We started the first full day in Venice by going down our alley to a little sandwich shop to buy our breakfast of meats, cheeses, rolls, as well as croissants. The little Italian express coffee maker in the apartment delivered the best coffee ever. We retained a guide to take us around some of the key sites, and most importantly, get us into the Basilica de Marco without having to wait in a two-hour line.
On the way to buy some breakfast rolls
Rain, Rain, go away!
As soon as we stepped out of our flat, it started to rain. Fortunately, one of the nearby tobacco shops sold plastic rain covers – and off we went to meet Francesca, our guide, at the Basilica. The light rain turned into a torrent! By the time we reached the Piazza del Marco, most of the square was coated with an inch of rain water not an uncommon phenomena whenever it rains heavily. The drainage systems just can’t accommodate the volume of water. Our shoes were soaked. Our guide thought it would be best if we took the planned water taxi tour first, rather than go into the church. She thought we might be drier. Drier, relatively speaking, since we all sat in the closed-up cabin, a bobbing steam room. As we motored around, she pointed out various buildings and sights along with their significance in the history of the city. Just a couple of teeny-weeny problems: the roof of the cabin was solid wood so we couldn’t see up; the side windows were just six inches high and completely fogged over so we couldn’t see the sights next to us; and finally, our eyeglasses fogged over to make it even more challenging. She did offer some tissues to wipe the windows, but they quickly dissolved. A few in our group were beginning to get nauseated, so we opened the front hatch to provide some ventilation, but SURPRISE! It let the rain in. We were all very happy to disembark the ‘shelter’ and get rained on instead. No doubt, Francesca had a tough tour, trying to show us the sites with all the environmental issues. While we couldn’t see much, we did learn about some historical events as well as some tales.
Venice was built on 60-foot wood piles that were driven into the hard clay under the lagoon. They were placed next to each other as to form a wall. Since these piles were not exposed to oxygen, only water, they did not decompose. During the centuries, tides brought in silt to surround the piles. This caused the wood to petrify, and petrify at an accelerated rate. So today, Venice sits securely on stone pillars imbedded in hard clay. Wooden planks were bolted on top of the piles to form a platform. Next a layer of marble slabs were laid on top of the wooden platform, serving as a water tight membrane. Marble is perfect because it does not dissolve nor absorb water. A building’s foundation was constructed on top of this marble layer, using standard construction techniques.
The buildings’ formal entries faced the canals. Each had a beautiful entrance platform with a doorway to receive guests as they came ‘ashore.’ Boats and gondolas were not allowed to tie up since the canals were too narrow. The everyday or “servants” entrance was in the back.
Entrance to homes from the canals.
So the top of mind question we had was: Is Venice sinking? ‘Sinking’ may not be an accurate description, but the relative water-building level has dropped about six feet over the last 1600 years. There are a number of factors that have and will contribute in the future. In the 1960’s, the city began to drill wells into the aquifers below the clay stratum, for potable water. As water was extracted, the clay stratum began to ‘sink.’ Once they realized this, all wells were shut down. Aquifers take centuries to fill. Once the water has been pumped out, the aquifer is effectively gone. This is something Arizona learned as it tapped into this source of water to support its fast growing population and never-ending list of golf courses. The second contributor to the ‘sinking’ is the rise of the ocean level. This is only going to get worse as we see the effects of global warming as the north and south pole ice packs melt. We saw this today with high-high tides and some ocean swells brought on by a storm, bringing the water level up to cover the Piazzo de Marco. Currently, a national effort is underway to protect the city. I tried to understand how this was going to work, but I couldn’t understand it. There is a lot of controversy as to whether they have come up with a viable solution.
Water has been an issue since the first people settled on the islands – reaching an equilibrium between population and available water. Originally all water was provided by rainfall. Rain run-off was collected and channeled to underground cisterns containing sand to serve as filters, and clay serving as a waterproof layer against the saltwater. City squares had wellheads-some very decorative, where people would use buckets to haul out water. When the population exceeded the capacity of these wells, they began to haul in spring water from the mainland in casks on boats. Now they pipe fresh water to the city.
The city is very clean. They do a fantastic job at keeping it clean despite the yyuugge number of people. But one historical thing remains the same – I refer to it as the big flush! There is no piped sewage system. All sewage – grey and black water- is dumped into the canals. The daily tide coming in and out cleans the canals – The Big Flush.
