Italy/Slovenia 2024: Day 4, May 25: Venice

We really enjoyed visiting some of the outer islands in the Venice good the day before. Today was our day to explore the Dorsoduro quarter of Venice. But first, we would explore the fish market and that would warrant an early rise. After a quick cappuccino and croissant at the corner bar, we made our way down now familiar streets passing the gondoliers prepping for another day's throng of tourists willing to shell out big bucks for a "must do" instagram-worthy experience.  

Just over the Rialto bridge, hang a right and follow the Grand Canal, and you find the Rialto Mercato. The stalls are filled with every sort of fresh, vibrant produce - nothing packaged in plastic.

One of Kathi's favorites - artichokes...

And then, there's the fish portion of the market. The literal translation for "Cagnoletto" is little dog and I'm gathering from the image next to the price tag that this is dogfish shark meat.  

The small pile in the top center is lesser mixed cuts of fish - sold as suitable for soup.

Sea bass, artfully displayed

Much like the Fulton Fish Market in NYC, a myriad of species are laid out Mon-Sat for the customer to get the freshest ingredients for their meals. Here, fresh flounder...

"Rombi" refers to their shape - looking like a rhombus (a quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length). Think a diamond or a kite...

Various shrimps - perhaps directly from the lagoon.

Mantis shrimps... "Pannocchia Canocia" literally translates as corn-on-the-cob.

Scallops with coral means "Scallops with coral". The "coral" refers to the brightly colored reproductive organs used by many cooks to make a creamy sauce to accompany the scallop meat.   

Squid...

Live, brightly marked snails...

Octopus or octopus - octopus, of course. "Polypi" means polyps.

Mixed seafood destined for soups...

Of course a flower market to dress restaurant and kitchen tables alike.

Aside from the stalls, where the fish were so bountifully displayed, there were also fish mongers who could prepare custom orders, prepared on the spot.

I was intrigued by the anthropomorphic face on this frightened fellow.

Men at work, filling the fish. 

With all the waste, where are all the cats?

A discerning customer...

Oysters sprinkled in gold flake... The Italians know how to market fresh products!

Under the old market roof...

What a treat to visit the market and oogle the fresh fish and produce. From the market, we jumped on a vaporetto, a local "water bus", to take us to Dorsoduro. On the way, we saw more produce on the way to restoke the market. Everything moves by water...

Our first stop was the Gallerie dell'Accademia. The museum houses a rich collection of Venetian paintings ranging from the Byzantine to the Gothic until reaching Renaissance artists, Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Veronese, Tintoretto and Titian to Giambattista Tiepolo and the 1600's Canaletto vedutisti, Guardi, Bellotto, Longhi; all of them artists who influenced the history of European painting.

I don't know from where my love of sculpture springs, but I'm always drawn to it. This Pieta was no exception...

Also striking, " The Coronation of Mary " by Paolo Veronese...

Emerging from the Academia, we continued our exploration eastward, with more views of canal life... 

We passed the Ex Chiesa di San Gregorio, a deconsecrated church...

... on our way to the Basilica della Salute. S anta María della Salute is one of the most important religious buildings in Venice. The basilica was built to commemorate the end of a terrible outbreak of the plague that began in 1630, and killed a large portion of the Veneto population. It was dedicated to Our Lady of Health (Salute in Italian). The architect, Baldassare Longhena, was commissioned to design the church, it took 56 years to build and was completed in 1687.

The Basilica's interior is octagonal with small chapels on each side of the building. Kathi's good about stopping to say prayers for loved ones.

The main alter is awe-inspiring...

Some describe the interior decorator as "simple" but it seems anything but! Love the marble, geometric floor pattern! 

One of the Basilica's domes...

Back outside, on the Grand Canal, near where it meets the lagoon, gondolas are at the ready.

Across the Giudecca Canal, the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore both anchors and dominates its small island.

Rounding the Punta della Dogana, we strolled along the Fondamenta Zattere Ai Saloni promenade, we came across this view, looking up the Rio de la Fornace. It's one of my favorites in all of Venice (like so many waiting to be discovered by any intrepid explorer).

Continuing westward, we sought out the Squero di San Trovaso, a 17th-century traditional wooden gondola boatyard and working repair shop.

On the Rio San Trovaso, we had hoped to get chicchetti at the Osteria Al Squero, overlooking the boatyard, but the place was mobbed with young people. It must've been known as THE hangout on a Saturday afternoon. Not wanting to fight the crowds, we backtracked along the Fondamenta Zattere Ai Saloni promenade to look for a place to eat. On the way, we ran into a protest, like in many ports across the world, declaring the devistation wrought by massive cruise ships.

Protest flags were flying! Venice is experiencing overcrowding and is starting to implement restrictions on tourists, implementing a permitting requirement to limit impacts on the Veneto way of life.

Activated youth!

Creative protest signs, waiting for the official start of the event. Use of English for an international news audience?

Hearing the scretch and laser beam sounds from this bird in my head...

