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VISITING VENICE
City of Canals
Gondola on Grand Canal beside Rialto Bridge. The classical
Venetian boat is the gondola, although it is now mostly
used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other
ceremonies. Most Venetians now travel by motorized
water buses which play regular routes along
the major canals and between the city's islands, the traghetti, foot
passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain
points without bridges. The city
also has many private boats. The only unmotorized gondolas
still in common use by Venetians.
The essential sights need no introduction, being some the
most famous on the planet. We're talking about Piazza San Marco,
the Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and
so on. Venetian painting is a reason to come all on its
own: three Bellinis; Giorgione; Titian; Veronese;
Tintoretto; Canaletto; Tieopolo. This is where to see the
originals of all those trattoria reproductions and plates
in schoolbooks.
BASILICA DI SAN MARCO
Does it need an introduction? Be dazzled, from April to
October, Mon.-Sat., 9:45 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun. 2 to 5 p.m.,
and from November to March, Mon.-Sat., 9:45 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.; Sun. 2 to 4:30 p.m. Then climb the Campanile for the
fabulous view—understanding that this is a replica built
after the original collapsed in 1902. To build Saint Mark's
Church, Venice brought the spiritual and material heritage
of Byzantium to the West
Organization of the space is rich in evocations that are
not found in other Byzantine churches. The interior has a
unitary sequence subdivided into individual spatial
orchestrations to which gold background mosaics ensure
continuity and the church's special way of being.
The architectural idea underlying Saint Mark's Church is
deeply rooted in the cultural context of Constantinople.
The model was the Church of the Twelve Apostles, built in
Justinian's day and destroyed in 1462. The present-day
church was built on the remains of the first and second
church in the space available between the Ducal Palace and
the Church of Saint Theodore (810-819). A bold solution
which in the 11th century united memories - the tomb and
its remains of Saint Mark's body - with the Greek cross plan
of a great new church with five cupolas, the prestigious
"Ducal Chapel". In Saint Mark's each cupola rests on four
great vaults whose weight is borne by four pillars. The
interior has a unitary sequence subdivided into individual
spatial orchestrations to which gold background mosaics
ensure continuity and the church's special way of being.
Unlike the Greek models the altar, which is joined to the
evangelist's tomb, is not in the centre of the cross but
beneath the eastern, presbytery cupola. The church
subsequently underwent substantial modifications: the
narthex was added, a Gothic rosette was opened towards the
Ducal Palace and the window of the horses opened in the
facade, thus altering the atmosphere of the old building.
Each modification was connected with structural, political
or prestige reasons.
Uniqueness of Saint Mark's
Saint Mark's church today is considered the living heritage
of Roman, Byzantine and Venetian culture. It may be
considered, ideally, as being enclosed in a quadrilateral
space measuring almost 60 metres each side. The plan is
Greek cross. Both arms of the cross are subdivided into
nave and two aisles.
Beyond the transept, delimited by the iconostasis, the
area of the eastern arm is occupied by the presbytery in
the centre and, at the sides, by the chapels of Saint Peter
to the north and Saint Clement to the south.
At the bottom of the presbytery, abutting the apse, there
is an altar on a platform once raised by five steps, for
deposition of the Most Holy. The transept extremities
close with a rectilinear wall. To the north they take in
the walls of the Saint Isadore and Mascoli chapels, and to
the south those of access to the Ducal Palace. On the west
and north sides the church is surrounded by a narthex in
which, at the southern end, there was the "sea gate", now
occupied by the chapel of cardinal Giovambattista Zen.
The main entrance from the west has a late 10th century
wooden door faced with sheet copper and older bronze
grilles. To right and left are the Saint Clement and Saint Peter entrances. At the northern end of the facade, the Saint Alipius entrance. In the northern arm the Door of
Flowers is also closed with a bronze gate.
The church is accessed from the narthex by means of four
doors: the central one, the Saint Clement and the Saint Peter,
in correspondence to the chapels of the same name and, to
the north the Door of the Virgin or of Saint John.
The baptistery, built on the southern frontage at the
limit of the sea gate, between the gate and an ancient
corner-tower, features two cupolas and a vault connecting
it to the structures of the Zen chapel. The tower, of
uncertain function and transformed with the creation of
the third Saint Mark's, is connected internally to the
church and to the walls of the building incorporated into
the head of the south transept. Today it houses the
Treasure and the Sanctuary with the relics.
Access to the sacristy, enlarged at the end of the 15th
century, is from the presbytery and Saint Peter's chapel.
Adjacent to the sacristy there is the 15th century church
of Saint Theodore.
The nave and two aisle crypt with apse is beneath the
presbytery and the side chapels. In the nave, beneath the
high altar, there is the ancient chapel where the
evangelist's remains were kept. The crypt has an
intersecting barrel-vault ceiling supported by small
columns with simple basket-decorated Byzantine capitals
datable to between the end of the 10th and the 11th
centuries. To the west of the crypt, an area known as the
"retro-crypt " contains the tombs of all the patriarchs of
Venice since 1807.
As a result of repeated fires the women's galleries that
covered the aisles of the west, north and south arms of
the cross were eliminated. The only remaining women's
galleries are those above the wall structures: above the
narthex, the chapel of Saint Isadore, the palace boundary
walls and the semi-domes of the apses in the chapels of Saint Peter and Saint Clement. All the rest have been reduced
to simple passageways.
