 |
| Fondamente Nuove street Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016 |
 |
| One of the narrow passageways in Venice Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016 |
We finally reached Rialto and had our slice of pizza at the foot of the bridge while people and boat watching, sitting on the cold steps. Dave bought an oil painting for 20 euros, a good size to pack in the suitcase, the same painting we could have bought further away for 15 euros. The painter said, it will rain tomorrow and he will not get customers at all, as he cannot display his canvasses in the rain. We bought one from him as well.
Poster on Church of San Vidal's door
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Shop window
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Narrow walkway to a church
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
My favorite jewelry store in Rialto
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
One of two oil paintings we bought in Venice
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
We went back to my favorite jewel shop and found two pairs of cuff links
for Dave. A gorgeous turquoise ring in 18k gold was calling my name. I don’t
know why the color of turquoise makes me happy, unlike any other stone,
including diamonds. We walked alongside the Grand Canal, watching a portly sea
gull come very close to us, begging for food, a German couple eating stuff out
of a vending machine, probably traveling on a budget or just plain stingy.
Lido Island and hotel Panorama on the right
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Lido Island on a sunny day
Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons
Water lines on buildings in Venice
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Gondolas were floating by; the dusk is a lovely and romantic time to
take a ride in the black, seemingly flimsy but very sturdy boats. To my
surprise, three Muslim women I saw earlier dining alone on the left bank in an
outdoor restaurant we happened to walk by, their colorful burkas were hard to
miss, boarded a gondola for a ride. There was no Muslim male in sight to
accompany them.
Very narrow canal near Ponte Rialto
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Grand Canal near water bus stop
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
The famous Ponte dei Sospiri
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
We took the water bus the long way back to our hotel on Lido Island, a
total of 13 stops. It was a marvelous opportunity to see more palazzos on the
Grand Canal and take more pictures. We made it by 8 p.m., dropped off the
paintings, and headed for the last cozy dinner at Gran Viale. The table for two
was outside, but it was covered by plastic, a typical way to keep the cold Mediterranean
night winds at bay. My favorite dish was the appetizer comprised of polenta
mixed with pureed fish – it was divine, tiny, and expensive, 16 euros.
One last image on the Grand Canal on the way back to Lido
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
We woke up on Lido Island the following morning to the sound of rain
drumming on the tiled roof and to foggy air, just like the street painter had
told us. We had our leisurely breakfast in a comfortable but tiny solarium
overlooking the lagoon. The Panorama Hotel had its pluses but I still thought
it was three stars, pretending to be four. We were too exhausted every night to
care about the number of stars as long as the bed was comfortable, with clean
and pressed sheets.
Lido Island of Venice is a
7-mile long sandbar which is home to 20,000 residents. It is where the Venice
Film Festival takes place every September in the northern part of the island. There is a public airport, Venezia Lido, on
the north east end of the island that brings in wealthy foreigners who own
small planes that can land on the 1,000 mile grass runaway.
There are three settlements:
the Lido in the north where the film festival takes place and the Venice Casino
and the Grand Hotel Excelsior are located; the center part called Malamocco is
where the Doge of Venice used to have a home; the southern end is called
Alberoni and has a golf course. Rich people must have their golf no matter
where they are. Buses run alongside the island on Main Street.
On the Adriatic side of Lido
there are sandy beaches belonging to various hotels and they are private. There
are large public beaches too on the northern and the southern ends of the
island. The famous Excelsior and the Des Bains hotels are located here. Thomas
Mann’s classic novel, Death in Venice,
took place here. The water is clean save for the occasional jelly fish that disturb
the swimmers. The water is still pretty cold in April-May.
The clock tower from the lagoon
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
But the heart of the island is
Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta, a wide street 700 m long that runs from the
lagoon and vaporetto stop on one side across to the sea on the other. There are
many hotels, small shops, a modern grocery store, the first I have seen in
Venice, and touristy restaurants that also cater to locals in a much more
caring and special way as I observed on many occasions.
We packed our suitcases again and lined up the car at 11 a.m. for our
11:40 ferry ride back to terra firma. The ferry pass for the car was 21 euros
but our passes were still valid until 8:30 p.m. The ferry ride was quite
different from four nights ago. I took some spectacular photos of San Marco
square, the Campanile, the Bridge of Sighs, and other Venetian landmarks.
We saw Lido Island and our Panorama hotel one last time before we
crossed the bridge to the main highway heading west. It made leaving Venice a
lot easier as the lagoon was encased into a foggy mist and it was cold and
damp.
