Having sorted that out we head down the Grand Canale and aim for a coffee by the Rialto bridge.
After coffee we have decided to explore the Rialto market area. This consists of touristic shops and stalls, and the traditional food market. A lot of the exotic fruit and veg stalls were still trading but the fish and meat stalls were just closing up for the day. So Shylock, in answer to your question, there isn't much new on the Rialto today, although the price of coffee here once exorbitant is now, thanks to the Euro just expensive.
Off to St Mark's Square next to poison a few pigeons and Helen wants to walk on the surportal terrace of the Basilica. A large part of the West front has recently been refurbished and the rest is a work in progress.
Off to St Mark's Square next to poison a few pigeons and Helen wants to walk on the surportal terrace of the Basilica. A large part of the West front has recently been refurbished and the rest is a work in progress.
There she is, but I'm not sure she's seen me yet. Selfie sticks seem to be all around us. Most of the stalls are selling them. There appears to be two different prices, bottoming at €3 and €10. The difference is that the cheaper one just holds the phone. To take the picture you still need long arms. The other however has a little plunger, which with the aid of an app you can fire the camera. We bought one and asked for a demo of it working. This took the assistance of three very helpful and friendly stallholders who downloaded the app and blue toothed it to Helen's phone. Not bad for less than £8 in St Mark's Square.
Next visit is across the canal to the Dorsoduro to visit the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.
This cathedral was built to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for saving two thirds of the citizens from the Bubonic plauge in the mid C16. I suspect the first ever example of quarantine organised by the state had more to do with it than divine intervention. An exception was made for the 90 year old Titian who succomed. Many of his works are on display in the sacristy of this church. Photography banned and policed so no pictures apart from the painting above the altar which you can see on a zoom. The building itself is somewhat miraculous. Solid stone apparently floating on the water of the lagoon. Somewhat reminiscent of Boston stump. Now time for lunch which we buy close to our next visit which will be I Frari. Lunch was good but the restaurant had a most unusual toilet. Most of you will know what a squatter is and we have all experienced a conventional sitter. Now I would like to present you with the "squitter".
Before going to I Frari we look into Scuola Grande di San Rocco, or at least the chapel to the group of buildings. No photos here either, but one, by the grace of God made its own way into my camera.
The frescoes in here and the other buildings are by Tintoretto. He won the much sought after commission by offering a complete Tondu (painted ceiling) for free.
We moved on to I Frari next. This is a cavernous C14 Cathedral. The crowning glory is Titian's altarpiece, The Assumption of the Madonna. According to legend a glimpse of the Madonna's luminous wrist has led monks to recant their chastity vows. Sorry I can't thrill you too, photography strictly prohibited. There are also some very creepy memorials here. Canova's marble pyramid mausoleum in particular. Titian's own memorial is also in here. Must not be late for the bus so it's back to the vaporetto for our last cruise in Venice.
Our final early evening look down the Grande Canale. Lastly I offer a little advice to Venetian visitors. If you are in a bit of a hurry and inadvertently catch the 6-15 to Marco Polo airport instead of the 6-30 to Treviso, and even if you don't realise this until you get to Marco Polo (90 minutes in the wrong direction) all is not lost. You catch the 6-55 bus to Mestre railway station then catch the 7-15 to Treviso airport, arriving at 8-15 giving you plenty of time for your 9-00 flight. We know because we did it.
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