Italian Trip Diary -- Day #16 -- Venice

Thursday, June 28, 2001, Venice:

On our last full day in Venice we decided that we’d spend the morning going to I Frari, the art-filled church toward the railroad station from our hotel.  We decided to take the vaporetto from San Marco.  

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, main facade in Venetian Gothic style.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

The morning was grey and there were a few sprinkles as we got off the boat, so we didn’t linger too long viewing the exterior, a red brick perpendicular Gothic structure with the second tallest (after San Marco) campanile in Venice. 

 Campanile of Frari, the second tallest in Venice.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

It is similar in style to San Zanipolo.  The interior is another treasure house of Venetian art. 

Nave of Frari looking east.  The rood screen surrounding the choir is the only one still in place in Venice.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The main altarpiece is an 'Assumption of the Virgin' by Titian done in rich reds and golds.

Choir of dei Frari with Titian's 'Assumption of the Virgin' above altar.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

There are three distinct sections – the Apostles in shadows at the bottom, the Virgin rising on an arc of cherubs and clouds at the center, and a welcoming God the father with two angels in a dark streak at the top. The altarpiece is set against an arc of quadruple stacked lancet windows and closed off from the nave by a choir screen of marble.  Throughout the church there are tombs and monuments to famous Venetians, including the striking almost art nouveau pyramid in white marble for the sculptor Canova

The tomb which Antonio Canova designed for himself in the church of dei Frari.  Note the winged Lion of Venice sleeping just to the left of the doorway.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

and a huge triumphal arch for Titian.

This grandiose arch replaced a simple floor tile in the mid-19th century to mark the grave of the artist Titian.
Note the relief sculpture depicting Titian's 'Assumption of the Virgin' which is the church's altarpiece.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Titan's 'Madonna of the Pesaro Family' above a side altar in dei Frari.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

'John the Baptist' by Donatello in the center of this altarpiece.
It is the only work by Donatello in Venice.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Triptych of St. Mark (center) with Saints John, Jerome, Peter and Nicholas' by Bartolomeo Vivarini, 1474.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Altarpiece of St. Ambrose' by Alvise Vivarini, 1503.  The Vivarinis were sort of the in house
artists for the basilica.  Photo by Blomme-McClure.

We had to get back to our hotel so that we could assemble a picnic lunch of tramazinni and sodas and be ready for the water taxi that we had reserved at noon for a two-hour tour.  Doug plotted a route on a map from the concierge that took us through the canals behind San Marco going by San Zanipolo

The unfinished facade of San Giovanni and San Paolo, a.k.a San Zanipolo.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

and San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti;

Church of San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi in 1601.
It is surrounded by the Ospedale Civile which is on the site of the old lepers hospital.
Photo by Blomme-McClure 

then out along the cemetery island of San Michelle

Isola di San Michele, the cemetery island of Venice where Sergei Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky are buried.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

(where Diaghilev and Stravinsky are buried).

Church of San Michele on Isola di San Michele.  The church is dedicated to the Archangel Michael who holds the
scales on Judgement Day -- fitting for a cemetery church.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta, a.k.a. I Gesuiti, near the Lagoon.  This is where St. Ignatius of Loyola
founded the Jesuit order in 1535.  The church was designed by Domenico Rossi.  The statues on the gable are
by Giuseppe Torretti and portray 'The Assumption of the Virgin' (they seem a little bulky for the overall scale of the facade).  Photo by Blomme-McClure 

Leaving the lagoon we headed back into the city along the Rio di Sant'Alvise and 

Church of Madonna dell'Orto north of the railroad station.  The facade dating from 1464-1466
is in the mature Venetian Gothic style.  The contrast between the filigreed marble decoration
 and the warm red brick is striking.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

through the Ghetto;

Approaching the Ponte dei Tre Archi on the Cannaregio Canal.  It's the only three arched bridge in Venice.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

across the Grand Canal near the railroad station; 

Santa Maria di Nazareth, a.k.a. Chiesa degli Scalzi,designed by Baldassarre Longhena and built
between 1672 and 1680 sits on the Grand Canal near the station.  Photo by Blomme-McClure
.

down through Santa Croce and Dorsoduro; then along the Guidecca Canal between the church of I Gesuati designed by Massari

Santa Maria del Rosario, a.k.a. I Gesuati designed by Giorgio Massari on the Guidecca Canal begun in 1726.

