Sunday, 29 May 2022

Away From The Maddening Crowd: The Venetian Islands of Burano and Murano

View of Fondamenta Pontinello from Love Viewing Bridge in Burano

There’s a lot more to Venice than St. Mark’s and the Rialto; a short boat ride from central Venice are some beautiful islands. We did a day trip to Burano on the advice of photographer Marco Secchi.  We saw a fair bit of Murano from the water on the way back to Venice. The best and most economical way to visit the outer Venetian islands is via the city’s Vaporetto (waterbus) service. Vaporetto tickets cost 15.00 Euro return.  It takes about 45 minutes to reach Burano so factor at least 1.5 hours travelling time from departure stop.  Burano is located in the Northern Venetian Lagoon, approximately 11 Km (~7 miles)  northeast of Venice.

Fondamenta San Mauro, Burano 

Burano is a fishing island that has hundreds of colourful houses earning it the title of one of the most colourful towns in the world. The coloured houses are said to have been painted in bright hues to help fishermen navigate the lagoon on foggy days. Burano is also well-known for its lacemaking traditions, which originated in the 1500s. Our day on Burano was spent casually exploring just about every nock and cranny, as well as a leisurely lunch.  We did not find it difficult to spend approximately 5 hours on the island.

Known as the glass island, Murano is internationally renowned for glassmaking dating back to 1291.  Glass production was relocated to Murano from Venice as the glasswork studios were a fire hazard to the city, which was heavily built with wood. During the Middle Ages, Murano was the main producer of glass in Europe, a tradition that continues today. We did not visit Murano but saw lots of interesting sites from a Vaporetto as it made its way around Murano's Vaporetto stops.

So yes definitely get away from the maddening crowds of Piazza San Marco and Central Venice.  Day tripping to one of the several outer Islands is a day or two well spent. I think we got lucky as there were hardly any tourists when we visited Burano, the same did not seem to be true for Murano. 

Laundry Day in Burano

Definitely Laundry Day

Burano Lace

Everything was Colourful in Burano

Will Power Prevailed! 
(Lace top that called come buy me all through lunch)


A Strange Sight in Venice

Colour Everywhere

Beautiful Masks.  
A lot more beautiful than most I saw in tourist areas of Venice

One More for Good Luck

Fishing Village

Tools of the Trade

Somebody's Watching Me!

Il Campanile Storto - Burano's Leaning Bell Tower from Piazza Baldassarre Galluppi
(I managed to found the perfect location that did not show the extent of lean in the tower 😂)


Right Place, Right Time

Murano Photo's

Faro di Murano (Murano Lighthouse Located in the South East Part of The Island) 

Murano Clock Tower in Campo Santo Stefano, Murano

Bell Tower of Chiesa di San Pietro Martire and Torre dell'Orologio, Murano

Other Blogs in my Venice Series

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/05/venices-reference-points-churches-and.html

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/05/boats-of-venice.html

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-lions-of-venice.html

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-floating-city-city-of-canals-or.html


Saturday, 7 May 2022

Venice's Reference Points: Churches and Bell Towers

Church of San Giorgio Maggiore (1566-1610) and Bell Tower (1791)
(The bell tower is the best place for views of Venice)

Venice was built on an archipelago in the Venice Lagoon. Venice is essentially a city built on water, lacks significant variation in elevation and has problems related to the poor bearing capacity of the soil. That is why Venice was built following a horizontal rather than vertical plane with most structures no higher than 3 or 4 floors. The exception to this rule was Venice's churches and bell towers. 

Bell Tower (1672-1720) of Chiesa dei Santi Apostoli di Cristo 
in the Cannaregio sestiere 
Bell towers due to their structure and design concentrate a heavy mass within a reduced base area, thus subjecting the building materials to a high-stress load. Earthquakes, structural collapses, and demolitions have resulted in the number of bell towers in Venice being reduced from around 200 to approximately 80 today. 

Scores of Venetian churches are an essential element of the city’s landscape. Their campaniles (bell Towers), rarely perpendicular, dominate the skyline. The bell towers stand out between palaces and churches; scattered about Venice like ancient reference points for the lost (or those who wander past Piazza San Marco). The bell towers of Venice not unlike the Leaning Tower of Pisa challenge gravity with most leaning.  Not all Bell Towers are the same in Venice. Some are composed of only one Bell on the roof of the Church to more complex towers with unique decor or facades.  Regardless, the churches and bell towers should not be overlooked while enjoying the unique architecture and atmosphere of Venice. They are an essential part of it. 


Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli (1494-1529, restored 1861), Murano

Chiesa di Santa Maria del Rosario (1725-1743)



Chiesa di San Sebastiano
16th-century (1506-1548) church located in the Dorsoduro sestiere 

Chiesa dell'Angelo Raffaele (rebuilt in1743-49)
Statues of the Archangel Raphael leading a boy with a fish over entrance.
The archangel was a patron saint of fishermen 

San Giorgio dei Greci Bell Tower (1582-1592) in Castello sestieri

San Michele (1469-1478); on the Isola di San Michele where the main cemetery of Venice is located.
Santa Maria della Salute (1631-1687) with Punta della Dogana (Art Museum) in forefront.
The art museum is housed in an old customs buildings, the Dogana da Mar (1678-1682, restore 2008-2009). 

Santa Maria di Nazareth (1672-1680) in Cannargio sestiere of Venice

The Municipal Library of San TomĂ  located in the Scoletta dei Calegheri (cobblers school 1492)
with bell tower (1361-96, restored 1871 and 1903) of Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (1492)

Bell Tower (1703-1714) of Parish Church of San Martino (1645), Burano.

