October 3, 2022

October 3, 2022

Finished with our organized tour, we decided to sleep in this morning. After getting more Euros, we stopped at the city bus station to get a two-day pass. Since there are no roads and no cars in Venice, all transportation is by boat, including the ambulance, police, and firetruck. The city water bus is called a Vaporetto, or ‘little steamer’ because that was the original power source. Now they are diesel. Venice is full of boats consuming huge quantities of fuel. No wonder I saw a refinery located just on the mainland.

We got in line for the Vaporetto, but several boats came and went without our line moving at all. It turns out there are two lines; locals have priority, tourists are secondary. Every boat was packed to the gills. I am thinking this two-day pass is not such a good deal after all. Maybe we should just walk.

Finally a half-empty Vaporetto shows up and we board, along with the long line of tourists behind us. Instead of making an intermediate stop as planned, we stay on, getting off on the other end of the Grand Canal at the Accademia stop.

The Gallerie dell’Accademia is the premier art museum of Venice, showcasing some of the best of Venetian art. I had some favorites. One depicted the Choice of Hercules. I am thinking he was given the option of beauty vs brains. Apparently he couldn’t choose both like I did.

Another interesting subject was a monumental 'Last Supper' by Veronese. After the Inquisition started asking questions about the painting's religious details, instead of touching it up Veronese merely changed the title to Feast in the House (of Levi).

Part of the museum is housed in the former Scuola della Curita. So some of the paintings on display used to adorn that building. In addition, some of the building features, like floors, ceilings, and stairways are art in themselves.

Aimee is tired of my art appreciation class, so we walk a little north to Ca Rezzonico. Ca is Venetian shorthand for Casa or house. But in rich Venice, houses were mostly palazzo or palace. This house is now a city museum to display how 18th Venetians lived. As soon as we climbed the stairs to the ballroom, I knew we are talking uber-rich. While most European nobles were living in cold damp stone castles, Venetians were partying. We toured the rest of the Palace and it was all richly decorated.

We need a break so we walk north looking for a good cafe. We chose poorly. We had a mediocre Pasta e Fagioli and salad at a bar with outdoor seating. After our meal, we turned a corner and found a much better spot we could have eaten at.

We paid to go inside the nearby Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. This church has a very plain exterior but the interior is almost as dramatic as Sts. John and Paul church yesterday. It also has many elaborate wall monuments lining the interior. Some are dedicated to Doges, but a few are to artists, like the sculptor Canova, and the painter Titian. Every fan of sculpture should explore Venice.

In the same square is the Scuola San Rocco. This is another building of a local fraternal organization. Some were organized around trades (like a union hall) and others around community welfare (e.g. Knights of Columbus) like this one. The facade of this structure is ornate marble. Every building we have seen so far has been over the top. This scuola tops them all. I could tell something major was coming walking up the grand staircase with its painted ceiling. The upper ballroom was extraordinary and has to be experienced. The floor is elaborate tile, the ceiling is a collection of paintings, and the walls are carved wood. On one end is a chapel of sculpture.

We made the short walk back to our hotel passing several minor churches. Even they were pretty ornate. Venetians were the robber barons of the medieval ages buying spices and silk from the east for pennies on the dollar, making huge profits selling these luxuries to feudal Europeans.