Never to leave sweet Venice...

Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, the clocktower and campanile seen from a vaporetto

If I had been an unconnected man,
I from this moment, should have formed some plan 
Never to leave sweet Venice...

Percy Byshhe Shelley

Your first visit to Venice – a suggested itinerary Part 2

Your first visit to Venice - Part 1 Day of Arrival 

Part 2/ Day 2 - TUESDAY

Open your eyes as early as you possibly can.  You’re in Venice; you don’t want to miss a minute of this magic lolling about in the dark of a hotel room (unless it’s a particularly beautiful hotel room, or you have a wonderful view, in which case, who am I to argue?).

Get out in the city, smell the freshness of the morning and enjoy a moment in Venice before the rush of day-trippers storm the city. 

Find somewhere for a fresh, warm pastry straight from the warmer and an excellent, stirring cup of coffee. 

Today is your day to orient yourself to Venice, so let’s start from the beginning and head straight to the Piazza San Marco. 

The weekend and long-weekend visitors will have departed, so this is your best day to experience the sights in the Piazza San Marco.

The Campanile and Palazzo Ducale seen from the water 

Campanile

Be one of the first to queue for the ascent in the campanile.  A lift will take you directly to the summit.  You have as much time as you wish to take in the view to the south across the Grand Canal to San Giorgio Maggiore and north looking across the sestiere of Castello.  To the north-west is the sestiere of Cannareggio and to the east you will see the eastern Castello and in the distance, that engine room of Venetian power and trade, the Arsenale.

Palazzo Ducale

Next, go to the Palazzo Ducale.  Allow at least two hours to see this magnificent place, built to impress and intimidate visitors and citizens of the Republic of Venice. 

Palazzo Ducale 

Please don’t miss the prisons underneath the building.  I also highly recommend the ‘Secret Itineraries’ tour which you have to pre-book and which will allow you to access the ‘piombi’ (lead) prisons under the roof of the building, from which Casanova famously made his escape.

There is an excellent souvenir shop as you exit the building, with a great range of Venice-related books and attractive souvenirs.

Museo Correr

You must surely be parched and hungry (as well as a bit footsore) by now.  If you can, please keep walking just a little bit further, straight across the Piazza to the Museo Correr.

Here, you can enjoy the quiet café overlooking the Piazza San Marco, with rich decorations in the Empire style and comfy armchairs. 

Fortified?  Excellent.  Let’s continue.

Allow at least an hour to look around the vast Museo Correr with its recently restored Royal Apartments, gallery of sculptures by Canova, picture gallery including Jacopo de’Barbari’s astonishing aerial view of Venice engraved in 1500 (and displayed with the original wood blocks) as well as Carpaccio’s famous painting that was once known as The Courtesans, the civic archaeology collection and the main hall of the Libereria Sansoviniana.

You might need another pit stop for a break and refreshment when you leave the Museo Correr.  You might want to return to Caffe Florian, or, alternately, you can try Caffe Quadri (it’s older than Caffe Florian but it isn’t as pretty) or the Café Lavena. 

Basilica di San Marco

Hopefully by now the queue to enter the Basilica di San Marco is lessening, so jump in there. 

The first time that I ever stepped inside the Basilica, I was astonished and humbled by the magnificence of the sombre, ancient interior.  I encourage you to pay the admission fee to view the Pala d’Oro, the treasury and the  Loggia dei Cavalli, where you can see the original, famous bronze ‘Horses of Saint Mark’s’, an ancient quadriga that was looted from Constantinople by the Venetians in 1204.  Then you can step outside onto the balcony to see the replica horses which now stand in their place and take in the view over the Piazza.

By this time, the monuments and museums of Venice are probably closing and the next thing that I encourage you to do is to take a gondola ride.

The Horses of San Marco - seen from the outside of the basilica (these are the replica horeses)

Gondola ride

You heard me correctly, TAKE A GONDOLA RIDE!  Don’t leave Venice without doing this!  But make sure that you ask your gondolier to take you around the quieter parts of Venice – if you’re just going to experience the gondola on the Grand Canal, you may as well take a vaporetto!

It’s easy to forget that since the late 19^th century/ early 20^th century, Venice has been extensively pedestrianized.  The main pedestrian thoroughfares, the Via Garibaldi and Strade Nuova were created in the early 19^th century by filling in canals.  Every time you see the sign ‘Rio Terra xxx”, you are walking on a former canal.

The buildings of Venice were built to be seen from the water, and even the tiniest amount of navigating the city from a gondola will give you a sense of the city as it was meant to be traversed – by water. 

As well, you’ll be able to observe at close quarters the skill and experience of Venice’s gondoliers – it’s extraordinary to watch their graceful, powerful movements as they steer and move their elegant gondolas around heavy traffic, parked boats and around tight corners and under low bridges.  Please don’t miss this experience.

Click here to read Your first visit to Venice - Part 3/ Day 3

Your first visit to Venice – a suggested week-long itinerary - Part 1 - Day 1

A colleague at work recently departed for her first visit to Venice.  Of the two of us, I can’t tell who was more excited – possibly me!  I put together a suggested itinerary for her trip, and I’m eagerly awaiting her return to hear about her experience of Venice.

