10/20 : Day 16 - Venice & Murano

 

Today like yesterday we were greeted by flooding in the streets --- a normal occurrence this time of year with phases of the moon/tides. The first thing after circumnavigating flooding in the streets was a water taxi ride to the island of Murano which is known for its glass production. The tour of one of the glass foundries included watching several glass blowers creating custom glass art works. Many of the pieces are one of a kind objects for those who may be purchasing them as collector investments. Although we purchased only a couple of very small items (certainly not of collector value), we forced ourselves to bypass purchasing any of the available $50,000+ one-off collector pieces.

Upon returning to the main Venice island we spent the afternoon touring St Mark's Basilica and the adjoining Doges' Palace. St Mark's is unlike any of the other churches we've seen so far because the architecture is a combination of western European and eastern Orthodox styles. The difference is most pronounced in the use of both Constantinople onion style domes and the extensive use of mosaics in most of the pictures. A stairway to the second level exterior facade provided an even better view of St. Mark's Square than from the Campanile. Moreover, the second level interior housed a museum of ancient mosaics and a copy of the four bigger than life bronze horses, the originals of which are also displayed on the second level exterior facade.

The Doges' Palace was the residence of Venetian rulers that was constructed from 1309 to 1324. As well as being the ducal residence, the palace housed political institutions of the Republic of Venice in its hayday as a naval power and trading center. Every wall and every ceiling in almost every room of the palace is covered with mammoth paintings (Jerry Jones is only about 700 years behind the times to show off huge/enormous/gigantic images)  reflecting the power of Venice and its role in the Church. Most of the paintings were the work of know Italian painters, including Tintoretto, Veronese, Canaletto, etc. For those who found disfavor with the Doge there is an equally big adjoining prison to house the malcontents.

No pictures allowed inside St. Mark's or the Doges' Palace.

Last night in Venice = a bottle of Pinot Grigio at nice restaurant with food served by waiters in white jackets with black ties.