The Plague and Lingerie

Our second full day in Venice dawns brilliantly and I throw open the window and shutters to once again stare blissfully at the top of the Campanile and the dome of San Zaccarria. We meet Helene at the Palazzo Ducale and head along the left side of Piazza San Marco toward the Grand Canale to the San Marco vaporetto stop. The view of Venice from the Grande Canal is beyond-words-glorious! We pass the Palazzo Barbaro and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum both of which figure prominently in The City of the Falling Angels.

Our tour today is through the Venetian areas of Dorsoduro and San Polo. We wander the streets arriving in Campo Santa Margherita, the largest open space in this part of Venice where Helene describes the Venetian process of collecting rain water through the use of the campos. Fascinating! Rain water drains through certain areas of paving into underground cisterns through a layer of sand with drainage into a well that would have been used by all the areas residents. We stop in front of Sucola Grande di San Rocco – founded in honor of San Rocco a saint who dedicated his life to helping the sick – those suffering from the plague in particular. Construction of this beautiful building was funded by donations from Venetians eager to invoke San Rocco’s protection.


Next stop Helene’s jeweler. I had mentioned that I would like to get a Nominations charm for my bracelet – something indicative of Venice. He mentions another shop but we take a look at a setting he is making for Helene…for her 3 carat diamond given to her by the mother of a friend!!!! Nice! It is lovely. We find the other jeweler and she has the charms! I buy, of course, a gondola.


Now to Santa Maria dei Frari aka the Frari. Huge church filled with masterworks by Titian, Giovanni Bellini and a statue by Donatello. I am in heaven! Our tour ends with a walk through the Rialto are open market – seafood, fruit, vegetables – wonderful! Then we walk through the financial district and pass the courts to an area along the Canal just above the Rialto Bridge. A perfect spot for a light lunch. Helene has another appointment so say Arrivaderci! but not without inviting her to visit and promising to send her the Winterthur website – she has a decorator friend in NYC she sometimes visits. Tom and I catch a vaporetto back to the San Marco stop to the hotel.


Tom feels a rest is in order for himself but I head back out to shop and see a few more things on the to do list. I wend my way through the narrow streets along the unbelievably picturesque canals. I end up at the Rialto Bridge and catch a vaproetto going up the canal toward the train station. I need to see all of the canal! I catch the express vaporetto back to San Zaccaria and then the vaporetto to San Giorgio Maggiore the monumental church by Palladio, my hero. The interior is serenity personified – perfect proportions, cool gray and white color scheme. Stunning. I take the elevator to the top of the campanile and I am rewarded with spectacular views of the entire area. Back to the hotel to pick up Tom for dinner.


We eat for the third night in “our” region of Venice – the Castello – this time at the Tratorria da Remigio. Another tiny jewel…we are seated next to Bob and Lynn from Manchester, UK. They own a lingerie manufacturing company and are on holiday to celebrate Bob’s 70th birthday (actually in March). He, seriously, looked 50…kind of Paul Newman looks? Great bones, as my mother used to say! We had a great meal and a great time with Bob and Lynn. They just do the design and distribution in Manchester now with manufacturing in China. Sad. They sell to fairly large retailers including Bon Marche. Very cool!