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The lagoon is known under the name of Torcello which is the northern such place of Venice (Italy), being located 8 km away from the famous city. Along with the architecture and history so unique for a place almost lost in time, there are still things that made the island so unique in front of everything we've seen so far.

One of these is even the alley that walks you around, known as Strada della Rosina, which, funny or not, represents the single street there. It's true that the lagoon has fairly small dimensions and there is no point in having more streets since from here you can reach any part of Torcello, but I still found this information very interesting and necessary to be shared further.

Chasing the path you will see everything from the wilderness of nature to houses of the very few locals of the island, from restaurants which most likely are open only during the season to buildings that no matter how old they are, they still have a specific charm and energy which is always welcome.

Actually, all you've seen in the pictures from above are pretty much everything, there being just a few buildings that are standing still in 2023 while most of them turned into ruins and were abandoned by the locals who moved to Venice or in other places.

But along with all the buildings that represent a normality for those who are making their living on the island which is only supported by the money received from those visiting it, there are also a few proper tourist attractions that are worth a visit.

Ponte del Diavolo

The first such place is known as Ponte del Diavolo or "The Devil's Bridge" which I mentioned at the beginning of this post.
If you are visiting it on a sunny day as we did, where the whole landscape is covered in colors and shone under the sun's rays, it might seem like a fairly normal bridge for Venice, but the legends and stories that are still shared in the 21st century about this bridge might change your point of view.
When it comes to my home country (Romania), when I hear about buildings dating since the 15th century I think almost right away about fortresses and churches because these are the most genuine buildings which are still resisting in the 21st century.
However, in Torcello, things are a bit different because The Devil's Bridge is actually the one dating since the 15th century, which was raised on the remains of a different bridge that was a lot narrower.
With a name so suggestive that stirs a lot of curiosity, it would be weird not to have a story behind it, but happily (or not) there are quite a few legends that are dating for centuries and which, in one way or another, make you feel them whether you are in the category of those who think witches are real or in the category that says these are just legends.

The first such story which is also a fairly short one, is that the bridge was raised in a single night by the Devil itself to win a bet but didn't manage to finish all the details in time, like adding a barrier around it, due to the sun that was raising up on the sky.

Another story that seems closer to the reality of the 21st century, is that the name was given after an important family who was living on Torcello and whose name was Diavoli, and there was no barrier because that's how all the bridges were made a few centuries ago.

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Though, the actual legend that is mostly shared when people ask where the name of the bridge comes from, is that during the period when Venice was under Austrian domination, there was a girl who fell in love with an Austrian soldier. Even though there were quite a lot of eyes that looked at them as a negative example, the ones that were bothered the most were the parents of the girl who paid someone to kill the boy so the girl would get back to living a normal life the life they wanted her to live.

But as things rarely happen the way we all expect them to, the girl didn't return to the life she had before meeting the boy but actually became depressive, refused to eat, and remained isolated in her room for a long while.

After the girl was advised by a friend of hers to visit a witch, she ended up meeting one with the main purpose of bringing her lover back to life. The two used to meet more times on Ponte del Diavolo until the witch said that her request was not impossible but it came with the price of killing one newborn on Christmas Eve for 7 years in a row and always bring the dead body on the bridge that the witch will give further to the devil who will help her accomplish the request of the girl.
Being fairly desperate to meet her lover again, the girl accepted the offer but once the soldier was brought to life, they both ran away and left the witch alone on the bridge with the devil who asked her to respect the pact and bring the dead bodies of the newborns as discussed. However, what they didn't know, is that the whole conversation was heard by a local who set the house of the witch on fire and made her burn in flames before respecting her part of the pact made with the devil.

From all these, there are saying that each year on the 24th of December there is always a black cat sitting on Ponte del Diavolo who's the devil's messenger or even the devil himself, which is still waiting for the witch to return with the promised things.

Now I am aware that this legend feels a bit more real maybe perhaps that Halloween is around the corner and everyone is getting ready for this kind of spooky stories and all the costumes with witches, black cats, devils, and so on. But to be honest, I visited this bridge in November last year and I did feel a strange energy while being around it.

I'm not saying that any of the stories shared are real or not, but I did feel a different energy while being on this bridge which I didn't get to feel while walking around the rest of the island. But with so many things changing from one day to another, we will never be able to find out what actually happened in the same place centuries ago, right?

Ponte di Santa Maria

Just 2 more minutes of walking from Ponte del Diavolo, there is another bridge that you'll cross which even though is not as famous as the one mentioned before, it takes you to a place with an interesting history.
This one is called Ponte di Santa Maria and it takes you to a small square that in 2023 is mostly formed from a fountain and a building known as Locanda Cipriani that dates since 1935.
The historical place was handed down from generation to generation and that's how even almost 90 years later, it's still managed by the same Cipriani family.

