After taking the Venice Grand Canal tour, it was time to step inside some of the elaborate buildings we’d seen from the water.
We savored our early morning wanderings, a wonderful way to watch Venice wake ~ merchants getting products hand-carted to their doorsteps, children standing hand-in-hand with parents at vaporetto stops, waiting for their school ride, silent gondolier boats gently bobbing canal side, and fishermen casting out their first lines of the day.
Here is a glimpse at our excursions during our visit to this unique city:
1) St. Mark’s Square
This political and religious center of Venice turns into a giant dance floor at night and is said to be the place for romance, with orchestras playing and bodies swaying, but early morning it’s eerily quiet.
The Campanile (bell tower) sits at the edge of the square and guards the Grand Canal. You can ride an elevator 325’ to the top of the tower for some of the best views of Venice, if you care to stand in long lines to do so. We took a pass.
2) St. Mark’s Basilica
Before the basilica opens its doors, there is a side chapel available for those who wish to sit in silence. This was my main reason for arriving so early. As we stepped through the door, mass was being said in another part of the church, in Italian of course. Although I couldn’t understand the words, I felt their lyrical message being carried throughout the basilica, filling the gilded, mosaic dome. I couldn’t imagine a more peaceful way to begin my day than sitting in silence in this holiest of places. It was quite a humbling experience.
When the doors later opened to tourists, we were there to tour the most famous church in Venice, built in the 11th century to replace an earlier chapel. Unfortunately no photos are allowed inside, which is just as well as I couldn’t begin to capture the exquisite beauty found inside this holy space. The interior walls and domed ceiling, depicting Christ ascending into heaven, glow with gold mosaics and colored marble.
Venetians smuggled St. Mark’s bones into the city in A.D. 828, where they were interred under the main altar of the original church. In the year 1094, when the present church was almost complete, the church officials were preparing to re-inter St. Mark’s bones under the new altar when they realized that during the long years of the church’s construction they had forgotten where they stored the remains…oops! All parishioners bowed down to pray for help and, led by the doge, they soon found their patron saint.
Thanks to one of the lower points in Christian history, when Venetian crusaders looted the city of Constantinople and brought the plunder back home, we now can view the Golden Altarpiece. Sparkling brightly behind the main altar, it is made of enamels illustrating religious scenes, all set in a gold frame and studded with sparkling precious gems from the year 1100.
3) San Marco Museum
Upstairs in the basilica, the museum offers a glimpse at some of the mosaic sections removed from the original church, along with the larger-than-life bronze horses that once graced the balcony of the church. Stone replicas now stand in their place. As this was part of the basilica, no photos were allowed.
4) Accademia Gallery
This is Venice’s top art museum, filled with highlights of the Venetian Renaissance. The artwork begins in the Middle Ages and runs to the 1700’s.
5) La Salute Church
Topped by a crown-shaped dome, this Church of St. Mary of Good Health was built to honor the Virgin Mary and thank God for delivering the people of Venice from the plague of 1630 that killed almost one-third of the city’s population.
6) Doge’s Palace
Built to illustrate the power and wealth of the Republic, the doge (ruling duke) lived with his family in this palace. It is also the place where the Senate met, deliberated, and passed law.
The grand staircase is well worth the visit, as are the many rooms filled with artistic treasures. The Doge Palace houses the largest oil painting in the world, Tintoretto’s Paradise.
7) Bridge of Sighs
This small bridge spans a canal that connects the Doge Palace with the prison. Legend has it that a condemned man would be led over this bridge on his way to prison, take one last look at Venice through the marble-trellised windows, and sigh. Prison cells are eerie and three levels deep.
8) San Giorgio Maggiore Monastery
On a small island across from St. Mark’s Square, the white marble façade of San Giorgio Maggiore Monastery gleams brilliantly against the azure water of the Grand Canal. This is another of Venice’s beautiful churches to explore and a great place to get a bird’s-eye view of Venice from the bell tower.
The monastic community of San Giorgio was founded in A.D. 982. At one time you could rent rooms from the friars, but unfortunately they no longer offer this.
A large blessing hand, entitled “Together”, created by artisan Jaume Plensa, formed of 8 alphabets – Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, and Latin, hangs from the ceiling. It is meant to be an inviting and welcoming symbol of mercy.
“Today more than ever we must show that living together as brothers in total and mutual respect, cultural and spiritual, is the only way to live in peace.”
With all the elegant palaces to visit, the ancient works of art to study, and the history to soak in, some of our fondest memories of Venice will be our wanderings along the alleyways deep in the city. Try as we might to get lost so I could use my “City Maps 2 Go” app, we never did.
