City Of This, City Of That
Most cities are known for one thing, maybe two at most. Not Venice
All the photos in this post were taken with my favourite film camera; the Olympus 35RC
I’ve written about Venice on here before. The city had such an impact on me that it is now one of my five favourite cities in the world.
Most cities have one thing they’re known for. You have Cape Town in South Africa with her Table Mountains, Cairo in Egypt for her ancient pharaonic artefacts, The Vatican for all things catholic. Then you have Venice - a city so compact yet so diverse in it’s appeal.
As an enthusiast photographer, my first impression there was one of overwhelm. Everything was too picturesque to the detriment of my pocket as a film photographer. I was there with my favourite shooter, the Olympus 35RC and a few rolls of film. Using film is not cheap, so by default, one has to be highly selective with the photography. Venice is a big test of that ability to be selective.
I saw Venice in seven lights, which I try to outline in this post. It’s going to be a bit long compared to what I usually write, but I’m trying to do it some justice.
City Of Canals
Before visiting Venice for the first time, Amsterdam had been my favourite canal city. That top spot has since been replaced by Venice, 'City of Canals'. The island of Venice is really a group of 118 islands linked by bridges over canals. And you have never seen so many canals and so many exquisite bridges in your life.
The main (group of) island(s) is completely pedestrian - no cars or motor bikes allowed. For the first time in Italy, I felt comfortable walking around with earphones on without the fear of being mowed down by a car or moped. Venice is true bliss.
When you arrive in Venice, you are immediately charmed by its rustic beauty. I hadn't seen such picturesque decay since Havana, Cuba.
You have also never seen so many boats, which is the main form of transportation in the city. That and your feet of course. In the narrower canals are canoes, boats and the famous gondolas.
City Of Water
As pointed out in the first part above, a lot of canals equals a lot of water.
The Grand Canal is really a sight to behold. Grand not just because it is the widest and longest canal that cuts right through the main group of islands, but because it is the body of water on which you can truly witness the grandioseness of what Venice once was.
At some point in history, this was the undisputed centre of the world in terms of sheer wealth. Palace after palace after palace line the banks of the canal. Merchants of old that owned these palaces were wealthier than the kings and queens of Europe; or so they say. Sat in a boat, or more fabulously a gondola, you can relax and take it all in.
City Of Windows
Is it me or does Venice have more than its fair share of windows? Every building, old or new, seems to have a window at every possible space. Ironically I didn't see any ’venetian blinds’ on any of them :)
This has apparently been the case since the beginning. The oldest palace on the Grand Canal, the Ca' da Mosto, (13th Century building, immediately below - second palace from the right) is no different.
City Of The Brown Roofs
From the top of the Campanile di San Marco, you can see all of Venice in an incredible 360 panorama view. The adjacent group of islands such as Burano, Murano and Torcello are also visible. The view is similar to what you get from the Zizkov tower in Prague.
The ocean of reddish-brown rooftops in Prague is very often interrupted by green though, while in Venice, it is distinctly and more homogeneously, brown.
City Of Intricate Detail
One of the reasons why I really like very old, yet well preserved European cities is the fact that you can get a glimpse of what it was like back then. You can really get an appreciation of how much effort they put into everything. Much of this is evident in the extent of intricacy in the decoration of their architecture.
Venice, even though decaying and quickly descending to the bottom of the Adriatic, is one of such cities.
City Of Saint Marc
The one most prominent structure in all of Venice is the very lofty Campanile di San Marco. To quote a presenter in a documentary I watched on YouTube in anticipation of the trip, it is like a ’giant exclamation mark’. Located in Piazza San Marco, it is the bell tower of Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco [St. Mark's Basilica].
Yes ’Mark’ as in the author of the Gospel of Mark in the Christian Bible. It is said that the Venetian merchants of old stole the relics of St. Mark from Alexandria over a thousand years ago and brought it to Venice. The original basilica was built to house the relic, as well as all the other loot such as the four horses of Alexandra the Great. Turns out the merchants got rich from not only trade, but theft. Fast forward to 2018 - Cities of London, New York, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo.. It appears nothing has changed :)
I was mind-blown by the magnificence of the horses as I stood before them in absolute silence for about 15 minutes. In that period of time, I was the only tourist in the room with them. For a moment, I could imagine what Alexandra would have seen when these horses were first presented to him that long ago. Even in the days of Mark 2,000 years ago, these horses were already antiques of a thousand years!
Alas! no photos are allowed in sacred places in Venice, including the Basilica. (Yes of course many tourists took photos anyway in typical disregard for authority and respect for sanctity).
It is ever so difficult to take photos in the Piazza as it is jam packed with tourists almost all the time. Apparently there is a window between 3am and 5am when you can get a clear shot, but I missed the window by 2 hours in the morning when already the queues were longer than at an Apple store on a new iPhone day. From the top of the Campanile though, you can view and take pictures the entirety of Venice.
City Of Romance
Unlike many 'romantic' hotspots in Europe, Venice has actually kept it's romantic essence despite the hoards of tourists that head there every year. The following are some of your romantic options ;)
Go to Punta della Dogana. You can just sit there together taking in this view of San Giorgio Maggiore.
Walk to the Rialto Bridge through the shops, cafes and back streets. Look up often to appreciate romantic historic structures. Masks, Canals, Bridges, Glass, Lace, amazing.
If you don't want to walk, let Fabio, Marco, Antonio or any other such sleek Italiano zoom you off in one of these awesome water taxis.
Have an early lunch in the shadow of said Rialto Bridge and experience la dolce vita.
Let your lunch settle in your bellies as you ride in a gondola on the Grand Canal. (Actually, you may also want to take a gondola through the narrower canals for real romance). Some of the gondoliers will even sing to you. Take the ride all the way to the Piazza San Marco
When you've had enough of Venice, hop over to any of the other group of islands like the extremely colourful Burano. It really is as colourful as it looks in photos. Make sure you check out each island's specialty, for example, in Burano it's glass blowing. You can watch a live demo.
So that’s it. As you can see, I had a jolly good time out there. Italy is a beautiful country really. I hear Florence, Tuscany aren't that bad. Who knows? Spring time?
If you’re still reading at this point, I congratulate you on having a much longer attention span than most people - certainly more than I do :). I truly hope you enjoyed reading and looking at my mediocre photographs. In my defence, I was overwhelmed and just snapping away like a mad man.
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way to enter
panorama of the vineyards from the square
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