What makes this place so unique? It represents the place where Ernest Hemingway was hosted for one month in the autumn of 1948 where he went duck hunting but also wrote the famous book "Across the River and into the Trees" on the cover of which he also used an image from this place.

Along with Hemingway, the small business has a long list of famous people who crossed their threshold and stayed there for a while, from kings and queens to princes and princesses, from composers and singers to actors and directors, from conductors and ambassadors to even state presidents.

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In order to reach Torcello and discover these bridges along with a few other things to see within the island, you have to take a vaporetto which is a bus that goes on the water. There are also a few more islands that are worth a visit too and for which you also need to take a vaporetto, but the easiest way to do so is to get yourself a 24 hours long pass to visit everything and avoid the endless fear of not being able to get a new ticket.

Source.

Let's travel together #271 - Ponte del Diavolo (Devil's Bridge)

Click on the images to see them in full resolution The lagoon is known under the name of Torcello which is the northern such place of ...

Let's travel together #271 - Ponte del Diavolo (Devil's Bridge)

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I wrote this post in two languages. In English and Slovak language.

We have been planning to diversify our holiday on the Italian island of Ischia, located in the Gulf of Naples, from the very beginning. We knew we wanted to go see the myths of Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. Well, we decided to go on this trip on the spot.

Amalfi

Local carriers offered a boat trip to the Amalfi Coast, specifically to Positano and Amalfi. We could not resist this offer for a boat trip along the Amalfi Coast.

In the morning we leave the hotel and walk through the small streets to the port. We buy tickets and wait for our ship to arrive. A small, fast ship arrives at the port and we put it on it.

Ischia

In a short time we see the castle of Aragonese and the town of Ischia moving away from us.

Capri

Along the way we have a short stop on the island of Capri, where other tourists board. We sit in our seats and since we can't get off the ship, we at least enjoy the view of the harbor and the skyline.

The cruise is fast and we enjoy it. That speed cannot be compared to the speed of the ferry with which we flew to the island of Ischia.

Our ship sails around two islands. The guide on the ship explains to us in English that according to some, these two islands are mentioned in Greek mythology as the islands where the Sirens lived. Sirens are creatures that lured sailors with their singing to swim to the island and wreck on it. They also lured Odyssey and Homer's epic Odyssey, but he resisted the lure and survived.

We continue sailing around other small islands. They look like only a rock sticking out of the water. The ship changes course and turns towards the shore. We are heading to a small town on the coast. It is the first destination of our trip - the city of Positano.

The ship sailed to shore and the captain informs us of the time of departure. We have plenty of time to tour the city. We don't waste time getting off the ship. The beauty of the city, as if carved into the steep slope and rocks, is breathtaking.

We learn that the ancient Romans built their villas on this coast. The core of the town was built around the Benedictine monastery founded in the 9th century. After the plundering of Pisi in 1268, Positano improved its defense, built walls and defensive towers. In 1343, the city was destroyed by a tsunami. In the 15th century, it was constantly under attack by Ottoman pirates. In the Middle Ages, Positano was part of the Amalfi Republic. It prospered as a trading port mainly in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. After the unification of Italy, its importance declined and it became a poor fishing village. Today it is a popular tourist destination. Since 1997, the Amalfi Coast, which includes Positano, has been on the UNESCO list.

We looked around and headed the path that goes uphill. We hope that it will lead us to the dominant feature of the city, to the church Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta. Managed to! We stand in front of him, buy tickets and enter the show. The origin of the church is connected with the Benedictine monastery, which was established in the second half of the 10th century.

The show was good, but we still miss something. We are attracted by the view of the city from a greater height. We continue up the narrow streets. Along the way we pass a number of souvenir shops. In addition to them, we also walk around such a small garden with chilly peppers.

Positano

It was worth it. After a while we had a nice view of the city and the sea.

I also noticed a large parking lot, which is built here. If people parked in narrow streets, it would be difficult to walk through them, so I think such a parking lot near the city center is a great idea. It will serve both locals and tourists. It's time for the tour and we're boarding the ship. We say goodbye to Positan, but I believe we'll come here again sometime.

Amalfi coast

We continue around the coast. Almost the whole is littered with houses.

Amalfi

In front of us we already see the second destination of our journey and that is the historic city of Amalfi. The first written mention dates from the 6th century. The city quickly gained in importance and became the capital of the Republic of Amalfi. It was a major military force in the Mediterranean and the republic traded with Egypt, Syria and the Byzantine Empire. Its main rivals were the naval forces of Pisa and Genoa.

In 848, Amalfi troops assisted Pope Leo IV. In battle with the Saracens. The republic existed from the seventh century to the twelfth century. At the peak of the millennium, 70,000-80,000 people lived in Amalfi.

