Murano

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This morning we headed to Murano, which is just north of Venice and easily accessible by boat. As we departed one of the docks near St. Mark's Square, I took the following picture looking back towards the square. The two columns in the foreground used to serve as the site of executions during the time of the Venentian Republic.

The boat ride was relatively quick (Murano is less than 2km north of Venice) and after arriving we walked around the city's main canals for a bit. The island definitely had a more relaxed feel to it, with far fewer people around.

Our first stop was the Museo del Vetro (Museum of Glass), which offered an interesting perspective into the glassmaking industry and had a number of exhibits on display (some dating back to Ancient Roman times). The following is a glass chandelier that was hanging in one of the rooms.

Our next stop was the Church of Santa Maria and San Donato, which is one of the oldest churches in the Venetian Lagoon and dates back (in its earliest form) to the 7th century. 

The church is particularly known for its 12th century Byzantine mosaic floor.

Before going inside we had to wait a bit because there was a service going on and we didn't want to intrude. It's pretty amazing that people have been attending services at the church for over 1,300 years.

Shortly after leaving the church we passed by the following crucifix / display, which was mounted on a wall that would otherwise not have specifically drawn our attention. I'm not sure if it was meant to be purely religious, purely artistic or some combination of the two, but I thought it was nice.

We spent the balance of our time in Murano walking along the canals in an area with a lot of glass shops. My mom and Emilie shopped a bit for some glass souvenirs, while my dad and I took in the views. We wanted to see some actual glass-making, but apparently Sunday is a day of rest for the glassmakers as well.

As we headed back to Venice, there were some ominous-looking storm clouds hovering in the background. It was still sunny where we were, but looked as though things could change at any moment if the wind blew the storm our way.

Once we got back to Venice we visited the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church, which had been off-limits yesterday due to a wedding. The church is known for having the second tallest bell tower in the city (after St. Mark's) as well as being the final resting place of the painter Titian.

Next we headed to the Peggy Guggenheim museum, which includes works by Picasso, Kandinsky and Dali.

While walking back to hotel after, we heard singing coming from the canal next to us. It turned out that the two gondolas passing by had musicians in them who were performing for the tourists on board. It was pretty neat to see / hear.

And here's a picture of Emilie and me while we were heading back to the hotel before dinner. It was taken on yet another bridge that spanned one of the countless canals that we passed over.

For the second night in a row we called it quits after dinner, as the sightseeing had gotten the best of us again. We were fortunate in that we had chosen a restaurant that had covered outdoor seating, a valuable commodity given that the storm we had seen earlier in the day finally arrived during appetizers. Many others who were initially enjoying an outdoor moonlit dinner did not fare as well.