An open
air museum of a unique atmosphere, with numerous churches and impressive
monuments
By Kon Hans
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The "water roads" (canals) of Venice (foto by Juana Escobar)
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A drowned forest.
Fog. A mask with a big nose is reflected
in the calm waters. A silent black swan
emerges in the form of a mahogany gondola. Memories and fleeting images.
It is rather difficult to describe with simple, plain words
a city which is located somewhere between a hazy dream and the reality. The
fact that an entire forest has been transferred from Slovenia in the depths of an
Adriatic lagoon in Italy in order to build upon it the legendary city of Venice
with its 118 islands, channels and bridges is just shocking by itself. Your nerve
endings get overcharged with each and every picture you may encounter in any
corner of this surreal and magical place. Beginning from the fact that the
familiar Athenian yellow taxis are replaced with the vaporetto, specially designed small boats on which you may embark
as they ride the water highways of Venice, up to the colourful washings hanging
over the labyrinthine canals, all compose a world that looks like it came from
a book of an ingenious author. To enter this fairy-tale world, you must forget
of any guides or manuals of any sort, you need to get lost, to pour yourself
and your soul in this wondrous maze without Ariadne's thread.
At
the famous square
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| Basilica di San Marco (foto by Juana Escobar) |
Piazza
San Marco is the central or, rather, the only square in Venice, the
rest are called campo or campielo. Its extremely frequent appearance in almost
all the postcards sent from Venice is justified: the unique Cathedral of San
Marco with the impressive Clock Tower and the Doge's Palace offer an insuperable
background to enjoy an authentic Italian espresso at the Caffé Florian. Your visit both
in the Cathedral and the Palace will confirm the nobility and richness of the
once all-powerful Republica Serenissima of Venice, as well as its sinful past with the Byzantine Empire.
Indeed, behind the Palace and uniting it with the prisons stands the legendary “Bridge
of Sighs” – its stones still resonate the sighs of the condemned as they took a
last glance at the serene beauty of Venice.
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| An old house in Venice (foto by Andromahi Doufexi) |
Nonetheless, you need to know that this celebrated piazza has been transformed several
times in a celebrated lake due to the tides, which particularly during the
months of October to December flood many parts of Venice! Even so, after you enjoy
your coffee you can begin your exploration starting from any point you wish; whatever
bridge you choose to cross – there are around fifty and in about every 150 m.
there is one – and in any small alley you wish to enter – the narrowest is only
65 cm. wide – you will undoubtedly encounter a picture of a uniqueness and a
beauty you have seldom laid eyes upon. The Rialto Bridge is indeed such a
magical example: countless romantic
souls have walked and continue to walk upon it and as they stand to gaze at the
golden hue sunset, the strength and the warmth of their hearts as it flows out
from their palms have transformed the parapets of the bridge into a shining
mirror!
Campo
Santa Marguerita is not only one of the centres of the night life in Venice, as many students congregate here, but also a great place to sit and
relax in the sun. Here, many cafés and bars are named after colours, Caffé Rosso, Caffé Nero etc. and here is also the perfect place to
enjoy the famous spritz (white
sparkling wine with Aperol: spritz al aperol or with Campari: spritz bitter). If, after so
much spritz you get hungry you can
let your nose guide you to the small pizza-place at the campo where you can indulge in a tasteful slice of the exceptional
pizza ai zucchini (with pumpkin).
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Located within walking distance you will find a diamond of
the ample cultural offer the “floating city” has to offer: the personal Collection-Museum of Peggy Guggenheim. An eccentric member of the prominent Guggenheim family, unyielding,
romantic, and with an unconventional personality, she passionately collected
painters and lovers. The collection includes some of the masterpieces of the
last century, thus you can enjoy Picasso, de Chirico and Kandinsky in the
impressive Palazzo Venier dei Leoni ,
the flamboyant Peggy Guggenheim's residence which has been transformed into a
museum. Afterwards you can enjoy a
beautiful walk in the Fondamenta delle Zattere,
where in some sunbathed terraces you will find authentic Italian ice creams to
be waiting for you as you marvel at the sight of the large ships crossing the
greatest water Avenue in Venice, the Giudecca
Channel.
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| canal in Venezia (foto by Juana Escobar) |
At the end of this promenade and at the point where the legendary
Canal Grande meets Giudecca Channel there is another
diamond yet to be found: the Basilica of St Mary of Health (Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute). An impressive and imposing church, that looks as
if floating on the water, stands there, proud, to remind to the Venetians the dark
years of the Black Plague, which killed one third of the population of the city.
In the heart of the temple a masterpiece of the Byzantine iconography is guarded
with reverence, it is the exceptional Icon of Panagia Mesopantitissa, originating from Crete.
The Serenisima
embraces with its eerie silence several churches, impressive palazzos and monuments. If you don’t have
too much time to spend, then buy cards from the Tourist Office that give you
entry to the main attractions, as well
as cards from the ACTV (Transportation Bureau) to move about without problems
with the vaporetto. If, on the other
hand, you do have plenty of time, which may prove difficult as the whole town
is an open air museum, then don’t miss the psychedelic colours of the houses in
Burano, the masters of the glass blowing crafts in Murano and the well-known
Lido Beach to relax with an excellent mojito.
An invaluable source of information for the writing of
this article has been Tiziano Scarpa’s book: Venezia e un pesce (Ed. Feltrinelli, 2003).
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