Sightseeing in Venice

We began our sightseeing today by walking from our hotel to St. Mark's Square. Though the distance wasn't very far as the crow flies, the path that we had to follow was a bit roundabout given the canals and bridges along the way. Here's a picture of my parents on one of the bridges that we crossed not far from the square.

When we arrived at St. Mark's square we had a nice view of St. Mark's Basilica and its Campanile (bell tower). I tried to squeeze as much as possible into the following picture, though much of the square itself was lost in order to get the top of the bell tower.

I thought that the basilica was particularly interesting. It was consecrated in the 11th century and is considered one of the world's best examples of Byzantine architecture. The inside is covered by mosaics containing gold and bronze, though unfortunately no pictures were allowed.

Next we visited the adjacent Doge's Palace, which was built in the 14th century. It served as both the residence of the Doge (the leader of Venetian Republic) as well as the home of the Republic's political institutions. It also housed a prison, which is known in part for the escape of a famous prisoner -- the talented Mr. Giacomo Casanova. Here's a view of the Palace's interior courtyard.

One of the more interesting elements of the palace was the Bussola chamber -- effectively a mail box for the Republic's citizens to submit written complaints / accusations for the ruling elite to address.

As part of the visit we also walked across the famous Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), though much of the outside was obscured due to ongoing renovations of the adjacent building facades. Fortunately, I found a picture online that provides a nice, unobstructed view.

After our tour of the Palace, we took a boat ride to the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore. The small island has a similarly-named 16th century church and bell tower. Here's a view of the island from the Doge's palace.

The best part of the visit was the view that we had after ascending the bell tower. The Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Campanile stand out in particular.

There was also an interesting art exhibit in the interior of the church. I believe it was supposed to represent the Ascension.

We spent the balance of the afternoon simply walking around the city and admiring the the views along the canals and the architecture of the buildings. I'm not going to lie -- while the canals are beautiful to walk along, certain areas where the water doesn't circulate much get a bit tough on the nose.

 

Here are some shots from one of other bridges that we crossed -- the Ponte di Rialto, which passes over the heart of the Grand Canal.

We finished off the day with a nice meal at a nearby restaurant recommended by the hotel. Given all the sightseeing and walking around, we called it a night thereafter and rested up for our plan for Sunday -- a boat trip to nearby Murano, the island that has served as the heart of Venice's famous glassmaking industry since the 13th century.