Venice 12/22/02 - 12/24/02

Venice, Italy
12/22/02 - 12/24/02

These first photos were taken around the city. Venice is truly a unique place; it is absolutely charming. We enjoyed riding the vaporetto along the Grand Canal to get us where we wanted to go. It's a great way to see the city, especially line 1. The photo on the far right in the first row shows what the stops on the canal look like. The second to last photo in the second row is the famous Rialto Bridge, lined with shops and bustling with people.

The Piazza San Marco, covered with pigeons and lined with many stores, is where you find the Campanile (# 1-5), Basilica di San Marco (# 6-7), and the Palazzo Ducale(# 11-15). The Basilica has spectacular gold mosaics and four large horses brought back from Constantinople (the originals are housed inside). The Palazzo was great. One of the most memorable rooms was the Sala dello Scudo; the walls are covered with maps of the world and in the center of the room sits two large 18th century globes. We walked across the Bridge of Sighs (that's what Nick is standing in front of in the second to last photo) to the adjoining prison. The Palazzo is on the left and the prison on the right.

Santa Maria della Salute, at the mouth of the Grand Canal, was built in thanksgiving for the end of the plague in 1630. The beautiful exterior is contrasted by the fairly bare octangular interior. There is a large chandelier (# 4) hanging from the large dome that becomes a focal point as you walk around inside.

San Giorgio Maggiore, one of Palladio's masterpieces, sits on an island of the same name. The first two photos
were taken from the vaporetto as we approached the island. The last two photos are views from the campanile at San Giorgio Maggiore looking across the Grand Canal. Visible in the distance is the Piazza San Marco: on the left is the Campanile and the shorter building on the right with the three openings is the Palazzo Ducale (# 5).