Isola San Giorgio Maggiore and other San Giorgio Maggiore, Italy Things to Do Tips

Its only a litte island as you can see looking across from St Marks basin but well worth a short detour on the vaporetta - make sure you get the right water bus stand, there ae so many on the quayside in this area by the bridge of Sighs and sometimes the same number water bus has a different stand for the night service just to complicate things!
Take a look across at the view first.

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The vaporetta stops just outside the church here on this quiet little island - its strange to imagine the tourists which are flocking into St St Marks square just across the basin. An ancient vineyard and saltpans made way for this splendid church, looking like a greek temple, by Andrea Palladio. The church was built as part of the Benedictine monastery on the island and its facade is scaled to present a public face to the town of Venice.

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The interior of the church is peaceful and solemn - except for the two glorious paintings by Tintoretto in 1594 entilted the "Last Supper" and "The Gathering of the Manna" on the chancel walls. The choirstalls were amazing and intricately carved - rows of lions here! They reminded me of the choirstalls in Chester Cathedral much nearer to my home :-))

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Make sure you fork out the 3 euros to ascend the lift in the bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore. The views out to the monastery and the neighbouring island of Guidecca provide a new perspective of Venice not often seen.

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There has been a monastery on this island of san Giorgio Maggiore since 982, although the current buildings date from the 16th century. Today the monastery is a scientific and cultural foundation and a conference centre - open Mondays - Fridays by appointement only. At the rear is the open air ampitheatre Teatro Verde.

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Pick your time carefully to vist the campanile - at the bottom of the lift is a list of times when the bell chimes, the number of bells used andnumber of chimes. Fortunately for us it was only one o'clock as we emerged from the lift at the top - even so the unexpected single clang made us jump! The views from the top are lovely - perhaps finer than those from the campanile of St Marks bell tower - seen in this pic.

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There is no ticket office for the bell tower in the church - simply give your euros to the monk in the lift who will escort you to the top of the tower. Its only a small lift so just a few at a time allowed. From the top are the best views of Venice - the area seen here is part of Castello.

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To the side of the church is a small marina with 2 lighthouses on guard. Its a pleasant stroll around here with fine views across to St Marks - the quieter way to appreciate it!

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The view that enthralled me the most from the bell tower was the view looking across to the entrance of the Grand Canal and the visible dome of Santa Maria Salute - the notable venetian landmark. I could have stood for ages watching the boat traffic navigating St Marks basin and right in the distance huge ships were visible..

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