Photo by Blomme-McClure 

and the church of Il Redentore considered by many to be Palladio's masterpiece.

Andrea Palladio's Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore, a.k.a. Il Redentore, built in 1577 to 1592 to celebrate the deliverance of Venice from the plague in 1575-76.  Like Palladio's San Giorgio Maggiore, the facade was under wraps when we were there in June, 2001.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

The dome and double campaniles of Il Rendentore by Palladio from Rio della Croce
 that cuts through the Giudecca.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

After bisecting the Giudecca on the Rio della Croce, we came up alongside of the Cipriani Hotel to our left and San Giorgio Maggiore to our right with the Palazzo Ducale and San Marco straight ahead.

Campanile, a bit of San Marco, and the Doges Palace.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Coasting behind the island of San Giorgio Maggiore we got a lovely view of Palladio's church and campanile

Church and Campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore with marina.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

before making a trip up the Rio di Giardini to see the church and leaning tower of San Pietro di Castello near the Arsenale.

Looking down the Rio de le Virgine to the leaning Campanile of San Pietro di Castello.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Then we headed back along the Riva degli Schiavoni toward the Dogana di Mare

Dogana di Mare at the junction of the Giudecca and Grand Canals.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

and up the Grand Canal past the Salute

Santa Maria della Salute on the Grand Canal.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

to the Rio di San Luca,

Palazzo Salviati (Hotel) on the Grand Canal.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

then back to our hotel’s water door. 

Gondoliers and bridge on canals near our hotel.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Somehow, the driver took us along the entire route while we merrily snapped pictures of the wonderful passing scene – churches, palazzos, bridges, campaniles, gondolas, vaporetti – almost too enchanted to remember to eat our picnic lunch.

Our water taxi and driver pulling away from the 'water door' of the Hotel Cavalletto.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Returning from this midday tour, we decided to have ice cream in San Marco at Caffe’ Lavena (Piazza San Marco, Venezia) one of the outdoor cafes on the piazza. Then, in order to have the requisite gondola ride in Venice, we took the traghetto near the Gritti Palace Hotel across the Grand Canal and back with a walk along the small canals on the other side between trips.

Gritti Palace Hotel (right) from the traghetto landing across the Grand Canal.  The traghetto is a wide gondola
that is used to get across the Grand Canal where there are no bridges.  George and I stayed at the Gritti Palace
on our first trip to Italy in the 70's.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

For our final evening in Venice, we decided to have dinner at Harry’s Dolci on the Giudecca Canal (Giudecca 773, Venezia, 041-5224844 or 041 5208337).  We took the vaporetto to the Palanca stop and then walked along the Fondamenta San Euphemia to Harry’s as the sun began going down.  The restaurant is on the quay with La Salute and the campanile of San Marco rising on the far side of the canal.  As we dined, the sun set and the lights of the city came on.  It was a magical place for a leisurely dinner with almost loving service and delicious food – a perfect summation and conclusion for our magical days in 'La Serinissima'.

Italian Trip Diary -- Day #12 -- Padua

Sunday, June 24, 2001, Padua:

Sunday morning we walked through the old town to the Basilica.  There was a huge throng trying to get into the church for mass, so we elected to visit Oratorio di San Giorgio and the Scuola del Santo on the south side of the Piazza del Santo.  

Oratorio di San Giorgio (right) and Scuola del Santo (left) on Piazza del Santo in Padua.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

We were admitted by a very old custodian who did not speak English.  He gave us some rather stern instructions in Italian (which none of us speak).  The Oratorio is completely covered with frescoes recounting the lives of three saints – St. Lucy, St. Catherine and St. George.  The paintings are by Altichiero da Verona (a contemporary of Giotto) and Jacopo d'Avanzi.  

"Coronation of the Virgin' (in the lunette) and 'Crucifixion' (above the altar) frescoes by Altichiero da Verona and Jacopo d'Avanzi, in the Oratorio di San Giorgio, circa 1377-1384.  Photo from Wikipedia 

The custodian apparently has closed-circuit television surveillance of the Oratorio, because he came storming in when we started taking pictures – which is apparently against the rules.

