Trips We Remember: Return to Venice 2006 , Part 2 of 2

On our first trip to Venice, we had only a day and a half, at the end of an exhausting two-week trip.
We saw what we could, given our limitations, sticking mostly to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square).
This time, we had five days and plenty of energy. We repeated very little of the previous trip.

One of only three bridges crossing the Grand Canal, the Rialto bridge links the larger part of
Venice with the Rialto district, which was once a separate town. It is still the commercial district.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Venice's old wooden bridges were replaced with stone bridges
that had high profiles to accomodate the tall cabins on the gondolas of the wealthy. The current
Rialto bridge was built in 1588. It spans 160 feet and is covered with an arcade of buildings that house shops.

A classic view from the bridge.

On the other side of the bridge there is a vast open-air produce market and a huge
fresh fish market, as well as bakeries, butcher shops, and small cafes. Take a good look
at the illustration on the window of this meat shop.

The Scala Contarini di Bovolo, built in 1499, was the external staircase of a palazzo.
The 113 winding steps rise five stories to a lovely view, but we chose not to climb them.

Old artwork like this is a common sight on the exteriors of buildings.

Hand crafted masks are a long-established tradition in Venice. At one time, wearing masks was
part of the everyday culture of Venice. It allowed all citizens to mingle equally, and in a small
town, kept busybodies from knowing exactly who was doing exactly what. It also promoted a lack of
personal accountability that contributed to Venice's moral decay. Today, masks are still part of the
Carnevale tradition, and are very popular decorative souvenirs.

No one is going to try burying cables in the unstable "ground" under Venice.
20th century antennas sprout from 16th century rooftops.

This space between buildings is actually a named street, and not the narrowest one in town.

Ground space is limited in Venice, where a clothesline would interfere with foot traffic.
Laundry airs in front of, on top of, and between buildings.

Venice continues to settle, sink and sag. Brick and concrete reinforcements have been
added over the years to keep buildings from collpasing into each other.

Iron bars are used to hold the buildings together.

This is how trash is collected.

A gondola ride is expensive, but there is nothing else like it.

Seeing things from water level gives you a new point of view and reveals details
that tend to go unnoticed from above. These mirrors help gondoliers and other boaters
navigate around blind corners.

Many buildings have back -- or front -- entrances that are accessible only by boat.

We have often stood on bridges photographing people in passing gondolas, so it seems only fair
that we, too, will end up in a tourist's scrapbook.

Many canals have no walkways, making a gondola the only way to see these lovely back "streets".

These old, capped "wells" are actually openings into cisterns and can be seen in piazzas throughout the town.
Venice doesn't have a natural source of fresh water. Since the late 19th century, water has been brought from
the mountains by aqueduct. In the old days, fresh rainwater was collected and made available here. Wealthy
people imported and drank bottled water, just as we do now. The cisterns no longer function, but a few of
these old wells have been converted into public fountains.

Flowers and trees are rare at ground level in Venice, where space is at a premium, and everything
has been paved over. Window boxes are popular, and many buildings have small gardens on rooftop platforms.

The word "ghetto" comes from Venice, where it was first applied to the island where Jews were restricted during
the 16th century. With little available space, they couldn't spread out, so they built up. Five- and six-story
buildings were the skyscrapers of their day, and are still tall by Venetian standards. (The area was near a former
foundry, or "geto", from which the word "ghetto" was coined.)

At spots where the streets jog, it's not unusual to find a small shrine. This was one of the fanciest we saw.

"The Assumption of Mary", painted by Titian in 1518, hangs in the Frari Church. Venice is packed
with churches and museums that contain an impressive array of artwork from the past 1400 years.
But the city itself is one great outdoor museum. Every time we took a walk or rode the vaporetto,
we saw architecture, sculpture, mosaics, and all the amazing details that make this city such a
pleasure to look at.

Here's part of the front of a building we snapped as our boat chugged by.

When we were here two years ago, the clock tower in Piazza San Marco was covered with scaffolding.
Newly restored, everything looks good and works well. This is one of the very few pictures we took
in the Piazza on this trip.

Just an interesting bit of hardware on an old door we passed.

This big, modern sculpture was on view from the canal outside a large gallery.

This towering work was built in the shape of a gondola. The blue strip is created
by lights that glow very brightly at night and move in a suggestion of flowing water.

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection includes works by many of the 20th century's most important
and influential artists. Photos are not allowed inside. In the garden and on the terrace there
are several sculptures, including this bronze equestrian statue, "The Angel of the City", by Marino Marini.

Italian law prohibits placing billboards and other advertising on historical buildings and landmarks.
But there is a loophole in the law. When a building is being repaired and restored, it is usually
protected by a fabric cover, which is allowed to carry advertising. As a result, some restoration
projects seem to take a very long time. Currently, the famous view of the Bridge of Sighs has been
spoiled with one of these enormous ads.