After I left the restaurant, I took a walk down the main street of Venice, where there were tons of street shops and people trying to sell you fake purses. When I got back to my room, it was dark, and I've included some pictures of the view from my room.
It's actually baking hot here. The afternoon sun has forced me to take shelter in churches. Luckily, I was still able to get some good sleep last night.
I started my following day by walking out to the San Marco area. The Palazzo Ducale opened first, so I went there first. There are no pictures allowed in the palace, but I did get some photos in the prisons/dungeons. The Doge is the highest political position in Venetian politics, and is elected through a complicated voting process from the old families of Venice. He serves as a figurehead ruler, as he wields no actual political power beyond the rest of the officials. I started off in his apartments. His shield room contained two large globes: one of the Earth and one of the heavens. The apartments were not too elaborate, with gold wall trimming, but on an overwhelming amount like Linderhoff castle.
The council chambers were just upstairs, as I'm sure it must be convenient for the Doge to have quick access to the officials. The Senate chambers were more ornate, as these officials were drawn from the wealthy families of Venice and oversaw the political and financial affairs. The Council of Tens was a body elected from the Senate by the Great Council and had authority over all aspects of public life.
I then visited the armory, where there were plenty of weapons and medieval armour on display. Some arms were inscribed with CX, the notation for the Council of Tens, showing just how much power this group had. The largest room, the Chamber of the Great Council, with a huge painting of Il Paradiso, which depicts the coronation of the Virgin Mary. Finally, the Bridge of Sighs connected the palace, where justice was administered, and the prisons. Here, the convicts got their last look at freedom.
The other museums were actually 3 museums with the same entrance. The first is called Museum Correr, which displays sculptures, reliefs, and portraits of Venetian public authorities. The building was part of the original palace, as certain rooms were labelled dining hall, throne room, library, etc. There were also paintings depicting Venice at the height of its naval power, with paintings of ships and battles with the Turks. Also on display were Venetian coins from each Doge's era. Maps were also part of the collection, focusing on The Arsenale, a complex of docks and boat yards responsible for the building and maintenance of Navy ships. Finally, there was a church exhibit with old Bibles, books, etc.
I visited the San Marco Basilica next, and it is a tourist money maker. Sure, the church was free, but anything other than the main area was costly. Want to go behind the stage? 2 euros. Want to to into the treasury? 3 euros. Want to get a view from the second floor? 5 euros. I only went up behind where the priest would stand and that was it. This brings me to my next point. In some places, the no photos sign is useless, because people don't care. It's like "no photos" is pronounced "take photos" in Italian. Seeing everyone going home with their Basilica photos sucks, so I quickly snapped a photo of the main area before I left.
Next was the National Archaeological Museum. The exhibits focused around Roman artifacts and art, such as sculptures and head busts. There was a bit of stuff from other countries, such as an Egyptian mummy, Babylonian and Mesopotamian artifacts, as well as Greek sculptures and art. On the second floor was an art collection focusing on art from the 14th-17th centuries from German, Flemish and Tuscan painters, as well as the Bellini family and artists inspired by them.
The Library of St. Mark was only 2 rooms and comprised of old books and a sculpture collection that it had received as a donation. The interior of the building was beautiful and well decorated. In one of these rooms, the walls were lined with sculptures and head busts.
Needless to say, there were no photos allowed in any of these museums. The Italians sure know how to make money, as the postcards were expensive. It's pretty expensive to get any kind of photo for the interior of any building.
With the bell tower having a long lineup and me having a bit of extra time, I went to the Palazzo Grassi. Along the way, I passed by a free Antonio Vivaldi museum with a collection of violins, as well as an exhibit detailing violin making. Once I was done, I proceeded to Palazzo Grassi.
Even though Palazzo Grassi was rated highly on Tripadvisor, I didn't enjoy it because it was a contemporary art exhibition. I did not know this. The good thing is, they have a pretty comprehensive pamphlet explaining each piece so that I'm not as oblivious. Because I had finished this early, I went back to the Companile bell tower and went to the top. It cost a horrific 8 euros. That's the combined fare for all 3 museums and Palazzo Ducale. Not a great deal, but I got some good photos.
I crossed the Grand Canal and visited the St. Maria Basilica at the tip of the southern island. I love this place, as it's not shabby compared to the San Marco Basilica, but everything is free and they allow photos. Maybe it's an Anglican thing. I was making my way back to my hostel to start my blog typing at this time while dropping by some smaller churches on the way, but then I dropped into a Leonardo da Vinci museum that was open until 7:30pm. It was filled with some great technical inventions and detailed his work with technologies. There were plenty of examples of his pulleys, cranks, and technologies that are used up to present day. There were inventions like the gearshift, auto-locking on gears, early versions of floodlights (candle-powered), ball bearings, a vertical drill, a piston crank system, a hang glider, flying machines, bicycles, parachutes, machine guns, etc. I saw another museum with stuff like this, so hopefully it'll be just as great.
Due to this, I'm having a late dinner at the same place as yesterday, except with a different pasta, a plate of chicken, and a white wine called Soave. Not exactly sure what kind of grape it is, but it tastes pretty good. I'm heading out to get some stuff, but you probably won't hear from me until late tomorrow night or the following morning, as I am travelling to Florence in the evening!
so beautiful!! AHH jelly
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