Surprises awaited us around every turn, across each bridge that spanned the canals. Nondescript doors opened into tiny little wine bars and enchanting restaurants, and artisanal gelato shops abounded. Along with seeing so many fascinating sights, it seems we may have eaten our way through Venice as well. Ahh, la vita di Venezia!
Next Up: Cinque Terre
Paint Your Landscape 
What I’m thinking is how much I loved Venice, and how much I enjoyed this vicarious trip back there. Thank you.
Alison
Glad to bring back some fond memories for you Alison.
Venice is just so unique and so captivating. Your photos certainly capture that. I particularly like the photo with the deep shadows and the one of the wine bottles.
Terrific.
Peta
I agree with you wholeheartedly about Venice Peta. Loved walking those back alleys. Once we get back home, which will be in a few more days, I look forward to delving into your blog. I know there is much for me to learn there.
It looks absolutely enchanting and those nondescript doors hiding wine bars and cafés always feel like secret places that only the select people know about. I love it and your photos, you should be paid to wander about my friend.
I loved the back alleys. Walk by early in the day and a metal garage-type door is all you see. Walk by again later in the day and there are little bistro tables outside and amazing smells coming from within. I would love to be paid to wander, just as I’m sure you would for reading. 🙂
I certainly would, I would use that money to travel so I could read books about places in the actual place. It is wonderful that small businesses can operate successfully in such terms. They should be more celebrated.
Yes they should. We are looking forward to returning home and reading about some of the places we have been, especially from a historical perspective.
So much history! The buildings are just gorgeous, but wander with the locals around the city had to be just wonderful. What a grand time:)
I have been on overload with history and culture since we have been in Europe. I love it but it can be a bit tiring as well. Breaks are needed along the way.
Where did you stay in Venice and would you recommend it? Thanks.
I booked an apartment in Dorsoduro through VRBO. I have been using them throughout our 2-month visit and I would highly recommend them. It was great to stay in a part of the city that was quiet, away from St. Mark’s Square. After a day of sightseeing, it was nice to come back to some calm.
The palaces and churches are just lovely!
They are so elaborate. I think we are getting close to having church overload, and we still have Rome to go!
I kept thinking all your outdoor photos had a bluish-green tint that was so attractive, and then I made the (duhhh) realization that with water above and sky below, that was bound to happen! Once in those sun-warmed alleyways, though, the light totally changed to the soft glow that I always associate with Italy. This was another lovely little trip around Venice!
I too loved the softer glow approaching sunset in the back alleys. So relaxing after the fast pace of the day.
Such great memories! An amazing place! But you didn’t talk about the sinking….?
Venice is a city like no other I have seen. I did talk about the sinking in part one of my posts on Venice. I probably should have provided a link to that post.
I’m loving your gorgeous photos and tales of Venice. (And learning a lot too. :-)) I know exactly what you mean about sometimes feeling overloaded with history and culture—I think it’s easy to feel that way in Europe.
But you seem to be creating a good balance between visiting historic sites and allowing time for wandering the back alleyways. Those simple experiences of sinking into the “essence” of a place are always my most vivid and happiest memories, too.
Although I have really enjoyed playing the tourist and seeing historical sites I had only read about, it has been wonderful to take the back streets and see how the locals live.
Magnificent tour of a magnificent city. Thank you for taking us along. You pointed out sights that I don’t think my family noted when we were there so long ago. Or perhaps I was too young to may attention to everything. My passion was for a gondola ride; the gondolier outside our hotel was young and handsome, but my Dad waited until a less tempting one glided up!
And now the gondola rides are so expensive!
I can’t remember anybody mentioning about Doge’s Palace. Very impressive look, inside and out.
Your shot of St. Mark’s from afar is whoa-some!
Your tours of Venice really nudged my memories so much.
Doge’s Palace was beautiful, chock-full of art and fabulous wall and ceiling frescoes. The shot of St. Mark’s from afar is from San Giorgio Maggiore Monastery bell tower.
A fantastic tour. And you are making me ache with nostalgia. My visit to Venice was my first solo trip and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed myself once I got over the initial apprehension, especially over dining alone 🙂
I loved Venice! I know what you mean about dining alone. When I worked in the corporate world I often had to wine and dine others. The first few times I dined alone felt awkward but after awhile I rather enjoyed the solitude.
Fantastic!. Your long shots (St Mark) and your detailed intimate shots accompanied by your narration, I felt I was there. But I can sense anywhere there would be overwhelming, so much to take in.
Oh I wonder when will I ever set foot in Europe.
Traveling like this certainly isn’t like in an RV. It can be a lot more tiresome with the crowds.
I have always wanted to visit there. Thank you so much for bringing it to life for us LuAnn.
My pleasure Al.