. The chamber of the three judges shows another method of maintaining secrecy in that the cabinets that were used to store documents each had 3 locks. Each of the three judges had one key each and so it was impossible to open one without all three being present.
After walking through narrow passageways we are lucky to have a little outside break – a walkway between sections. Nicoletta tells us we can take photos here and we get some good views of the columns near the Grand Canal and also the courtyard of the Palace.
Left is The Campanile, centre The Column of San Teodoro and right the Column of St Mark.
Our tour finishes and Nicoletta takes us back to the Golden Staircase where we thank her for a most informative tour. As she is part of the strict Guide Association she does not accept tips – another point in her favour. She tells us that we are free to walk around other parts of the Palace so we retrieve our bags but decide to head out to get something for lunch.
It is easy to get lost in Venice – but it is a most enjoyable sense of getting lost. We look at several little restaurants and finally decide on the Snack Bar da Piero e Mauro. Tiny, tiny place where the seating is very close and everyone seems to be a part of one big group. It’s a wonderful place. The waiter comes over with some ice water and we ask him to suggest something for us. He tells us that he will bring us some of the house favourites and to trust him. That’s an open account if ever there was one. Kylie and I order some wine and Tyler orders some caffeine high drink as he is still trying to get back on track.
When the waiter returns with our food our eyes nearly fall out of our heads. OMG!! Two huge plates and both piled high with the most mouth watering food I have seen for quite some time. There is a platter of bruschetta the likes of which I have never seen and another plate of pizza-erish food and toasted sandwiches. How on earth are we going to eat all of this? We certainly make a huge dent in this food but there is no way can we finish the lot. I am drooling with just the thought of it.
The meal is fabulous and the waiter certainly has done a slap-up job. We get the account – 75 Euros – which although is pricey you just have to forget the price and realise that everything in Venice is expensive. And after all, the food, the service and the ambience of the place was amazing so it was well worth it.
Slow waddling occurs as we make our way back to Piazza San Marco for our afternoon tour of the Bassilica San Marco or St Marks.
So that is the first part of the day – pretty full on and more to come this afternoon.
Highlight of the day so far – I am too full of food to think! Maybe the palace maybe the food – maybe a tie!