Two areas of the church may be defined: the ducal area in
the south transept, closely connected with the palace by
passages and windows at various levels, and the Saint Mark's
primicerius' and priests' area in the north transept,
linked to their respective lodgings. The height and size
of the buildings around the church reduced the amount of
light reaching the latter, so at the beginning of the 15th
century the Serenissima decided to create two great
openings: the window of the horses on the facade and the
rosette in the south transept overlooking the doge's
palace.
The cupolas - the Ascension in the centre, the Prophets
over the presbytery, the Pentecost over the nave, the Saint John over the north arm and the Saint Leonard over the south
arms of the transept consist of half-spheres in masonry
standing on great support vaults. Around 1260 the masonry
cupolas were covered by wooden ones of larger size topped
with a small cupola bearing a gilded cosmic cross.
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION
Fondamenta Venier dei Leoni
Peg's palace is a complete contrast to the Accademia, and
the other great can't-misses, especially if you share the
famous collector's taste for European and American art
from the first half of the 20th century. The small palazzo
(with garden and lovely lunch terrace) on the Grand Canal
that houses the collection is an experience in itself.
Open Wed.-Mon., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is the most important
museum in Italy for European and American art of the first
half of the 20th century. It is located in Peggy
Guggenheim's former home, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on the
Grand Canal in Venice.
Opened in 1951 by the niece of Solomon R Guggenheim,
wealthy American industrialist and art collector, the
museum presents Peggy Guggenheim's personal collection of
20th century art, masterpieces from the Gianni Mattioli
collection, the Nasher Sculpture Garden, as well as
temporary exhibitions.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is owned and operated by
the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation, which also operates
the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York, the Guggenheim
Museum Bilbao, Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin,
Guggenheim-Hermitage Las Vegas.
MUSEUMS & GALLERIES
There are a multitude of exciting museums and galleries to
visit while here in Venice. Most are long running and
fixtures of the city while others have rotating or
temporary exhibitions. Some are public and others are
private so prices will vary. You will find posters and
banner throughout the island promoting the current
exhibitions while you are here.
Civic Museums of Venice – Your ticket will grant you admission to 4 museums all
for the price of one ticket. Museums include: Doges
Palace, Correr Museum, National Archaeology Museum and
National Marciana Library. Your ticket is good for 3
months.
Ca’ Rezzonico – Museum of the Venetian 18th Century. Stepping back in time, this palace brings
you the splendor of what it was like to live in the
1700’s. From the interior furnishing to the artwork and
furniture with masterpieces by Canaletto, Longhi, Tiepolo
and others.
Ca Pesaro – This palace is a Baroque triumph of work by Longhena.
It’s lower two floors are filled with works by leading
European modern masters such as Marc Chagall, Gustave
Klimt and Rodin. It’s upper floor hosts over 50.000
oriental artifacts collected by the Pesaro family.
Ca d’Oro – One of the
finest examples of Gothic Architecture on the Grand Canal.
Here you will find Baron Franchetti’s private collection
of bronzes, sculptures and Flemish and Dutch art.
Scuola Grande di San Rocco – The San Rocco confraternity has been turned into a
gallery to display its spectacular works by Tintoretto.
You can admire Tintoretto ‘s cycles of allegories, Life
and Passion of Christ, scenes from the Old and New
Testament. Mirrors are available for you to carry around
to avoid getting a sore neck looking at the ceiling
frescos and paintings.
Fortuny Museum – Mariano Fortuny Madrazo was an eccentric Spanish painter
and collector, who bought the palace at the beginning of
20th Century. Fortuny is most famous for his invention of
pleated silk and hand painted fabrics. The Museum is
filled with his works and additional 80 by the Roman
artist Virgilio Guidi. Temporary exhibitions are also on
display. The museum just opened in 2005. For more
information: www.museiciviciveneziani.it
 Palazzo
Grassi – Set on the Grand Canal, the palace dates back to 1740
when wealthy merchant family commissioned Giorgio Massari
to design the building. Bought by Fiat in 1984, it turned
into a venue for temporary art exhibitions. Salvador Dali,
Pablo Picasso, Van Gogh, Kandinsky...all the masters of
vanguard have been hosted in the sumptuous rooms of this
Accademia Gallery – The Accademia galleries host the largest collection of
Venetian art in existence. A dazzling collection of
masterpieces spanning the full development of Venetian art
from Byzantine to Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo, the
Gallerie dell’Accademia is the Venice’s equivalent of the
Uffizi in Florence.
La Fenice Theatre – First
raised in the twilight years of La Serenissima, in 1792,
and rebuilt after fires in 1836 and again 2003, this is
one of the world’s great Opera stages. The grand opera
theatre of Venice is back in action, providing an
experience music lovers will not want to miss. For more
information: Tel. 041- 2424
Museo d’ Arte Erotica - S. Marco, 834 (Not far from S. Marco square)
041.520.3900 www.museodarteerotica.it Open everyday 10am –
11pm. This old palace hosts an exhibition dedicated to
love and pleasure. Contemporary artists and objects from
around the world. Under 18 prohibited.
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