Breakfast started at 7 this morning so we were up by 6:30. Relaxed over a nice breakfast, visited with our group, then met our guide for today, Lisa. We were all given an earpiece and a battery box so we could hear her even if we weren't at the front of the group.
She took us back to St. Mark's Square for some more information. The Bell tower is known as the 'Master of the House' because it dominates the square. The church at the end of the square contains relics of St. Mark. According to Lisa, two Venetian merchants (Buono and Rustico) stole the relics from a church in Alexandria, Egypt, tucked them into a barrel of salted pork, and smuggled them out. They got by with it because the Muslin guards didn't examine pork. They brought them to Venice and they have been in St. Mark's cathedral ever since!
And there is a myth of a specific date for the start of Venice: March 25, year 421. They know it's not the exact date but they like having an exact date, so that's what they stick with.
The pavement has mostly dried up from last night's water seeping in. Not entirely dry, though, and I managed to slip on a wet spot. I fell on my knee with is not good (history of knee problem) but I also fell on my bum which has enough padding to handle it!
The style of that great fancy St. Mark's church is "flamboyant gothic". Yep, that works.
St Mark was built as the Doge's private chapel and it's gotten some serious upgrades through the centuries, including a staircase called "The Golden staircase", in honor of its magnificent ceiling.
One of the secret denunciation boxes is still in the front wall of this building. People could anomalously put in a note against those who didn't pay taxes on their possessions.
The great doors to the church are made form Lebanon cedars, which is lovely. Lisa took us upstairs to the waiting chamber outside the justice chamber, which has 4 doors. The doors were split; each one could be opened at a regular height or a super tall height. That was to accommodate the importance of person; important people got to use the extra tall opening. Status!
Trading salt is how Venice started acquiring wealth so some of the paintings depict Venice as Queen of the seas. There are several unusual clocks here. The older 24 hour clock has number 18 on the top because day started at sunset; bells tolled every hour.
A nearby clock has an entirely different system. Venice went from 24 hour clocks to 6 prayer bells to the French 12 hour clocks. The French destroyed several symbols of the city during their domination, including many old clocks and most of the denunciation boxes.
We moved to the Senate chamber, with room for 200 senators. Next was the chamber of the Secret Police - that has a bad sound. Their decision was the final word, with no appeals. The chamber of the Secret Police had secret doors, which you would expect. Next Lisa took us to where we could look in one of the jail cells - just an empty room that at one time held 4 pallets and a bathroom bucket. There were torture chambers also, like the prison cells on the top of the building that were covered with slabs of lead, to really focus the heat. Water cells below the building would flood during rain.
Around the ceiling of one large room are portraits of every Doge, except one. One guy used his position so badly that he was beheaded for treason so instead of his portrait, they just painted a black cloak. Totally erased him from this version of history.
These rooms are just so fancy!
Amazing fireplaces, too! (Jack for scale)
Even better was the old, so much older, mural that still exists (partially) in one of the side rooms. I prefer this to gilded glitter.
In 1797 the French took over from the last Doge, so that changed everything in government. Back outside we admired the big staircase. They just loved to decorate everything they could get their hands on!
We joined Guiseppe, who gave us more info. We learned that the canals are generally 4 to 5 feet deep. And some of those beautiful old building are not connected to sewer....
Monks started the city and it grew from there. Apparently they thought this would be a defensible place, although I don't understand that. Big tree trunks were brought in from the Alps and packed together like cigarettes in a pack to form the bases in the water; there isn't any room between them, which helps keeps them from rotting and provides the tremendous support needed for those tall stone buildings.
There are 4 bridges across grand canal, with the Rialto bridge being the most historical and most famous.
Guiseppe said that places with piled up gelato are not good because it probably isn't fresh (our personal research contradicted that).
And everything here runs on boats, like ambulances and funerals. Burials are only allowed on one one island and a body may lay in the public cemetery for 20 years; then it has to go. Probably cremated.
Guiseppe took us to the Murano factory, where we watched a guy working on a piece. Every piece is signed by the artist.
Next we went into a room where we heard a lovely sales pitch about the blue glass made with cobalt, green glass made with copper, and red glass made with 24 carat gold. Lilac glass is supposed to be very special, too. Nevertheless, we didn't purchase any today. They have an amazing glass horse sculpture, though, that I would have brought home if I could. Our little group went back to St. Mark's square - it seemed to draw us in. Seeing these amazing sights did not get old!
Glenda and I tried 3 times to find a restroom. The 3rd time was public restroom which, we discovered, cost 2 euros, which we didn't have. So we all just went back to the hotel for a restroom and a nap. But we made sure we were up in time to go on the tour-sponsored gondola ride!
The gondolas go very close to each other and to buildings, especially when turning a corner. Besides all the beauty, we also saw some of the problems. The water can be very damaging, and sometime the water smelled like sewer.
But it is such a beautiful way to travel!!
Our gondoliers had to duck each time we went under a bridge (and there are 300 bridges throughout the city) but they were very experienced and made it all look effortless.
Surprisingly, even after all this it it wasn't very late, so we headed back to St.Mark's square (of course). Now it occurred to us that we could go up to the top (via elevator). So we did. At the top it was pretty cold and windy, but well worth it. There are 6 big bells up there, right over our heads!
Typically, every piece is decorated. The wooden blocks that hold the bells in place are wonderfully carved. Even the little pieces that attach the bells to the wood have little faces in them!
And the view is wonderful!
At 6 pm Randy and I went into St Mark's church. There was a mass starting so we were very quiet and respectful. It's an amazing amazing, amazing building but surprisingly dark and dusty, and a large part of it is scaffolded off. A priest came in, sat down with his back to the congregation, and started chanting softly in a sing-song, wavery voice. The congregation softly murmured back. Very softly, since there were only six people there. I was surprised that there were not more people here for the service.
Before long we quietly left. Outside we ran into Jack and Natasha who had tried to enter but were turned away, probably because mass had already started.
It seemed like time to look for gelato. Joe said he'd catch up with us. It took quite a bit to find the place we were looking for. Everyone except me had an idea; I know I am terrible with directions!
Eventually we found it - Venchi. They sell candy and gelato so we got some candy (expensive). But just a few doors down was a more reasonably priced gelato store. Ignoring Guiseppe's advice, we got some here. And it was really, really good!
The cherry and hazelnut was a very good choice.
Joe had not appeared yet and we started getting worried. We did some serious back-tracking and searching, and I walked back to the hotel and left a message for him to call Jack when he got in. We were getting ready to split into search teams when Joe texted. He said we were the ones who were lost.
Natasha showed up with some pretty Murano bracelets, so I asked her to show me where she got them. I bought some, then brought Glenda here, too! Loved the doorknob on this place!
It was finally time for dinner. We were served long thin bread sticks, and Glenda finally got ice with her soda. The food was good; Randy got quattro pizza with mushrooms, ham, pepperoni, and artichoke hearts, while I had pasta carnito. And Randy ordered a huge beer. The waiter was friendly and didn't hurry us, letting us relax as long as we wanted before paying. I was going to take a bread stick to feed pigeons but the waiter said it's crime to feed them. Dang it.
Once more we headed back to square, this time without Jack & Natasha who went for more gelato. We walked, talked, and enjoyed the square. By 8:30 Randy and I went back to hotel because it's been a really full day.
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