So I’ve been doing (even more than usual) dreaming about my own ‘ideal’ week in Venice for a first-time in visitor (you know, on the train to work, walking to work, at work, coming home from work, as I’m cooking dinner, as I’m washing up etc).

So here we go: I invite you to come along with me on my ‘ideal first time trip to Venice’:

To anyone visiting Venice for the first time, I would recommend arriving on Monday afternoon, and staying for at least six nights.  I know, that probably sounds like a lot of time to you, but for me, even this is scarcely enough to see Venice, but it would be sufficient to at least see the major monuments and experience the city. 

What follows isn’t a guided tour of Venice – there are many fine guidebooks that do the job nicely.  What I’m proposing below is a suggested itinerary for your week-long stay in Venice to help you get the most of the city’s major sights and activities for your first-time visit.

Note:

This of course, assumes that neither the architecture nor visual arts biennales are in session – in which case, I’d ideally add on another two days to see as many of the exhibition spaces in the Giardini della Biennale and external sites as possible. 

Nor does this itinerary take into consideration major exhibitions or events that might be held during your visit.

Day 1 - ARRIVE MONDAY AFTERNOON

Travelling from Australia, I’ve always flown into Venice from a connecting European city.  I’m sure there are cheaper ways to arrive in Venice, but for me, it takes 24-hours just to reach Europe from Sydney, and I’m always anxious to maximise my visiting time in Venice.

I also love, I love, I love the experience of flying into Venice...that precise moment when the magical, enchanting jewel comes into view far below.  Seeing Venice from the air is truly a wonderful and it always catches my breath and squeezes my heart to see Venice again.

Inside arrivals hall at Marco Polo airport, purchase your 7-day vaporetto ticket and your return transfer to Venice.

Catch the Alilaguna boat to Venice

Check-in to your hotel or your apartment

Get out into the city to feel Venice under your feet, in front of your eyes and surrounding all your senses.

Go to the Accademia bridge, climb up to the top and take in the view of the Grand Canal looking toward the Salute. 

Walk down to the Basilica della Salute and if it’s still open, step inside quietly to enjoy its baroque elegance and serenity.  I always feel like walking into the Salute is like walking into a motherly hug.  This beautiful space has a warmth and a welcome that is hard to imagine until you’ve actually experienced it.

It will be difficult to tear yourself away from the cosy atmosphere off the Salute, but when you’ve had your fill, walk a short distance to the Punta della Dogana and breathe in and enjoy another classic Venetian view across to the Piazza San Marco, to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore across the Giudecca canal, and watch the vaporetti and water taxis motor past. 

You really are in Venice!

As evening falls, walk back to the Salute to catch the vaporetto down the Grand Canal.  Marvel as the palazzi and churches lining the Grand Canal slip quietly past you.

The Grand Canal from a vaporetto as the sun begins to fade

Descend at Rialto to enjoy cichetti (aperitifs with delicious little titbits) or an early dinner at one of the restaurants in the bend of the Rialto – I love the view of the Grand Canal and Antonio da Ponte’s 1588 bridge from this spot, nestled into the ‘S’ bend of the Grand Canal.

Then, enjoy a post-prandial stroll across the Rialto bridge and follow the amply-signed tourist route towards Piazza San Marco.  You will walk to the Piazza past Campo San Teodoro, through Campo Manin.

At Campo Manin, you could take a small detour and follow the signs to the ‘Scala del Bovolo’ – to see that much photographed house in Venice with an outdoor staircase in the form of a snail shell.  You can’t get inside, you can only stand at the gates and observe.

A detail of the Scala del Bovolo

Onward to Campo Sant’ Angelo, Campo Santo Stefano, Campo San Maurizio, past Santa Maria del Giglio, and Campo San Moise to finally end up in the Piazza San Marco. 

And look, up ahead of you – there is it – the Basilica di San Marco! 

And there’s the Doge’s Palace!

And the campanile! And the clock-tower!

When you’ve had a chance to recover, look around the rest of the buildings. 

Feel the size, space and shape of the Piazza all around you. Imagine all the lives, famous, infamous and anonymous, that have passed around you over the centuries. 

Draw a breath.  Walk down to the piazzetta to savour the view across the Bacino di San Marco to the Salute and Punta della Dogana on the other side of the Grand Canal, to San Giorgio Maggiore and the look down the Riva degli Schiavoni.

Walk back toward CaffeFlorian, and depending on the weather and your preference, sit down inside one of the ornate rooms or outside in the open-air with the band. 

Enjoy a hot chocolate, an elaborate tea service or a glass of Prosecco or a Bellini.

As you stroll home, listen to the sound of your footseps and your voice echoing around the dark, winding, silent streets.  Hear the soft sound of the water lapping against the sides of the canals all around you. 

Sleep tight - you’re going to wake up in Venice!

Click here to read Your first visit to Venice - Part 2/ Day 2

An Australian in Venice - Arthur Streeton

I was at the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane a few weeks ago and I was thrilled to stumble across this arresting work by Arthur Streeton, St Mark's, Venice (1908).

