RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0700

Picture by Kolohe

Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) is considered to be one of the most beautiful squares in the world and a major attraction in Venice, Italy. We had visited St. Mark's Basilica, so we decided to get better views of the city and lagoons by going to the top of Campanile di San Marco (St. Mark's Campanile or Bell Tower).

The original Bell Tower collapsed in 1902, and the current tower was constructed in 1912. At 98.6 (323.5 ft) metres, it is the tallest structure in Venice. Located at the top of the tower are 6 bells that each play a different note. so people are called to Mass to the sound of Psalm 98:4 - "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise."

Picture by Kolohe

I could not read the sign, but Google translated it to say: "Galileo Galilei with his telescope from here on 21 August 1609 broadened the horizons of man in the fourth centenary [of scientific discoveries]" On the web it states: "On 21 August 1609, Galileo showed the first realization of his instrument to Venetian senators and notables from the bell tower of San Marco, in Venice and, in a letter dated 24 August, presented the telescope to the Doge, achieving great success. Back in Padua, where he lived, he further perfected it by bringing it to 20 and even 30 magnifications, when the Dutch-built telescopes barely reached 4."

Picture by Kolohe

We could see the San Giorgio Maggiore church on an island by the same name in the Bacino San Marco (San Marco Basin), but could not figure out how to get there. After the two granddaughters did some research on their iPhones, they discovered that if we walked down to the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (Victor Emmanuel II National Monument), we could catch a water bus that went to the island. Victor Emmanuel II was the first king of unified Italy.

Picture by Kolohe

The current San Giorgio Maggiore church was designed by Andrea Palladio and built between 1566 and 1610. In 790, the first church was built on the site, but in 1223 it was destroyed by an earthquake. A small church was rebuilt, but it was demolished in 1516. The Benedictine monks were considering constructing a new building, but it was not until 1560 when Palladio arrived that preparations were made to start construction on a new building.

The building is made of white marble with interior white-surfaced walls, which makes the inside very bright. This was really a nice change from the dark interiors of most churches we visited.

Picture by Kolohe

We rode the water bus back across the bay and then walked to a different stop where we could catch a water bus to the Rialto Bridge. Along the way, we walked over the Ponte de la Pieta (bridge) and past the Chiesa di San Zaccaria (Church of San Zaccaria).

Picture by Kolohe

Back on the Canal Grande on a water bus.

Picture by Kolohe

Rialto Bridge is the oldest of the four bridges that cross the Canal Grand. It was first constructed as a pontoon bridge in 1173, but it was rebuilt several times. The current stone bridge was constructed in 1588 and is now one of the top tourist attractions in Venice, so it is always crowded.

The bridge is also known as "Shylock's Bridge." In Act I, Scene III of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, when speaking to Antonio, said: "Many a time and oft, in the Rialto you have rated me." Also, in Robert Browning's poem "A Toccata of Galuppi's," Browning refers to the Rialto "Shylock's Bridge."

Picture by Kolohe

On the west side of the Rialto, there were several areas with shops that sold a variety of merchandise. We helped out the local economy by purchasing a number of items. I even found some fresh fruit, which I had been missing on the trip. I surprised the shop owner by eating the entire basket of blackberries right in front of his stand.

Picture by Kolohe

Before walking back to our hotel, we decided to have dinner at a nice sidewalk restaurant. Of course, nearby was a candy shop that had a chocolate fountain with a stream of chocolate that ran down over a model of the Rialto Bridge.

Picture by Kolohe

We had planned to get up early in the morning and travel to Milan for two days, but when we arrived back at the hotel, the granddaughters announced that they did not want to stay in Milan for two days - they wanted to go to Zurich, Switzerland. I explained that the only easy way to get from Venice to Zurich was to fly, and we had Eurail passes, not airline tickets. Besides, hotel prices in Zurich were over $1,000 per night, which was not within our budget. They were certain that by changing trains a number of times it was possible to get to Zurich from Venice by rail and Kolohe said that she had found a hotel about 20 miles outside of Zurich that was within our budget. Since I was outvoted 3-to-1, Milan was out and Zurich was in.

The only way to get to the train station early in the morning was to walk or get an expensive water taxi, so the vote was 3-to-1 for a water taxi.