In 1073, the Amalfi occupied the Normans, but left the city a number of rights. In 1137, Amalfi was defeated by the naval republic of Pisa and annexed by the Normans and annexed to their territories of southern Italy. The importance of the city has declined. In 1343, Amalfi was hit by the tsunami, which destroyed the port and the lower part of the city. After this event, Amalfi was an important city only at the local level.

It is clear that the city does not lack sports activities. We pass one in the harbor.

We roam the alleys and with us a lot of tourists. History lurks here at every turn.

We come to the Cathedral of St. Andrew the Apostle. Its appearance is unique. Roman Catholic cathedral from the 9th century. The predominantly Arab-Norman Romanesque architectural style has been over several times fused and complemented by Romanesque, Byzantine, Gothic and Baroque elements.

The remains of St. Andrew the Apostle, after whom the cathedral bears his name, were allegedly brought to Amalfi of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade by Cardinal Peter of Capua.

The trip is coming to an end and we are thinking about what we have seen and experienced today. Both Positano and Amalfi are towns built on a steep coast. This gives them a unique look and is a great attraction for tourists. I must say that I was very glad that we went on this trip. It was undoubtedly a beautiful experience to see the beauty and architecture with your own eyes.

Source.

Trip to Positano and Amalfi / Výlet do Positana a Amalfi

I wrote this post in two languages. In English and Slovak language. We have been planning to diversify our holiday on the Italian island o...

Trip to Positano and Amalfi / Výlet do Positana a Amalfi

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Equally to the beauty of the canals that I ended up taking a lot of pictures with even if they seem like being in the same place, as many challenges face those who are living on the flats located on the sides of the canals where the only way to get out of the house is by jumping in a boat that you will have to ride further in town even just to get some new food to cook at home or do the usual shopping.

Basically, anything a normal person does with a car in any other part of the globe, but where in Venice is needed a boat for those activities.

Though, as interesting as this kind of lifestyle seems from the outside, I'm pretty sure it's very hard and not everyone would be able to deal with one of these especially since it's well known that Venice sinks a few more millimeters each year.

I know that 'millimeters' doesn't sound like a lot, but considering all the global warming that makes us all face new and unexpected situations, you never know when those millimeters will turn into a complete disaster. This might also be the way of thinking of many locals of Venice since a fairly recent statistic shows that the population of the city decreased to half in just the last 50 years, which is a lot.

There are also rumors that Venice might turn into a complete ghost town by 2030, where the only people you will see on the streets will be tourists. But until we see what actually happens with this city that honestly I hope will never die, here are a few more pictures with hidden canals of Venice which have nothing to do with the most famous one that enjoys a lot more audience from the tourists, but which looks stunning too.

I don't know about you, but only by looking at the last picture, I feel the pressure of claustrophobia on my shoulders, lol! And I never had problems with this one, but I can't imagine how it looks like to always have to make your way through this kind of narrow places with a boat. Perhaps the locals are already used to this, but still... looks pretty uncomfortable and definitely requires a lot of skill.

Another thing that I absolutely loved about Venice during my walks in town, was those random alleys and paths separated from the main ones which literally came with a completely new mood and energy from what I was just seeing.

A good example is the brick wall that surrounded some normal looking buildings but which felt different because of the palm trees that gave me a quick feeling of Barcelona... and Spain in general, where seeing this kind of tree is very common.

Another good example is this kind of alley which might seem a lot larger in the picture from above (sorry about the poor quality), but which represented a common path between buildings to quickly cross neighborhoods and make it faster to a specific destination. Most likely they are some sort of shortcuts that are only known by the locals.

But it's incredible how something that is common in a place out there might represent a rare thing in other parts of the globe. For example, there is a fairly narrow street in Brasov (Romania) that represents an actual point of interest for tourists, and the same in Prague (Czechia). Just imagine how it would look like to have all these narrow streets marked as points of interest in Venice, lol.

Funny or not, all these alleys represent a genuine bliss when you want to reach some places faster than you would do by surrounding a whole chain of buildings until you make it to the other side. And not for a few times we blamed our GPS for showing that we had to make it to the left or right in a place that at first seemed connected with other buildings, but which was actually represented by all these narrow paths that saved a lot of time that we ended up using to see more of the beauty of Venice.

Source.

Narrow Streets And Hidden Cannals Of Venezia

Equally to the beauty of the canals that I ended up taking a lot of pictures with even if they seem like being in the same place, as m...

Narrow Streets And Hidden Cannals Of Venezia

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During the trip I along with my family had last year with the destination to Venice, we decided to book our days in Treviso, which is just 30 km away from the city we were mostly interested in, also taking it as an opportunity to see a bit more of Italy than the most popular parts of it.

