So on to business, today I'll be looking at the historic city of Venice.
This city, although I call it an historic city, didn’t exist during the ancient days of Rome; it was just a muddy swamp. Its rise to prominence stated after the fall of the Roman Empire where its position on the coast made it a perfect spot for trade with the burgeoning Byzantine Empire.
Its worth noting that due to its prominence as a port many cruise lines will start and finish their cruises in Venice, meaning if you are flying in/out on the same day you wont have much time for sight seeing. If Venice is a city that you definitely want to see then you need to make sure your cruise ship arrives in Venice during the middle of your cruise, or that you arrange some kind of cruise and stay arrange with your travel agent, (me hopefully), to make sure you don’t miss out.
Strange as it may sound, one of the most important tourist destinations in Venice is Venice itself. With its amazing architecture and canals this truly is a unique city and you really should just take some time to wonder around and take it all in. The Grand Canal in Venice is one of the best places to do this. An amazing stretch of water it is often referred to as 'the most beautiful street in the city'. Travelling along the historic canal is a great way to see some of the city's most spectacular and extravagant architecture. A trip at night is a particularly memorable experience, with the city's architecture reflecting in the water.
This church is simply enormous and the architecture is a combination of plain brickwork and fine detail. Known to many simply as the 'Frari', the first church was built between 1250 and 1338 and was subsequently replaced by a much larger building in the mid-15th century. The striking interior is vast and contains many pieces of high-quality artwork, including masterpieces by Titian and Giovanni Bellini. There is also a large statue created by Donatello and many other imposing monuments.
This famous Venetian landmark dominates the view of the Grand Canal from the lagoon and the water is reflected on its bright surface. The Ciesa Di Santa Maria Della Salute is a very individual and beautiful octagonal church, built partly of 'marmorino', a brick covered with marble dust. It was constructed between 1631 to 1681 in thanksgiving after Venice began to recover from the great plague of 1630 to 1631. It was designed by Longhena and has an enormous white dome and very grand baroque- style architecture.
Piazza San Marco is Venice's most famous piazza. What appears to be a rectangle is actually a trapezium, and when you look up at the basilica, the piazza seems enormous, although it is only 175 meters long. On both sides of the piazza are the Procuratie, which housed the procurators of San Marco. The centre-piece of the piazza is the Basilica Di San Marco The oldest of these (probably built by Codussi) are on your left when you face the basilica; Longhena built the ones on the right later, in 1640. The most recent buildings, commissioned by Napoleon in 1810, lie behind.
Well this is the bit where I normally get the outraged cry, “you missed this sight” or “you forgot this church”. As always I’d love to hear back from you so please add your comments below about your favourite spots in Venice, I’m trying to turn this series of blogs to a really useful guide for first time cruisers.
Happy Cruising.
Thanks for this James. Beautiful photos. I've only been once and just for a few hours many years ago. I loved the little string quartets playing in St Marks Sq, the atmosphere was lovely. Funny the things you remember though. I went to the loo and you had to queue (ladies' loos are the same all the world over) you had to pay too and the lady handed you a single piece of loo paper. What extravagance!
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