Venice
- Comments: No Comments Yet
We made it to Venice without a hitch – actually 1/2 hours earlier than we thought (maybe karma is helping make up for past screw ups).
We woke up this morning to the most incredible thunder and lightening storm. It was nice to lay in bed and listen to the rain come down outside our windows while the restaurateurs in the square below shouted back & forth to each other while re-stacking chairs and rolling out awnings.
We went to the Academia art gallery today. It was great to be able to see paintings and sculptures that you have studied in text books and seen in pictures before. One of the most amazing things about the art works was how often the artists attempted to rip off each others credit for a work by changing the name of the artist on it – either before or after the death of the original artist. This happened with alarming frequency with the works of Titian and Tintoretto. The other surprising thing about some of the works was how often they depicted the Apostles being crucified – I do not remember that interpretation of the Bible. A particularly favorite theme was St. Mark being beaten with sticks, having his eyes gouged out, and being dragged to his death. I realize he is the Patron Saint of Venice and all, but I am not sure how much I would want to sit in church and have the fear of God put in me by looking at these paintings – maybe the gory fascination factor of them is how Renaissance parents convinced their kids to go to church and sit still.
We goofed off on the island of Murano all afternoon. We went from glass shop to glass factory, being amazed, delighted and amused with the craftsmanship, artistry and kitsch of the glass ware on offer. One shop in particular was funny – one of the owners had a huge Doberman that literally ran around the store like a bull in a china shop. The owners were clearly more confident about the sturdiness of their products than I would have been in their position. He was a great dog – his name was “Luger”, which just does not translate into English the way it sounds in Italian. They might as well have named him “Greener” or “Hoark”. Regardless, it was a fun way to spend an afternoon that was full of thunder storms and rain.
One thing that is interesting to note in Venice is the proliferation of rainbow “peace” flags flying from the windows of so many private residences, and the significant amount of anti – American graffiti on the buildings. There are very few tourists compared to the last time we were here (8 years ago), and the streets and canals are relaxing and easy to navigate. (Even if we do not really know where we are going…)
Tomorrow we are off to the Doge’s Palace. (so George can say he’s seen the world’s largest oil painting – that seems to be what he gets out of galleries)
As usual, we miss our families, friends and our dogs…
There are presently no comments for this post.
You must be logged in to post a comment.