While we only had 3 days in total properly dedicated to traveling since our flights compromised two of the other days, we decided that it was best to begin with Venice on the first day, the islands surrounding this on the 2nd day, ending up with an entire day for Treviso which would make our adrenaline level slow down for a bit, not depending on trains anymore since we were literally a few steps away from the place that represented home for us.

So along with many places seen in the village that for me looks more like a tiny city based on the touristic attractions it has, as well as the economy and all the businesses going on, we did see plenty of cool spots that unfortunately don't enjoy the same popularity as those from Venice, but which felt a bit closer to our explorer taste that allowed us not to run in crowds of tourists every 50 meters.

One of the places we saw was Porta San Tomaso which we had our first interaction with when we landed but due to the darkness outside we couldn't really enjoy all its details and beauty.
Since we were still about to find its history, the energy that I felt at the beginning was that of familiarity since the gate was very similar to one of those I've seen when exploring Alba Carolina Fortress from my country, Romania.
Even though I explore foreign countries for new things, cultures, and places to see, I've always found it very interesting to run into those spots that make you feel closer to home than you actually are because you realize that the world is not as big as you think judging by these aspects.
Additionally, the gate is quite similar to arches of triumph that are already quite famous in many countries of Europe. But Porta San Tomaso is just one of the three such gates in Treviso, marking itself as the most imposing and nice-looking one that dates for almost 500 years.
The decorations that can be seen on and around the gate are made of Istrian stone that reflects the pattern of the classic triumphal arches without receiving the name of a proper Arc de Triomphe.

Like in the other cases, this gate used to make the connection between two important roads in town, but which ended up now allowing car access through this place serving as a route for the tramway. The new use only lasted a few years until it was reworked and ended up remaining a gate that can only be accessed by feet exclusively dedicated to pedestrians.

The imposing and beautiful side of the gate represents the backside of it while the front one is a lot more minimalistic making you barely realize that you are crossing such a piece of art that can only be admired from the other side.
Yet a situation that I don't think I've ever met so far being used to see the beauty presented on the front side but considering that the back side is a lot more visible from the street than the front side which you can only reach when walking along all kind of terraces and pubs, I think it's a pretty good excuse to have everything on the opposite.

The architectural design is not the single difference between the two sides of the gate but also the text located on the top having the name of this written in Venice on the back side and the same text written in Latin on the front side, creating a parallel between the aristocratic culture from Venice and the rural one that belongs to Treviso.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

The name of the gate refers to a nearby church dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury which was destroyed, but the name only came out a bit later since it was originally known as „Porta Mazzini” or „Porta Nana” that supposed to represent the name of the one who built it.

Along with the beautiful details of the gate that will make you stop and stare for a while, there is also the Botteniga River which completes perfectly the whole scenery and does a great job keeping nature close even in the heart of the rural/urban life.

Walking just 750 meters away from the gate we ended up in a place that once again felt familiar to us since I lived in Bucharest for a couple of years and the scenery seemed similar to Dambovita River that makes you take a break from traffic noise right in the middle of the city!
Even though it sounds like a cliche, the reality is that small things like this one can improve a lot the mental health of those who feel like sticking closer to nature even when they are not able to travel for this purpose.
A similar effect we felt from Ponte delle Università that is linking the Garibaldi Riviera to the Santa Margherita Riviera.
Despite the thing that the bridge is located right in front of a university, this one connects the complex of the former civil hospital of San Leonardo and the former Military District making it an important and respected place on this part of the village.

The bridge was built a lot later than the gate, happening in 2006 which represents a whole new century with lots of changes in terms of architectural designs and decorations, but somehow, it still kept its origins not bothering too much the overall impression of the village that is looking absolutely stunning from many points of view.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

Just like in the case of Porta San Tomaso we reserved a few minutes to spend at the bridge too, looking at the water, the fish swimming by, but also to fill our hearts with a new energy that now while writing this post, I do miss.

It also represented one of the last things we were going to see before having our flight the next day, so I guess the nostalgia was already kicking in, but I simply love these moments when you don't have the pressure of time anymore and can sit for a while to admire every single detail of a place that who knows if you'll ever see again.

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Treviso is a small town in Italy that is more known for having the airport that brings lots of tourists to its territory when being interested in visiting Venice. Unfortunately, a big part of the tourists who lend here continue their journey to Venice, not being aware of the beauty Treviso can offer too, especially since we are talking about a place less populated by tourists where you can get to feel the authenticity of this part of Italy without being bothered by crowds of visitors.

Source.

Let's travel together #276 - Porta San Tomaso and Ponte delle Università (Treviso, Italy)

During the trip I along with my family had last year with the destination to Venice, we decided to book our days in Treviso, which is just 3...

Let's travel together #276 - Porta San Tomaso and Ponte delle Università (Treviso, Italy)

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