Four nights in Venice

Venice is a group of islands in the centre of an extensive lagoon, that is accessed by trains and vehicles via a single causeway, or by boat. We arrived at the airport on the mainland, over heavily populated and industrialised land, then walked a surprisingly short distance from the airport to our boat taxi for the ride into Venice city. The boat trip in is a thrill, approaching the tile roofed city including many grand buildings especially churches, then turning into the Grand Canal itself, a substantial winding canal separating the two sides of the heart of the city and a parade of super substantial buildings. Other boat traffic chugged and zoomed around us while we craned our necks for views and photos. Then we swung into a narrow side canal and soon arrived at a minute landing, the boat access to our hotel, a Palazzio. Invited later to introduce the property to our small group, the modest owner said (in thickly accented English) 'there is nothing much to say, other than our family has been here for 600 years.' The other side of the building opened onto a narrow lane, which ran a short distance to a Piazza, a square, which was surely the centre of the community and housed a covered water well, a church, and several bars and eateries. That seemed to be the pattern, alternating narrow canals occasionally bridged, and narrow lanes, all leading at regular intervals to a piazza. Zero vehicles other than boats. Not even bicycles. The charm of the city is immediately apparent and you can see why it would be loved by anyone visiting it. Tile roofed buillings packed together interlaced by canals and narrow streets and walkable in any direction. Being a very old city it exudes its ancient past including a great number of unbelievably grand churches and other buildings. Even the typical piazza church has a cavernous, sombre interior and evidence of a deep history. About 55,000 people permanently reside in Venice city and add a great deal of interest to the place. They seemed most evident on the waterways, plying the canals in their boats, then in the piazzas as families gathered in the evening. They largely ignored the visitor traffic and got on with heir lives as best they could, in the midst of incredible numbers of people, at times and particularly in the popular central places such as the spacious Piazza San Marco, with its Venice defining San Marco Basilica, a marvel of history, architecture, grandeur and sheer beauty. At the basilica we saw one of our highlights, a set of life sized horse cast in copper, dating from late second century AD. They predate the basilica and were war bounty, from Constantinople. Brimming with drama and energy, stunning. We walked the streets, crossed the canals by bridge and the grand canal by boat, covering as much as we could and walking ourselves to a standstill. The heat did not help and a cold drink or two in the piazza was a welcome end to the day before crashing to bed. The mix of grandeur particularly lining the grand canal, and everyday living doesn't stop the city being very liveable, very human, maybe because everything there is the result of many centuries of human activity so the city very much has a soul and is comfortable and welcoming. We saw the principle central sights then boated to some of the other islands, especially to see the centre off the glass blowing and lace making industries, and to experience the boating that is such a feature of this maritime city. We watched a glass blower in action, turning out a vase and a 'ferrari' horse, then wandered the retail areas marvelling at the chandeliers and every conceivable glass item. Sadly back in the central city chinese copies are common but not in the districts where the glass is produced. Another very curious sight was Venices answer to the leaning tower of Pisa, a tall tower on precarious lean. No-one seemed bothered about it but we we incredulous that it stayed upright. Later on back in the central city we noticed another not quite straight tower and also signs of buildings subsiding, with their uneven roof lines and non vertical walls. Otherwise we were told that the city is quite stable as the floor o the lagoon has, fortuitously, a deep stable clay base that the original city set timber pillars into and provided a base for solid fill. Boating back from the islands on the sunday afternoon, the lagoon was a riot of boats of all sizes, from an elderly gent standing and rowing a battered dingy, to passenger ferries to sleek speed boats. We especially admired some of the polished teak speedboats, usually with a bare chested male of any age at the wheel and his bikini clad lady beside him or even lying on the back deck to soak up the sun. On all levels the boat was prominent and the centre of a truly maritime life style. Im sure every resident would have a craft of some sort and much of the additional sunday traffic was probably moored on the mainland, with those residents treating the lagoon as their watery playground. This was highlighted by one of our lunch spots, an island accessible only by boat and small craft at that. A narrow canal split the island which boast moored up on both sides, before the occupants ambled on to one of the very extensive restaurants, seated under expanses of umbrellas and sail cloths. On that same island we visited one of the oldest churches, founded in 639 ad on the arrival of the body of a saint, now lying in state under a gold death mask. The church was fascinating it had been built entirely from recycled roman remains, so had marble columns and mosaic floors in chips of colourful stone. An original gold leaf fresco was being restored otherwise the church showed its great age although the stonework is all there. city Back in Venice central, our four nights finally come to a finish and we boated back out, casting our last gazes over this unique and glorious place.