Bell Tower (1498-1502) of Chiesa di San Pietro Martire (1511) and Torre dell'Orologio, Murano

Bell Tower of Santa Maria Assunta detta I Gesuiti (1150, topped by an 18th century belfry circa 1710) 

San Simeon Piccolo 1718-1738

Sant'Andrea della Zirada and Bell Tower (1475),
The octagonal drum and onion dome were 17th-century additions to the bell tower.

Campanile of San Giovanni Elemosinario (1527-29) from Rialto bridge

Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore (1577-92) on the Island of Giudecca. 

San Giacomo di Rialto (11th Century with various restorations).
Maybe the oldest church in Venice.

Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1481-1490) in Cannaregio district. 

The Bell Tower of the Church of Santo Stefano (1294-1325, renovations in 15th century and 1745), from Campo Sant'Anzolo


Other Blogs in my Venice Series.

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-floating-city-city-of-canals-or.html

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-lions-of-venice.html

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/05/boats-of-venice.html


The following websites provide additional information on Churches and ell Towers in Venice:

Avery, Harold (February 1966). "Plague churches, monuments and memorials" Proc. R. Soc. Med59 (2): 110–116. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1900794/)

Jeff Cotton 2007-2022  http://churchesofvenice.com/index.htm   Note This site is a fantastic resource for information on the churches of Venice. 

Monday, 2 May 2022

Boats of Venice


Public and Private Transport along the Grand Canal

Venice is a city born and built on the water and its inhabitants have always have carried out their everyday business on water. Venice developed in the early 7th century, with migration to existing fishing communities on the higher mudflats and sandbanks. One of the early settlements Rivo Alto, now know as Rialto, became the heart of Venice, linking together 118 separate islands with bridges and canals. The canals are an integral part of the "transit" system in Venice or in other words its roads.  Instead of automobiles, boats rule here.  You will find taxis, ambulances, police, postal delivery, freight delivery, moving companies and ferries among some of the vessels along Venice canals.   

Gondolas in Front of Ponte del Cavallo

Centuries ago, gondolas were the main means of transport in Venice with the first known reference to them in 1094. Now they are a tourist attraction, and one of the most recognisable symbols of Venice.  All gondolas are painted black and have been since 1562, when the Venice Senate passed a law that forced all gondolas to be painted in black to restrain the outlandish displays of wealth that had become associated with them. There are usually two types of gondolas, traditionally styled and Traghetti.  Traghetti are large gondolas that are used by locals and tourists to cross the Grand Canal at points that don't have bridges. 

Modern gondoliers belong to the thousand-year-old Gondolier’s Guild that limits the number of licenses to approximately 400 and all but a couple are male.  A gondolier candidate must find an experienced gondolier to act as mentor, attend four hundred hours of instruction, and later pass a rigorous examination testing physical endurance, navigational skills, knowledge of other languages and knowledge of Venice’s culture and sights.  As gondolas are a tourist activity, they are expensive. I prefer photographing them versus riding them.  However there is nothing more magical than seeing Venice from its canals and there are cost effective alternatives.

Gondola Trip along Grand Canal

The price of a water taxi in Venice is also expensive but to be honest after traveling for over 24 hours all I wanted to do was get to my hotel from the airport, drop my luggage and camera gear. So I willingly paid a premium to do that. The rates of the water taxis are fixed depending on the different companies, the distance and the number of people. 

The Venice water bus (Vaporetto) is part of the public transport system in Venice and is cheaper than a gondola ride. In reality this is probably the cheapest way to see Venice from the water with stops near most landmarks. Alilaguna’s water buses are a public transport system connecting Marco Polo Airport to the city centre.

Al'ilaguna Shuttle en-route to Airport

Deliveries Venetian Style

Distracted Driving

Moving Day Venetian Style

Postman at Work

Venetian Driveway

Highspeed Catamaran Service: Venice to Coastal Croatia
Looks to be arriving in Venice

Sea Cloud II Sailing Cruise Yacht

Coast Guard Vessel Heading into Venice 

Local Police Officer

Venetian Officer on Patrol

Ferry Eraclea at San Zaccaria PietĂ ; One of the Ferry Terminals in Venice.
 Santa Maria della PietĂ  (1745-60) is church in foreground. Chiesa di San Giorgio dei Greci (1539-73) with it's leaning bell tower (1582-92) is on the left
and Bell Tower of Chiesa di Sant'Antonin (rebuilt 18th century) is on the right.

The Venetian Pilot boat

Water Taxi Stand at Airport

The ornament on the front of the gondola is called a fèrro; it serves the double purpose of decoration and counterweight for the gondolier standing at the rear of the gondola. The “S” shape symbolizes twists of the Canal Grande. The six prongs are said to represent the six districts (sestrieri) of Venice. The tooth on the back symbolizes the island of Giudecca. The curved top represents the Doge’s cap. The semi-circular break between the curved top and the six teeth represent the Rialto Bridge. 

The Gondola's Fèrro

Day's Done or is it Waiting on the Evening Crowd

Busy at Work

Arrivederci Venezia


Other Blogs in my Venice Series.

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-floating-city-city-of-canals-or.html

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-lions-of-venice.html

https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2022/05/venices-reference-points-churches-and.html

Information of Gondolas

https://www.tripsavvy.com/gondola-rides-in-venice-1548042

https://www.vivovenetia.com/venice-gondola/

https://veneziaautentica.com/venice-gondola/