| As if the waterways and gondolas
aren’t enough, Venice also offers many sites of great importance.
The Basilica di San Marco is a very popular attraction for sightseers.
St. Mark’s Square offers elegant 18th century coffee houses with tables
that spill out into the sunlight from under Renaissance colonnades and
peer up at the golden Byzantine Basilica of St. Mark’s. The Basilica was
founded as a shrine for St. Mark’s relics in the 9th century. The church
was formerly a private chapel of the Doges, and was completely rebuilt
during the 11th century, after a fire destroyed the original. It features
one of the oldest surviving mosaics over the left portal. There are also
copies of the four bronze horses that were seized from Constantine’s Hippodrome
in 1204. The originals are displayed in the Museo Marciano inside the church.
Doges’s Palace or Palazzo Ducale
was once home to the elected leader of Venice, the Doge. The façade
dates as far back as 1365. The interior is done in a Renaissance style
dating from the 16th century. The ground floor is predominately composed
of Ducal apartments, all of which stand empty save for some exemplary paintings
by Titian and Bellini. The upper floors are where governmental business
took place, and where Tintoretto and Veronese were commissioned to create
new paintings that would highlight the power and wealth of the Republic.
The Rialto Bridge was originally
built as a wooden structure in 1264, however, the constant weight and age
took its toll, and it was replaced in 1588 by Antonio da Ponte. His design
for a single stone arched bridge beat proposals by Palladio and Michelangelo.
Until 1854, the Rialto Bridge was the only way to cross the Grand Canal
on foot.
The Galleria dell` Accademia
holds many famous paintings and is considered Venice’s most important
art gallery. The Galleria is housed in the former church of Santa Maria
della Carita and in the adjoining Scuola. The collection was first opened
in 1750. Giorgione’s Tempesta which depicts a naked mother and child seeking
shelter under a stormy sky against the ruins of an ancient city is found
here. There are also works by Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese. In Room
21, you will find nine broad canvases in which Carpaccio dramatically staged
the Life of St Ursula. The Galleria is a must see for anyone that truly
appreciates art and culture.
The Basilica dei Frari is
considered the most glorious Goth church in Italy. Constructed around 1330,
the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari holds the tomb of Titian,
Venice’s much loved painter son.
The School of St George was,
during the Middle Ages, seat for the Dalmatian population. Vittore Carpaccio
painted a series of canvases between 1502 and 1508 that celebrated this
act. The paintings depict scenes from the lives of the guild’s patron saints,
St George, St Tryphone, and St Jerome.
The villas of the Veneta were
rural residences for nobles during the Republic era, and are a very interesting
sightseeing point. The villas are surrounded by elegant gardens, and most
were designed by Palladio. They are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
And again, just the city itself
is a sightseers dream. The buildings in Venice are
constructed on closely spaced wood piles, and penetrate alternating layers
of clay and sand. Most of these piles are still intact, even after centuries
of submission. Just the water streets and buildings themselves offer one
of the most exciting and fascination sights in all of Italy.
|