We also learned that many buildings near the center of town are only partially occupied. It is very expensive for residents to live in this area. The property owners generally can’t afford to maintain or upgrade their buildings. Why don’t they sell them? According to Francesca, for a Venetian to sell the family property is a sign of poverty. So, they just maintain or fix up one or two floors to live in or rent. Fact or fiction? I don’t know, but we saw many buildings only partially maintained or updated. The flat we are staying in was built in 1500 and is still in the family. They have partitioned it and upgraded it to provide several flats for rent. A wonderful job!
Inside Saint Mark.
Ceiling of Saint Mark
Mosaic art at its best
Ceiling of Saint Mark
Marble panel marks the place where St. Mark’s bones appeared.
While the rain continued, we left our water taxi and headed for the Basilica de Marco. The reconstruction was completed in 1094. Inside it is breathtaking!The inside is stunning! The church uses marble from throughout the world. It is recycling at its best, except for the fact that it destroyed the prior buildings. Much of it came from old, unused buildings and structures – which were treated as quarries. We expect to see many buildings, especially in Rome, which have been ‘mined’ to build new structures. The use of so many different marbles gives the inside a very kaleidoscopic effect. The five domes and walls are decorated with what looks like frescos, but are in fact tiles, individually placed. They sparkle in the light as you move. Recall from my previous blog, the remains of St. Mark are reportedly located here – somewhere under the altar which was masked by a screen. A marble slab (see the photo below) marks the spot where St. Mark’s bone protruded during the reconstruction. A few marble benches were located in front of marble walls. Many parishioners would sit here during services and rest their heads against the wall, leaving a line of grease stain along the wall. As you touch it, you can feel the grease…some centuries old. I felt like I needed to wash my hands. A special note: the photos above are ‘belly shots’ photos. For some unknown reason, no photography was allowed. So I took these photos by just aiming my camera hanging around my neck, near my belly, pushing the button, and hoping for the best. The rule about no photos (I’ll address this in my next post) makes no sense. According to Francesca, they want you to buy photos from their store – nothing to do with damaging or preserving the art. Seems silly, given the high entrance fee – or charge a little more and let people take photographs.
Piazza del Marco
Feeding the pigeons
Kelly is a pigeon perch!
Now that the rain has stopped we were able to a get a view from the outside and see the Horses of Saint Mark, also known as the Triumphal Quadriga, on the façade over the entrance. The statue is a set of four bronze Roman horses, a quadriga – representing the four-horse set which pulled a carriage in chariot racing. Think Ben-Hur. They were originally looted from Constantinople in 1204, and brought here. They were, in turn, looted by Napoleon in 1797 and brought to Paris. Finally, in 1815 they were returned to Venice. The quadriga on the façade today is a copy, with the originals inside the museum portion of St. Mark.
Triumphal Quadriga horses
The rest of the tour was a walk through the labyrinth of bridges, alleys, gondolas, shops, and throngs of people moving in random directions.
As J.L. Borges suggests, “A labyrinth is a building created to confuse people, in the sense that its own architecture is functional for this purpose: to generate confusion and stupor in humans, it’s tortuous paths refer symbolically to the inadequacy of a purely rational view of the reality whose ontological consistency conceals, under an apparent regularity, more complex and deeper meaning: who enters in a labyrinth knows that there is a path leading out but it’s not possible being aware of which of many paths lead to exit. Hesitating is the norm. When reaching a cul de sac, the only possibility is to get back and try another way. Sometimes just when it seems to be close to the exit, it’s farther away, and just a false step can bring you to the starting point.” That’s Venice!
Beautiful canals.
Canal apartments
Narrow canal.
Beautiful, calm waters
Hitting the high notes in front of the Venice opera house.
Our final stop was at the Ponte dei Sospiri or Bridge of Sighs, crossing a canal, and leading to the city prison. Legend has it that on a quiet evening, one can hear the sighs of the condemned as they march over the bridge to prison.
Bridge of Sigh
Night is setting in on Piazza de Marco
Night setting in on the Grand Canal
Well it’s that time again! An outstanding dinner at a great restaurant, starting with roasted octopus, and ending with Gelato at the nearby shop. Tomorrow we leave for Florence. We would have loved to have stayed at least one more day to see some of the other districts of Venice, as well as several historical sites and museums of note.
Comentarios