Last view of the Port of Venice
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Dave drove west in the pouring rain for 49 km. We took the exit to
Padova after we stopped at an Autogrill to refuel. Padova was, in many ways, a
decision we quickly regretted. The city appeared very much industrial and
modern, peppered with several old churches, villas, and the oldest square in
Italy.
Almost too dark for photos in the rainy Venice
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
A young motorcyclist who drove fast like a maniac wiped out in the
driving rain, his motorcycle skidded sideways and he laid it down scraping the
ground in a sickening metal screech. He was unhurt, thank God. We decided right
away that we did not want to stay very long in Padova. Our decision was confirmed
by the extended wait at a rail road crossing where three freight trains were
struggling to chug along.
Padova’s most important claim to fame is the University of Padova, founded in 1222, where Galileo Galilei was a lecturer. The dense arcaded streets opening into “piazze” and the bridges crossing various branches of the river Bacchiglione made the city picturesque in sunny weather, but it is hard to appreciate beauty in driving rain. Bacchiglione River used to circle the ancient walls like a moat.
The Euganaean hills in the south west were praised by poets like Lucan, Martial, Petrarch, and Shelley. Even Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is set in Padova.
Historians date the founding of the city by the Trojan prince Antenor around 1183 B.C. Padovani believe that their city is the oldest in northern Italy. In 1274 bones were found in a large excavated ancient sarcophagus and officials declared them to be the bones of Antenor. The scholar Lovato dei Lovati wrote:
“This sepulcher excavated from marble contains the body of the noble Antenor who left his country, guided the Eneti and Trojans, banished the Euganeans and founded Padua.”
More recent tests reveal the date of the tomb to be 4th-3rd centuries B.C. Other archeological finds confirm the date of the town’s founding to be 11th-10th centuries B.C.
Saint Prosdocimus, the first Bishop of the city, introduced Christianity to Padova and to the region of Veneto. His deacon, Daniel, a Jewish convert, was another patron saint of the city.
Padova has been ruled by the Venetian Republic, by Austrians, and
finally by Italians. During WWI Padova was central command for the Italian army
and the king and the commander in chief lived here for the duration of the war.
During WWII, Padova was bombed repeatedly by Allied planes. The worst
hits were the railway station and the Church of the Eremitani that was
decorated with priceless frescoes by Andrea Mantegna. The destruction of this
church is considered to be “Italy’s biggest wartime cultural loss.”
There is a Commonwealth War Cemetery in the western part of the city that
commemorates the sacrifice of the troops. Since its liberation on April 28, 1945
by the British Eighth Army, Padova grew and became a successful part of one of
the richest regions of modern Italy, Veneto.
There are more than twelve churches, dating from 10th-16th
centuries, and seven villas of renown in Padova. The Scrovegni Chapel is the
most interesting, with frescoes completed in 1305 by Giotto, frescoes detailing
the life of the Virgin Mary and commissioned by a banker, Enrico degli
Scrovegni. It stands on a former Roman arena, hence its nickname, “Arena
Chapel.” Entering the sanctuary means spending 15 minutes in an air lock in
order to control climate inside the church and preserve the frescoes.
Basilica
di Sant’Antonio da Padova contains the bones of the saint in a chapel
carved in marble by many sculptors and architects, including Sansovino. There
is a Donatello equestrian statue of the Venetian general Gattamelata in front
of the basilica.
Prato della Valle
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
The most famous landmark of Padova is Prato della Valle, an elliptical piazza of 90,000 square meters
with a center garden surrounded by 78 statues of famous citizens of Padova.
The Abbey of Santa Giustina houses the tombs of many saints, Justine,
Prosdocimus, Maximus, Urius, Felicita, Julianus, and relics of the Apostle St.
Matthias and the Evangelist St. Luke.
Café Pedrocchi
Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons
The city’s downtown is encircled by 7-mile long city walls built in the
16th century. What is left are the ruins and two gates. Coffee
lovers can indulge their tastes in Café Pedrocchi, built in 1831, and still fashionable
today with a flare from faraway lands.
French novelist Stendhal and Lord Byron were some of the more famous
patrons of this coffee shop located near the University, town hall, markets,
and the post office.
In the heavy rain, we set out to drive to Verona, our beloved city where
Dave and I spent a lot of time years ago.
TO BE
CONTINUED
No comments:
Post a Comment