Exproring Venice

Large white vaporetto on the left and canal traffic

     After a refreshing shower and a change of clothes, we stepped out to explore the Island.  We thought we would take the slow number one vaporatto all the way to St. Marks and listen to Rick Steve's rendition of the travels down the Grand Canal which is the "Main Street"of Venice. When we inquired about tickets, we found out that the number one vaporatto captains were on strike and only the faster number two boats would be running only to the Realto Bridge.  We thought of putting on Rick Steves in his chipmunk dialect to go with the faster boat, then we realized it would only go half way.  So we decided to just enjoy the ride and take pictures along the way. We knew that this part of the Canal was going to be the part with great palaces, since commercial traffic was not allowed beyond the Realto Bridge.

The Realto Bridge

 We got on the vaporatto and began the trip down the Grand Canal.  Shortly, we came on the Cannaregio Canal flowing to the left.  Following this canal you would come to the first Jewish Ghetto.  I remember this from Shakespeare's  Merchant of Venice when a curfew closed the bridge each night and no one was allowed out. This was the site of a iron foundry at one time thus getting the name, ghetto from the Italian name "geto" for iron.   Jews were permitted to live on the island after the 14th century.  They were restricted, and isolated to this island and were allowed to do business as money lenders, second-hand traders, and later as doctors and musicians. They paid heavy taxes to live in Venice.
  

 It wasn't long until a parade of palaces appeared each with its wonderful architecture blending Gothic, Baroque, and Byzantine styles. During the Middle Ages these great homes were decorated with beautiful frescoes.  Venice was pretty much a secular island.  During the Middle Ages it was so isolated that it was not affected by the church.  So life was full of fun and frivolity.  The Republic of Venice also existed outside of the Island along the coast of the Adriatic.  The economy based on trade with the Middle  East and Asia focused life more toward Constantinople.
 

Ca' d'Oro - example of Venetian Gothic architecture

     When we got to the bridge, we were getting hungry and found a restaurant close to where we disembarked.  We went in, ordered some beers and decided on a small pizza.  While we were waiting I sat my IPad on the table and found some Italian music I downloaded for the trip.  With in minutes everyone in the establishment was singing along with the old favorites:  O Sole Mio, Mama, Volare, Return to Sorento, and That's Amore.  Even people coming in joined the singing, and it really seemed like a party. The beer and pizza were great, and we had a great feeling of enjoying the Italian life.

     We bade good bye to everyone and walked back to our hotel meandering through the narrow streets and doing a bit of window shopping along the way.  At one point we found ourselves in front of a small church where music by Vivaldi was playing.  We went inside and found that this church was where Vivaldi did much of his music teaching as a young priest. The Pieta as the church is called is now a museum of Vivaldi's work and exhibits of string instruments. 

John practicing for confession!

      We continued to wander the streets until we came to a canal where we considered taking a gondola ride.

The gondolier waiting for his customers.

Young Chinese couple taking a gondola ride!

We saw young couples riding in their gondola on the canal, but we would have to plan for a ride the next day as we had more places to explore.  As we continued our walk, we saw wooden pilings by the dock.  The Venetians chose water resistant alder wood obtained from Croatia and Slovenia for their foundations.  They drove the wood fifteen feet deep into the clay. Upon this wood they built their great buildings of brick and stone.  This city was not put together in a year.  Give it a few thousands years of trial and error as there was not book written at the time, Build a Floating City for Dummies!
Now days they would have better technology and could build it like the Floating Green at Coeur 'd Alene Golf course.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7amdWpYSIk) There is a problem with sinking however.  At one time they dug down to the aquifer below to get fresh water.  This caused the island to start sinking in a serious way, so they stopped.They still need to face the aqua alta in the winter during storms and sea rising due to climate change. In 2003 the MOSE project was born.  Its   movable gates placed at three inlets from the sea. When the sea water reaches a certain level, air is pumped into the gate system preventing sea water to enter the canals.  This project will be ready by 2014.  It is sure to be pricy, but Italy knows how much revenue comes in from tourist traffic and they need to preserve Venice as their lucrative "Disneyland."

We took our time as the evening was warm and streets were busy with everyone having a good time.  By the time we got to the Boscolo Bellini, we were feeling the jet lag and happily turned in for a good night's rest.