Today is our last day in Venice and we are on a mission. After an early breakfast of cereal, banana, yogurt and coffee we set out for the Basilica and got on line. Our timing was perfect and we didn’t have to wait long to get in. Words are not adequate to describe the mosaics, gold, paintings, sculpture and absolute splendor of this remarkable place. We saw the alter screen that has panels of paintings mounted on gold and encrusted with over 2,000 precious stones, and toured the treasury that is a huge collection of chalices, and relics that have been handed down through history. The greatest artists and sculptors were enlisted to create this monument, and every detail is magnificent. It wasn’t a far leap to imagine the crowds of Venetians from 500 years ago attending mass or shopping in the square.
The Naval Museum was our next stop. It was really interesting and had lots of huge models of Venetian galleys and sailing vessels, along with the usual stuff of old cannons, muskets, swords etc. True to form, the fashionable Italians had a whole floor displaying naval uniforms dating back to when Napolean conquered Venice in 1797. This culture loves clothes, shoes, fashion and just looking good!
Lunch, then on to the Accademia Museum to see the collection of paintings. Another WOW collection, The gallery starts of in massive room with lots of Byzantine style religious paintings…but remember to look up! The ceiling is carved with coffers. In each coffer is a sunburst in gold with the face of an angel painted on a placque. It’s stunning. The colors of the art are surprising. As we went deeper into the collections, the pigments were astoundingly brilliant, and the artists used them to vibrantly depict Venetian life. The paintings were vast and surprising in that they were mostly Venetian life and historical events, rather than religious. There was room upon room of the most paintings, many by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. The Venetians seemed to be less interested in having God portrayed in a traditional way, than in celebrating their history and way of life. One painting looked almost surreal, with a blood red jagged line across a desert scene with a small sign in the foreground. We hated to leave this gallery and could have spent the whole day there.
We hopped a vaporetto to get to the train station and buy our tickets to Rome in advance, and then back to St. Marks to hangout one last time. In the evening the square has several small orchestras that play at different points. We spent the evening drinking wine and listening to some very schmaltzy, but fun, selections ranging from a Carmen suite to Viennese waltzes. The violinist was very dramatic and Dan said he looked like Sal’s best friend Tony D.
The Naval Museum was our next stop. It was really interesting and had lots of huge models of Venetian galleys and sailing vessels, along with the usual stuff of old cannons, muskets, swords etc. True to form, the fashionable Italians had a whole floor displaying naval uniforms dating back to when Napolean conquered Venice in 1797. This culture loves clothes, shoes, fashion and just looking good!
Lunch, then on to the Accademia Museum to see the collection of paintings. Another WOW collection, The gallery starts of in massive room with lots of Byzantine style religious paintings…but remember to look up! The ceiling is carved with coffers. In each coffer is a sunburst in gold with the face of an angel painted on a placque. It’s stunning. The colors of the art are surprising. As we went deeper into the collections, the pigments were astoundingly brilliant, and the artists used them to vibrantly depict Venetian life. The paintings were vast and surprising in that they were mostly Venetian life and historical events, rather than religious. There was room upon room of the most paintings, many by Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. The Venetians seemed to be less interested in having God portrayed in a traditional way, than in celebrating their history and way of life. One painting looked almost surreal, with a blood red jagged line across a desert scene with a small sign in the foreground. We hated to leave this gallery and could have spent the whole day there.
We hopped a vaporetto to get to the train station and buy our tickets to Rome in advance, and then back to St. Marks to hangout one last time. In the evening the square has several small orchestras that play at different points. We spent the evening drinking wine and listening to some very schmaltzy, but fun, selections ranging from a Carmen suite to Viennese waltzes. The violinist was very dramatic and Dan said he looked like Sal’s best friend Tony D.
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