August 10, 2015- Culture

Venice- The City of Love

Doge's Palace, Saint Mark's Basilica, and the Rialto Bridge

             While visiting Venice we stopped at Saint Mark's square to see Doge's Palace and Saint Mark's Basilica. Originally where Doge Angelo Partecipazio lived, the Doge's Palace is now a museum of art. You can also explore the palace and appreciate a beautiful view over the water. The first palace was built in the 9th-century but was partially destroyed in the 10th-century by a fire. The palace was then rebuilt under the power of Doge Sebastiano Ziani from 1172-1178. The palace, in the mid-thirteenth century, had to be expanded because there was not enough space for all of the Great Council's members. Three more fires had torn through the palace until in 1577, after the third fire, the last refurbishment of the palace occurred. The building exterior is a mix of white and pink marble that is wrapped with an open walkway on the second floor that wraps all the way around the building. Beautiful open arches help support this walkway and allow the cool sea breeze into the palace. This breeze cooled us all down during the hot August day. After touring the palace we left for a quick lunch at Gran Caffe Quadri in Saint Mark's square and got in the back of the long line that led to Saint Mark's Basilica. After about forty-five minutes of boiling in the sun we finally got into the shade of Saint Mark's Basilica. From the outside of the church you see many different kinds of marble of many colors. But upon entering you see the same marbles but laid out in many intricate designs on the walls and the floors. Once entering the chapel portion of the church the same marbles patterns cover the walls and the floors. But the ceiling is laid out with thousands of individual mosaic pieces that show scenes from the bible. Looking up at the ceiling you see the candle light and daylight, from the small windows at the top of the domes, reflected off of the gold background that is the backdrop for the scenes from the bible. When going down into the basement of the church you can see the tombs of the priests of the church as well as a statue dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Going back up to the church we were further captured by the beauty of the mosaics. After leaving the church we walked around Venice looking through the markets along the streets of the main canal. Finally coming up to the Rialto Bridge we walked through the crowds and watched the boats pass under us. As we sat down for dinner by the Rialto Bridge and we watched, as the tourist and the native Venetians went along with their lives, the sun set over the buildings on the other side of the main canal, finishing our long day in Venice. Soon after the sunset we went back to our hotel, Bella Venezia Hotel Venice.