Another beautiful day in Venice! Our guide for our 3 hour walking tour this morning met us at the hotel at 9 AM. The plan was to see the kinds of sights first time visitors should see. Helene managed to show us those magnificent spots and more! We were delighted with Helene's warmth, humor and incredible depth of knowledge.
Our first stop was the charming Greek church, San Giorgio dei Greci. Our visit there certainly helped reinforce our understanding of the multiple influences on Venice by neighboring countries. The church was not open but we enjoyed looking at its lovely facade. Our second stop was San Zaccaria a church dedicated to the father of John the Baptist, St. Zacharias. This lovely 14th century church contains an important and beautiful painting that is the altarpiece, "The Madonna and Child with Saints". The painting is in a transitional that bridges the Gothic and the Renaissance. I was really looking forward to seeing art works I have studied in the locations for which they were intended.
A stop for coffee in the Doge's Palace for fortification and we are off! Helene was very informative about the political history of Venice as well as the magnificent art. Next the Basilica di San Marco. A wonderful blend of Gothic and Byzantine architecture, fabulous mosaics in side and the incredible Pala D'Oro altarpiece...gold, pearls, rubies, sapphires, and amethysts! And the whole thing pivots!
We ended our 1/2 day tour with Helene and headed off to see La Fenice the opera house that burned in 1996. The fire was supposedly set by 2 electricians working on the massive restoration of the opera house. Tom and I had both listened to The City of the Falling Angels on CD's. The book was written by John Berendt about Venice and the burning of La Fenice (The Phoenix). Berendt wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil about Savannah. First things first, though, as it was lunch time. On our walk to La Fenice we passed a lovely little trattoria called Da' Nico. How lucky we were! Tom had the Pasta Fagioli and I had the Supa de Pesce. I hate to tell Richard Julian but this Supa de Pesce might have been almost as good as his!
We loved La Fenice and couldn't get over the beauty of the interiors. I only wish we could have heard an Italian opera while we were there they were not having peformances of any kind.
Some how I managed to get us back to our hotel with out going out onto the main Fondamenta until the very last righ before our hotel. I figure there was surely a shorter way but I was pretty excited that I figured it out. We had a short rest and then dined at another trattoria close to the hotel called Trattoria alla Rivetta. It had good reviews and live up to the promise. Tom and I each had the Branzino, Mediterranean sea bass, and it was excellent! So ends a wonderful day.
Our first stop was the charming Greek church, San Giorgio dei Greci. Our visit there certainly helped reinforce our understanding of the multiple influences on Venice by neighboring countries. The church was not open but we enjoyed looking at its lovely facade. Our second stop was San Zaccaria a church dedicated to the father of John the Baptist, St. Zacharias. This lovely 14th century church contains an important and beautiful painting that is the altarpiece, "The Madonna and Child with Saints". The painting is in a transitional that bridges the Gothic and the Renaissance. I was really looking forward to seeing art works I have studied in the locations for which they were intended.
A stop for coffee in the Doge's Palace for fortification and we are off! Helene was very informative about the political history of Venice as well as the magnificent art. Next the Basilica di San Marco. A wonderful blend of Gothic and Byzantine architecture, fabulous mosaics in side and the incredible Pala D'Oro altarpiece...gold, pearls, rubies, sapphires, and amethysts! And the whole thing pivots!
We ended our 1/2 day tour with Helene and headed off to see La Fenice the opera house that burned in 1996. The fire was supposedly set by 2 electricians working on the massive restoration of the opera house. Tom and I had both listened to The City of the Falling Angels on CD's. The book was written by John Berendt about Venice and the burning of La Fenice (The Phoenix). Berendt wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil about Savannah. First things first, though, as it was lunch time. On our walk to La Fenice we passed a lovely little trattoria called Da' Nico. How lucky we were! Tom had the Pasta Fagioli and I had the Supa de Pesce. I hate to tell Richard Julian but this Supa de Pesce might have been almost as good as his!
We loved La Fenice and couldn't get over the beauty of the interiors. I only wish we could have heard an Italian opera while we were there they were not having peformances of any kind.
Some how I managed to get us back to our hotel with out going out onto the main Fondamenta until the very last righ before our hotel. I figure there was surely a shorter way but I was pretty excited that I figured it out. We had a short rest and then dined at another trattoria close to the hotel called Trattoria alla Rivetta. It had good reviews and live up to the promise. Tom and I each had the Branzino, Mediterranean sea bass, and it was excellent! So ends a wonderful day.
wow what a wonderful time an you are so very lucky
ReplyDeletecan't wait to hear your voice at home all about it!