Octopus revenge! In addition to the massive offloading of tourist crowds, locals worry about the pollution of the lagoon which is the source of much of the local seafood.

The protesters assembled...

The floatilla of resistance!

Eventually, we left our comrades and hopped on the #2 vaporetto to make our way to the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Looking back at the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute...

Arriving on the island, the vaporetto drops you off right in front of the imposing Bascilica di San Giorgio Maggiore, a 16th-century Benedictine church, constructed in 1576. It replaced an earlier church built in 790, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1223 .

On either side of the central door are statues of Saint George and Saint Stephen, to whom the church is also dedicated.

Behind the marble facade and tiled terrace, the interior of the church is very bright, with massive engaged fabulous columns and pilasters on undecorated, white-surfaced walls. The interior combines a long basilican nave with a cruciform plan with transepts.

Over the beautifully elaborate organ and gilded pipes, is the shield of St. George. The organ was being played while we visited, filling the space and adding to the sense of place. 

While Kathi waited, I chose to climb the bell tower, first built in 1467, then fell in 1774; and it was rebuilt in its current neo-classic style by 1791. The views of San Marco are stunning!  

Looking southwest, across the convent and grounds, the Giudecca chain of islands stretches out to the horizon.

Looking east, towards the Castello neighborhood, its Giardini della Biennale, the island of Sant'Elena and the island of Lido di Venezia in the far distance.    

Looking straight north, you can easily make out Saint Mark's Square with its telltale bell tower. Those are the Dolomite Mountains in the background!     

I love the little lighthouse and harbor in the foreground!  I think I circled the tower twice, taking in all the magnificent views! 

Reluctantly, I descended and rejoined Kathi in the body of the Basilica.  On the high alter, the artist Campagna was commissioned to depict the trinity, with four evangelists, supporting a large copper globe on which God the Father stands. 

The theme extends back to early Christian iconography, but is uncommon for a high alter.  

To the right of the other is The Last Supper by Jacopo Tintoretto. 

Seating for the monks was taken very seriously!   

Statue of a young Saint George - slaying the dragon. Another statue of him adorns the top of the Bascilica, overlooking the Grand Canal.

Looking out from the adjoining bookstore towards the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute.

Stopping to smell the ....hydrangeas.

We took the vaporetto to the Castello district and stopped in Campo San Zaccaria to appreciate the Church of San Zaccaria.

Although we didn't, we should have gone in as the church is said to house the sacred remains of St. Zaccari, the father of St. John the Baptist. The original structure was used as a convent for Benedictine nuns. Unfortunately, in 1105 a devastating fire destroyed both the church and the monastery and tragically a hundred nuns also lost their lives. Shortly thereafter, this structure was built. In 855, Pope Benedict III took refuge with the Benedictines of San Zaccaria to escape the violence of the antipope Anastasius - a gesture of charity that the pontiff rewarded by giving the nuns a considerable amount of relics. The most recent history of San Zaccaria, on the other hand, began in 1458, with the Renaissance restyling designed by the architect Mauro Codussi, who gave the church its very characteristic appearance, almost like a "pearl casket".

Continuing west into the San Marco district, we came across the Bridge of Sighs - an enclosed limestone bridge spanning the narrow Rio di Palazzo canal between the Doge's Palace and his prisons. The enclosed passageway was named for the “sighs” of the prisoners who passed over it.

Gondolas, in the foreground, stand at the ready, since radiation (and commerce) holds that if a couple kisses while passing underneath the bridge in a gondola, they will enjoy eternal love.

On the Calle al Ponte de la Guerra, just before crossing the Rio de San Zulian, our next stop was I Tre Mercanti, where they make individual tiramisu cakes in a cup. With a big glass wind facing the street to many customers, the baker demonstrates the assembly of the sweet cakes.

Back at the San Marco-San Zaccaria "E" vaporetto station, we waited for the water bus to take us up the Grand Canal to hop back off in the San Polo neighborhood.

The view of the square from the water never gets old...

Quintessential Venice Grand Canal traffic jam... 

We got off at the San Toma A station and made our way to the base of the Ponte dei Frari, across from the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. We had seen this cool little ciccheti bar, L'Archivio, on our previous walkabout and returned to sample its fare. I grabbed a spot at the front window counter while Kathi took charge of ordering our cicchetti dinner.

Outside, a crowd was in party mode with not one, but two, bride/bachlor street parties in full effect. With costumes and crowd engagement, it made for a great dinner and a show! 

Across the bridge in the Campo dei Frari, in Nona, keeps a close watch on the rowdy crowd. Make no mistake, those eyes will pierce your soul!

Walking back to our apartment, crossing the Rialto Bridge, the canal looks pretty in the early evening light.

We jumped on a vaporetto to take in more of that Grand Canal glow...

St. Mark's Square - even prettier at night?

We cruised around on the vaparetto, from station to station, getting marooned on the Lido for a spell, but finally made it back to our apartment in San Marco, just a few minutes past midnight.  

Kathi still smiling; time for bed!