Scenes from the life of Saint George by Altichiero da Verona (a.k.a Altichiero da Zevio)
 in Oratorio San Giorgio.  Upper panel 'Saint George Baptizing Saint Servius'.
Lower panel 'Saint George Liberated from Torture by Two Angels'.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

He had to unlock the Scuola next door which has magnificent frescoes about the life of St. Anthony at least partially painted by Titian.

'Saint Anthony Grants the Gift of Speech to the Newborn' by Titian, fresco, 1511.  Photo from Wikipedia

Both Carl and Doug decided to take pictures and the custodian first blinked the lights and then when we didn’t stop, he came storming in again and gave George (who had never even held the camera) a stern lecture (in Italian) with much gesturing.  We were saved by the appearance of a young man in jeans and sandals who let himself into the Scuola and began arranging music on the top of the organ.  We later saw the same young man in monk’s robes preparing to lead a prayer service there.

Somewhat shaken by ours encounters with the custodian, we left and made our way into the Basilica through the crush of people now leaving at the end of the service.  St. Anthony of Padua is apparently a place where families from all over the area make Sunday pilgrimages.  The Piazza was very festive after the mass, with lots of families gathering children darting all over the square and assisting doddering grandparents through the crowds.

The Basilica is a preview of the Byzantine style of San Marco in Venice with multiple domes and minarets springing up above the triangular pediment of the façade in an incredibly complex configuration.  

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua.  The side aisles were added after the nave was finished, 
accounting for the slight 'barn' silhouette of the pediment.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua from the rear cloister.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Angel Gabriel atop the highest spire of the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Inside, the Basilica is filled with art -- frescoes, mosaics, sculpture and reliquaries.  The chapel behind the altar contains more than a hundred relics of saints – all in elaborate gold and silver cases encrusted with precious stones and crystal.  The actual tomb of Saint Anthony in the north transept is covered with photographs of people seeking the saint’s help.  Filled with worshippers at midday on Sunday it has a powerfully solemn, yet festive effect.

Coming out into the sunshine on the Piazza, we decided to stop for lunch at an outdoor cafe on the south side of the square not far from the famous equestrian statue by Donatello.

Equestrian statue of Erasmo da Narni (Gattemelata) by Donatello, bronze, 1453.  
Photo by Blomme-McClure

We sat near a large family group who had obviously just come from mass at the Basilica and were enjoying the early afternoon with a festive lunch.

Caffe Bar Gattemelata on Piazza del Santo in Padua where we stopped for lunch.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

After lunch we walked back through the old town with its University and coffee houses where the Risorgimento was enthusiastically embraced. 

University of Padua's Main Building.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Palazzo del Bo (part of the University) with Cafe Pedrocchi on right.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Cafe Pedrocchi, founded in 1772 and expanded to the present cafe in 1831-39, was the meeting place of
intellectuals from the University and leaders of resistance to the Austrian Empire.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

These rather ribald posters, apparently satirical commentary on politcal figures, were posted on walls around the University area.  Today I'm wondering if the one on the right is a caricature of Silvio Berlusconi.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Then we visited the Municipal Gallery (Erimitani Museums) at the other end of town.  It is recently renovated and has a well-presented, if mediocre, collection of art and a well-reputed collection of antiquities.  Since it was a hot day, we were not very enthusiastic about being in a rather stifling space with no air conditioning.

The Scrovegni Chapel next door was closed for renovations, so we couldn’t see the famous frescoes by Giotto that are inside.  (It has since reopened with a spiffy new air filtration and humidity control system).  So we headed to the Caffe Cavour (Piazza Cavour 10, Padova, 8751224) for gelato before strolling back to the hotel.

That evening we had dinner at the Ristorante Cavalca (Via Daniele Manin 8, Padova, 8760061) not too far from the Hotel Belle Arte.  Dinner was fine except for a very loud, very drunk French Canadian at the next table who made the meal intolerable for everyone in the small dining room.  The charming young waiter seemed very apologetic and tried to be extra helpful with his limited English.