And here is a closer view of the work..

My photos don't at all do justice to this painting - it shimmers and dazzles with light and colour, and invites you to come closer to examine the details...

...the mosaics on the facade of San Marco...

...the tracery on the Doge's Palace...

...I was particularly intrigued by how Streeton rendered the black and red military dress of the soldiers...

...and the exquisite and hats frocks worn by the women...

I didn't want to walk away from this painting.

Sir Arthur Streeton (1867 -1943) is one of Australia's best known and best loved artists. 

An Impressionist painter, Streeton and his bride Nora Clench visited Venice on their honeymoon in late April 1908, and they returned again in September/ October of that year. 

(Note that 1908 is also the year in which an elderly Claude Monet arrived in Venice for the first time).

Streeton and Nora stayed at the Palazzo di Biasi on the Zattere.  He wrote that ‘three old Italian sisters kept the place, most dear old ladies and as kind as any relatives could be and much more so than most – and I worked hard and did some good pieces!...What a wonderful place it is…”

Streeton’s stay in Venice was productive:  after painting and sketching en plein air in Venice, he undertook further work back at his London studio, eventually creating up to 80 paintings.  Streeton depicted typical Venetian scenes: Piazza di San Marco, the Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs, the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal.

In a letter dated 8 October 1908 to his patron Professor Baldwin Spencer, Streeton wrote:

“I have worked two afternoons lately in the centre of the Piazzo San Marco - & got in good one 40.24 – It took some nerve too – it’s in heart of the city & always full of people – so while Mrs S. sat some yards off on a seat at the ‘Florian café’ reading ‘Great Expectations’ I sat surrounded by a great mob of about 40.  It was extremely hot with so much humanity like a wall round me a wall of 4 feet thick & all 98 temperature made me perspire – I’ve seen no one else tackle it here – But I pulled it off.

Also I’ve painted one 66 X 36 from the top floor of Palazzo Foscari – commanding a fine view of the ‘Grand Canal’.

I’ve done several others also, & shall work on these as soon as I get back to the Studio and shall pick out a few to send to Melbourne for a trial.

…Miss Clara Mustalba lives in the Zattere and was kind enough to get me permission to paint from ‘Foscari’ – she is a good artist and has done splendid things of Venice".

Streeton included a sketch of San Marco in this letter, and beside the sketch, he wrote ‘all gold and yellow & blue’.

In April 1909, Streeton exhibited some of his 'Venice' works at the Alpine Club in Savile Row, London. 

A large number of the 'Venice' works were also shown in Melbourne in 1909 at an exhibition titled 'Arthur Streeton's Venice'.  The art critic for the Observer praised the way in which
‘Mr Streeton has caught the opalescence and glitter of the Venetian canals and marble palaces in moments of bright sunshine as few artists have done before him… What is more the Australian painter has not confined himself to a mere architectural record, but makes us feel that Venice has retained in our days a certain something of the spirit which in the eighteenth century made it the pleasure ground of Europe'.

I'm now on a mission to experience Streeton's other Venice works which are in public collections such as the Art Gallery of NSW (Sydney), the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), Carrick Hill (Adelaide) and the University of Melbourne. 

I'll keep you posted!

And in the meantime...can anyone please tell me more about 'Palazzo di Biasi' on the Zattere, where Streeton lodged during his stay in Venice?

19th century view photography

During the 19^th century, greater ease of travel meant that tourists were arriving in Venice in increasing numbers.  They were eager to take away souvenirs of their journeys to show friends and family at home, and to remember their travel experiences.  Since the birth of photography around 1840, a tradition of ‘view’ photographs of European scenes developed, concentrating on scenic landscapes and famous architectural sites. 

Carlo Naya

Photographer Carlo Naya owned one of the most successful photographic businesses in Venice, specializing in a large stock of negatives showing the city’s buildings, canals, monuments and canals.  His shop in Piazza San Marco was one of two major photographic firms in Venice (the other was owned by Carlo Ponti, Naya’s former employer).

I first became aware of Carlo Naya when the Historic Houses Trust in Sydney presented an exhibition in 1996 at the Museum of Sydney entitled Views of Abroad.  The exhibition showcased photographic images from the collection of Rouse Hill House (founded 1813), and the Rouse family’s extensive collection of photographs acquired during their European tours undertaken in 1868-69, 1874-76 and 1878-88, including a series of exquisite prints by Carlo Naya. 

Some of Naya’s most famous images of Venice including the Basilica di San Marco (circa 1876) and View of the Piazetta from a gondola (circa 1876) were included in the exhibition.

The Historic Houses Trust’s picture collection also contains a series of 32 mechanically coloured photographs of European cities, monuments and buildings which were pasted into an album by members of the Rouse family.  The collection includes several views of Venice including:

A view down the Grand Canal to the Salute (dated around 1900)

A view of St Mark's square, clock tower and basilica (dated around 1900)

A magnificent view from the Campanile over to the Salute and surrounding lagoon

A view of the St Mark's campanile, the Doge's Palace and Biblioteca Marciana from the Grand Canal