%crThe Piazzetta%cr and other Venice, Italy Things to Do Tips

As far as city squares go, I like the Piazzetta even better than the more famous Piazza di San Marco, because it's bordered by the open water of the Venetian Lagoon on one side. It's a beautiful spot. Not as many pigeons to dodge, either. The two columns are topped by the winged lion of St. Mark (the patron saint of Venice for about 1,000 years or more) and St. Theodore (the former patron saint of Venice) killing an alligator.

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Directions: to the right of the Basilica di San Marco

The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is filled to the brim with Tintorettos, and a richly vibrant "Annunciation" by Titian, too. Scuolas weren't schools, but more like guilds or civic organizations. Scuolas with money commissioned great artists to paint their walls, and now this one has become a museum. It's not big, but every inch is covered with interesting scenes to look at.

The dramatic paintings upstairs are the big draw, but my favorites are two moody landscapes by Tintoretto, one with Mary Magdalen and one with Saint Mary of Egypt. They're at the back of the ground floor. The color, light, and water in both render them very poetic. You can buy postcards of your favorites in the little shop on the ground floor.

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Directions: Campo San Rocco, 3054 San Polo

The "Frari" church (after the Franciscans) is a big, Gothic, brick building. It's right around the corner from the Scuola Grande di San Rocco and houses lots of great art, including two Titians and a Bellini. Titian is buried here, and his painting of the Assumption over the High Altar is the church's biggest draw.

There are numerous interesting monuments and sculptures, such as the very expressive wooden sculpture of St. John the Baptist by Donatello. The statues on either side of the skeleton in the macabre Pesaro Tomb, shown here, have very realistic eyes - it seems like they're watching you!

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Directions: San Polo

If at all possible, plan your visit when there's a boat race going on. I just got lucky seeing the Vogalonga on my trip, but stumbling upon all those colorful rowers in their rowboats, gondolas, & kayaks was one of the most magical moments of my trip! What a spectacular sight! Probably the best picture I got of it is my intro pic, while I was bobbing up and down on a vaporetto, sticking my head out the window. I really can't recommend this enough!

The Vogalonga is a 30 km. international, non-competitive rowing race. It started in 1974 to promote awareness about the bad effects of motorboats in the Venetian Lagoon, and in support of La Serenissima's rowing history and tradition. I read that for the past two years one person (a Venetian!) has actually swam the entire lenth of the racecourse! http://www.vogalonga.com/inglese/index_ing.htm

I believe the Regatta Storica has been around for much longer. It takes place the first Sunday in September, and begins with a parade of historical boats down the Grand Canal, followed by four races.

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The Peggy Guggenheim Museum is in a splendid setting - a palazzo on the Grand Canal, with a sculpture garden/ courtyard of trees on the back side. The palazzo stands out on the Grand Canal because it was never finished and is only one story high. It's not too big, but it's full of the best of modern art: Picasso, Magritte, Kandinsky, Chagall, Pollock, Ernst, Dali, and more. You're greeted by a Calder mobile when you first enter.

Peggy used to live here, and as you go through the museum each room is still labelled according to what it used to be - the livingroom, bedroom, dining room, etc.

The rooms are full of natural light, unlike many other museums, and there are beautiful views of the Grand Canal out some of the windows. One room has paintings by Peggy's daughter, Pegeen. Don't miss the statue of the man on horseback on the front terrace. Also the two nightmarish paintings by Peggy's second husband Max Ernst, "The Attirement of the Bride" and "The Anti-Pope".

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Phone: 39.041.2405.411
Address: Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, 701 Dorsoduro
Website: http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/english/

The Basilica is the most outstanding example of Middle Eastern influence on Venetian architecture. Onion dome after onion dome! This used to be the Doge's private church, and it houses many treasures looted from Constantinople and elsewhere. The inside walls are lavishly covered with golden Byzantine mosaics and marble - even the terrazo floor is mosaic. And don't miss the Pala D'Oro, a golden altar piece impressively engraved with Byzantine enamels. The whole place is really over the top!!! Quite the resting place for St. Mark - according to the story, the Venetians stole his body from Alexandria and brought it here!

I had a reprint made of this picture in sepia and decided I actually prefer it this way : )

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Directions: Piazza San Marco

Don't be so stunned by the mosaics that you overlook the colorful veined marble all around the Basilica di San Marco. The lower part of the interior walls is covered with beautiful marble slabs, and there are lots of decorative columns. The Doges imported marble from all over the Mediterranean as a sign of their wealth, and also used the regional red marble from Verona and white stone from Istria (Croatia).

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Directions: Piazza San Marco

If you go upstairs onto the large outside balcony you'll find four stylized bronze horses presiding over the Piazza San Marco. It's a grand spot to hang out for awhile, with views of the Piazza, the Piazzetta, and the Venetian Lagoon. These horses outside are replicas.

The originals were taken from the Hippodrome in Constantinople during the Crusades, and are inside now to protect them from pollution. They're just inside the door from the balcony, in the museum part of the basilica. Here you'll also find some original mosaic pieces from the basilica. It was great to be able to see some mosaics up close, in addition to all of those way up high on the ceiling.

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Address: Piazza San Marco

Take a little time to relax by the open waters of the Venetian Lagoon. The Zattere, a relatively long walkway in Dorsoduro which overlooks the Guidecca Island, feels different because it's not all hemmed in like the narrow interior streets and canals of Venice. It's a nice escape from the hordes of tourists, too. It gets a refreshing breeze off the water, so it's a great place to hang out in the sun for a bit, either on a bench or at one of the restaurants on docks over the water. Plus there's Nico's Gelato shop : )

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Directions: Dorsoduro, across from the Giudecca

This museum is really special because it recreates the opulence of a baroque Venetian palazzo in the 1700's (the decadent times of Casanova!). The palazzo, called Ca' Rezzonico, is on the Grand Canal. You'll see lavish period furnishings, a grand ballroom, chandaliers, frescoes, and paintings. The furniture alone is quite elaborate. Even a door stands out in my mind still to this day, lacquered and painted with imagined exotic scenes from China and the Far East. Look for paintings by Tiepolo and Guardi on some of the ceilings.

Paintings on one of the upper floors include a couple of the few Canaletto's left in Venice, and Longhi's portrayals of daily Venetian life from this time period.

Ca' Rezzonico is also a little famous because the English poet Robert Browning lived here the last year of his life.
Closed Tuesdays

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Address: Dorsoduro 3136
Directions: Ca' Rezzonico vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal. Dorsoduro