Italy 2023

#5, Venice – St. Mark’s Basilica and The Doge’s Palace

I grabbed a water, croissant and cappuccino at Bar Ducale, which acted as our free breakfast spot around the corner from Do Pozzi hotel. An extremely active little shop with many locals stopping in on their way to work as well as the hotel guests. The staff, working in very cramped space, made it all work seamlessly with smiles on their faces. 

One of the small bridges crossed over a small canal outside Bar Ducale where it was enjoyable to watch the early morning foot traffic and the days commerce passing over and under the bridge. 

Watching a tourist couple struggled to get their luggage over the bridge a local Italian stepped in and hoisted it up the steps and down the other side. 

With no roads, all deliveries, be it construction materials to office supplies to food, all come in via the canals and then carted through the alleyways, up and over the bridges to their intended destinations. Specially designed carts with sets of larger and smaller wheels easily tackle the bridge steps.  

Watching the larger boats with construction equipment and building supplies maneuver the narrow canals barely scraping past gondolas was intriguing.

Our tour of St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge Palace were confirmed and at the designated spot we met the tour group and guide, got our ear buds for listening and set off across St. Mark’s Square to the basilica. It was a bit difficult to understand our guide with his heavy accent, but enough so that we got a general understanding of what we were seeing. This cathedral, consecrated in the year 1094, holds the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of Venice.

Our “skip the lines tickets” allowed us to enter ahead of the long lines waiting in the square but we proceeded at a rushed pace, not allowing for much lingering and admiring this dramatically large and imposing structure where inside decorations of murals, statues, mosaics, columns and other elaborate decorations were an eyeful. It is a marvel to imagine most of this has been here for centuries. Our tour also included taking in the view over the square from a terrace high up on the basilica. Although our guide was rushing us through, we choose to linger longer on the terrace and then later hustled to catch up with the group. 

Around the corned we proceeded to the Doge Palace, built in 1340 (over 100 years prior to Columbus sailing to the “new world”). It is also an elaborate building with countless paintings, murals and ancient artifacts. 

Here we learned that this was the seat of the government for Venice. Doge was the chief magistrate of Venice, it’s leader. There were many doges over the centuries, this palace served as living quarters as well as the government offices.

The opulence was overflowing throughout with painted ceilings and walls, gold leaf, stained glass windows and tiled floors.

In the Doge Palace trials were conducted and prisoners were led across The Bridge of Sighs into the neighboring prison across a canal. From that bridge’s small windows was the last glimpse a prisoner would see of the free world, supposedly eliciting regretful sighs from the convicts.

Walking the stairs, hallways, corridors and through the many rooms and outdoor courtyards, one could imagine all the history and people who had also walked over these passageways. 

After a lunch with Pat and John, Mark and I visited another nearby church, walked along several canals, over bridges and down narrow alleys with the shops and restaurants. Many gelato and ice cream shops were tucked between all the other little stores, including those selling limoncello, a liquor made from lemons. Souvenir shops were in overabundance all around Venice. 

Mark and I boarded a vaporetto through the Grand Canal to the famous Rialto Bridge where the crowds were unbelievable. 4 bridges cross the Grand Canal, Rialto being the oldest of them, and it is impressive. At a canal-side restaurant next to the Rialto Bridge, we enjoyed a snack and drink – a banana split served in a gondola and an Aperol Spritz.

(Aperol is an orange-colored Italian aperitif flavored with gentian, rhubarb and herbs) Aperol Spritz’ seemed to be all the rage as we saw them everywhere we dined, so, of course I had to imbibe like a Venetian. A bit bitter to taste (much like the bitter aperitif Campari) but much to my liking.

Over the course of our Italy trip I also savored other spritz’s – Campari and Hugo spritz.

Managing our way through the crowds, we crossed over the Rialto Bridge which has shops up and down both sides. Passing through the fish market then closed to business for the day, we decided to walk zig-zagging though the crowded narrow alleyways, over several canals and bridges, through St. Mark’s Square and back to our hotel, a good, energetic little trek.

After a late dinner of lasagne and a Campari Spritz we proceeded to another place for wine and limoncello ice cream. A sweet treat before sweet dreams.