Day 20 - A Walking Tour of Venice

From now on the weather was very favourable and we took advantage of this to spend the day on a walking tour. We had brought with us a book by J.G. Links - Venice for Pleasure. His plan was to create a series of walks, four in all, that take the walker to some of the less well trodden paths which many tourists simply miss as they tend to concentrate on the "famous landmarks." He takes the visitor at a gentle pace, making stops at favourite cafes and restaurants. He also concentrates on giving a historical perspective and often takes you to the exact location used by the painters in the past.

The walk we did this day took us from the Rialto Bridge area where we were staying, to the Piazza di San Marco, east to the Public Gardens, and then back along the waterfront to the Piazza di San Marco and then to the SS Giovanni e Paolo, to the Fondamente Nuovo (canal walkway) and back to the Rialto Bridge.

An unusual arch between buildings

Gondoliers plying their trade early in the morning

Early morning crowds in Piazza di San Marco

The bell on the clock tower in Piazza di San Marco

Decorative doorway at the Basilica Di San Marco

The location where Bellini painted his "Miracle of the Holy Cross"

A black and white version of the actual painting

View along the Riva degli Schiavoni towards San Marco. We had reached the long waterfront running east from the Piazza di San Marco. It was here that Canaletto painted the picture below

Our journey took us to the Arsenale, where the Venetians built their ships. There we saw the first Renaissance building in Venice (1460) with its triumphal arch. Outside the arch were statues of gods and goddesses and two lions. The left hand lion came from Athens. On it is an inscription in old Scandinavian put there in the eleventh century.

Entrance to the Arsenale

By now we had worked our way back to the Riva degli Schiavoni, the waterfront running from Piazza di San Marco. Across the water is the La Salute Church. This is a typical Venetian scene with cranes and sheet wrappings visible on so many buildings as restoration continues (for ever?).

La Salute Church

A waterfront panorama. San Giorgio Maggiore to the left, La Salute Church towards the centre and the Bell Tower at the Piazza di San Marco to the right.

By now we had reached the Campo S. Maria Formosa

The Campo S. Maria Formosa

On old painting of the Campo

A grotesque mask on the wall of the church

A strange door knocker on the Palazzo Van Axel

The Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo

A painting of the same Campo

Verrochio's statue of Bartolemo Colleoni

This statue was paid for by Colleoni himself who left enough money for the statue as long as it was placed in the Piazza San Marco. The sculptor Verrochio was commissioned to make the statue and had it practically finished when he died in 1488. Casting the statue had been a big problem and even five years after his death the casting wasn't complete. Only one other sculptor was thought to be able to solve the dilemma but he had been convicted of fraud and exiled from Venice. He was allowed to return and completed the project. However a new problem arose as to location. The idea of putting it such a prominent position as San Marco, Verrochio's condition, was considered preposterous. As a result it ended up in its current location, the Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo.

It had been a windy day the day before we arrived and the result was obvious!

We had by now reached the Fondamente Nuovo on the north side of the island. Stretched out before us was the lagoon and a view of the cemetery.

The Cemetery in the Lagoon with a vaporettto passing by

An old Palace with wooden eaves

Continuing on we reached the Grand Canal near the Palazzo Ca d'Oro. The fish market is on the right side of the next photo. We were standing at a traghetto stop. The traghettos provide a cheap way to cross the Grand Canal. They are gondola-like boats that you stand up in during the crossing. Not as precarious as it sounds.



By now we were nearly back where we had started from, the Rialto Bridge. It had been a lovely walk, full of interest.

The Rialto Bridge