A corner of white marbled beauty...Scuola Grande di San Teodoro and Chiesa San Salvador, San Marco

As you walk from Campo San Bartolomeo (near the Rialto bridge), stop right here on the corner of the Salizzada San Teodoro and Calle Lovo, and stand still. 

Now look up.

Here, on your right hand side is the former Scuola Grande di San Teodoro.

And there, right in front of you, is the church of San Salvador.

Be still, my Venice loving, wildly beating heart.

L'Arcobaleno

The Calle delle Botteghe near Campo Santo Stefano was one of the first streets that I ever got to know in Venice, whilst I was staying at the Istituto Ciliota.  

I'm always glad to walk past the bright pigments in the window of L'arcobaleno (The Rainbow).  I'm sure it used to only sell artists' supplies.  It now incorporates very tempting stationary and some unusually nice looking souvenirs.  

Marforio's dragon and his umbrellas in Marzaria Due Aprile, San Marco

I think many visitors to Venice will remember, if only subliminally, this landmark on that well-trodden route between the Rialto bridge to the Piazza San Marco, near the church of San Salvador.

A familiar visual landmark on the route between Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge - those umbrellas!  Photo (c) Capturing Venice.

The dragon and the umbrellas mark the site of Venice's famous Marforio leather goods shop, which traded here from 1875.  I couldn't find the date, even an approximate one, for when it closed, but the dragon and these colourful umbrellas remain.

To be precise, this landmark is on the corner of the Marzaria Due Aprile and Marzaria San Salvador.  

The Marziaria San Salvador is named for the nearby baroque church of San Salvador.  

The plaque on the wall notes that this stretch of street was enlarged in 1884 under the mayorship of Sergio Aligheri.

Taking a dip

It was much warmer this April in Venice than I had expected...think gelato and cold Aperol spritz drinks and enjoying wandering the streets well past sunset to enjoy the cool of the evening.  I stopped to enjoy some Venetians taking a dip.

I prefer pigeons when they are solo or in small groups.  These two were fun to watch as they took a cool dip on a hot afternoon.  Photo (c) Capturing Venice, May 2016.

Scala del Bovolo - I never thought I'd climb these stairs!

I've been coming to visit this spot, the Scala del Bovolo (Snail's Staircase) for almost twenty years.
I'd stand outside the gates and look longingly up that extraordinary staircase.  But I'd long given up hope that I'd ever see the inside of this building, let alone climb those stairs.  And then, just as I was preparing to leave for Venice...I noticed that this site had finally opened to the public.  Hoorah!

Scala del Bovolo, photo (c) Capturing Venice May 2016

The view from the top of the 'snail' is intimate - I felt as though I could almost touch the Campanile in the Piazza San Marco or reach for that dear, familiar roof line of the Basilica di San Marco with its fat domes.

View from the Scala del Bovolo, photo (c) Capturing Venice, May 2016

Visiting the Scale del Bovolo was a delight - it was so much quieter than climbing the Campanile in Piazza San Marco...no queues, no crowds, no jostling for position.  I had this little belvedere all to myself for several minutes.

Standing at the top of Scala del Bovolo, photo (c) Capturing Venice, May 2016

Many guidebooks seem describe the snail like form of the staircase as typical of Venice...I'd love to know where else this exists or existed, as I can't recall ever seeing it elsewhere in Venice.  If you know anything further, please drop me a line in the comments box or via Capturing Venice's social media pages.  I'd love to hear from you.

The Scala del Bovolo was added to the existing Palazzo San Paternian around 1400 by commission from Pietro Contarini.  

Landing at Marco Polo Venezia

There is something magic about this name: 'MARCO POLO, VENEZIA'.

I get such a kick of delight when I use the code 'VCE' to make an airline booking, and then I spend weeks and months gloating over it on my travel itinerary.  And then the day of departure finally arrives and I get to see those three letters printed on my boarding pass and attached to my bag...

And then the anticipation of the arrival at Marco Polo Venice...

On this occasion, the fog made the arrival somewhat hazy.  But knowing Venice was down there and tracing the line of the rail and road bridge into Venice...that really was special.

Can you just make out Venice down there in the fog?  Can you see the long line of the road and rail bridge linking Venice to the mainland? Photo (c) Capturing Venice, May 2016

This is what Venetian writer, Paolo Barbaro, says about landing in Venice in Venice Revealed:

"I look down on it again myself: Venice, mysteriously interrogatory and enchanted, tranquil and troubled.  Pathetic, motionless, delicate - sailing, maybe...There is a moment of silence in the airplane, our fraction of eternity.  Japanese, Brazilians, Venetians...who are we, really, in here, but a group of individuals, big and little, young and old, spying on the flower of stone in the sea from on high?".

Happy Friday!