Italy/Slovenia 2024: Day 5, May 26: Venice

In the previous four days, we had seen many of the sights on our checklist, so day five was our chance to explore beyond the itinerary.  There was supposed to be some big gathering of sailing vessels for a festival  so I was keen to see what I could see in the Arsenale di Venezia marina in the Castello district.  But first, we waited with the other regulars for the 8am openning and grabbed one last capuccino and cornetto at the Cafe Rosa.  Delissioso!

Being Sunday, Kathi and I researched places where we could go to church.  We found that there was a morning service at the Saint Mark's Bascilica, so we leapt at the chance.

Out of respect, only after the service was over, did we pause to take a few more pictures.

Amazing!

I had read in one of the guide books that the Ca'd'Oro was a Venetian palace open to the public and a good chance to get a peek inside of one of these magnificant homes that line the Grand Canal. So that was our destination after church.

On the way, we were confronted with, albeit controversial, international sentiment regarding the war in Gazza.

Passing one of the many signposts pointing the way to the public transit service - in Venice's case, the water ferry.

 On the first floor was the private boat dock.   

This area must flood regularly; nevertheless, the area was adorned with beautiful statues and the tiled floor was exquisite! 

We toured the palace's art collection, but I was more taken by these framed opaque glass windows.  Gorgeous! 

On the second floor was a balcony that looked pout over the Grand Canal.  

I fell in love with the patterned columns framing the Venice skyline - another favorite picture!

After visitng the Ca'd'Oro, Kathi and I decided to split up - she wasn't all that interested in seeing the Aresenale.

I made my way to the Ponte del Paradiso on the Rio dell'Arsenale with its two towers guarding the entrance to the Canal de la Galeazze and the Arsenale itself.

The Arsenale di Venezia is a Byzantine complex of former shipyards and armories clustered together.  Founded in 1104 and owned by the state, the Arsenal was responsible for the bulk of the Venetian Republic's naval power from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period. It was "one of the earliest large-scale industrial enterprises in history.

The Arsenal's main gate, the Porta Magna, was built around 1460 and was one of the first works of Venetian Renaissance architecture. It was based on the Roman Arch of the Sergii, a triumphant arch in Pula in Istria (now in Croatia) but then Venetian territory.

The Arsenal produced the majority of Venice's maritime trading vessels, which generated much of the city's economic wealth and power, lasting until the fall of the Venetian Republic to Napoleon in 1797.

Entrance to the Arsenal by Canaletto (1732)

Early on, Venice developed methods of mass-producing warships in the Arsenal, including the frame-first system to replace the Roman hull-first practice. This new system was much faster and required less wood. At the peak of its efficiency in the early 16th century, the Arsenal employed some 16,000 people who apparently were able to produce nearly one ship each day, and could fit out, arm, and provision a newly built galley with standardized parts on a production-line basis not seen again until the Industrial Revolution.

Two marble lions looted from Piraeus, near Athens, situated near the clock tower, were added in 1687. The lion on the far left in the image above, known as the Piraeus Lion, has notable runic defacements that were probably carved into it by Scandinavian mercenaries in the 11th century.

I wandered around, trying to find a way to get to see the interior of the Arsenale. Along the Rio de San Gerolamo, I was confronted by the high walls shielding the Arsenal from public view and where guards would have protected its perimeter.

Still looking for a way in, I crossed the Ponte dei Pensieri and stopped, looking to the east, to grab this photo of the Campanile di San Pietro di Castello.

I took a short ferry that took passengers across the eastern entrance to the Arsenale.  I took in a couple art installations that immediately presented themselves.  I was in a fever to get to the interior of the Aresenale so I didn't stop to take pictures, but here are a few grabs from the interwebs.

The Arena for a Tree by Klaus Littmann...

Building Bridges by Lorenzo Quinn...

Making haste, I walked along a short section of the Aresenale wharf until blocked by barricades.  As far as I could tell, the sailing festical had not begun - all the activity was in the set up mode.  I was diverted through the historic warehouses, where party arrangements were underway, into the Giardino delle Virgini to the Arsenale Nord water bus station.  I waited for a little bit, but then decided I would enjoy it more if I walked back through parts of the Castello neighborhood I had not seen.

I started by walking along the northern Venice waterfront walkway, a good portion of it on metal grating bolted to the warehouse walls and perched above the water.  

It seemed a little sketchy, but I showed no fear as I blended in with the few others using the same pathways.

Blocked by the Rio di Santa Glustina, I jogged south, passed a nearly hidden entrance to an interior paved square where school-aged children were playing and then crossed the Ponte San Francesco. This part of the city seemed much less polished than the ones where all the tourist destinations seemed to be. Perhaps, this was more "typical" where and how the normal Venetian's lived.

Weaving through the narrow lanes, I came across this street art calling for climate justice (and against the cruise ships).

Just before crossing the Ponte de la Corte Nova and the Rio di Saint Antonin, I came across this devotion to Mary and the baby Jesus.

I eventually made it back to the apartment and reunited with Kathi.  I think we both napped and then went out for a bite to eat.  Once again. all paths led across the Rialto Bridge - pretty in the setting sun.  

We walked about a bit, but we didn't feel super hungry so we opted for a 9 pm gelato dinner (always a good option!) at a Venchi candy store in San Marco

We strolled home through the spiderweb of alleys, now familiar, and made our way back to the apartment to pre-pack on our last night in Venice.