tour de italy - Venice

didnt expect myself to come back to italy after one year, when i spent almost 10 days last summer in florence, siena, pisa, milan, rome and naples... and this is a "continuation" of my tour de italy...=)

Venice (Venezia) is a city in northern Italy, the capital of region Veneto. Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area. Venice's nicknames include "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Bridges", and "The City of Light".

the city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers.

Enough of the introduction of the city... despite the fact that it is considered as one of the must-go places in Italy as well as the fact that it is really unique in the sense that the only way of transport is through the many boats and ferries, i don't really like the city on the whole... to me, Venice can be summaried in 3 words: (i) overly-commercialized + lots of tourists (ii) canals & waterways (iii) bridges & more bridges...

San Giobbe is an interesting example of Renaissance art... the church has an elegant portal, the work of Pietro Lombardo... in the interior are important canvases, including a triptych by A. Vivarini on the alter in the Sacristy...

one of the main highlights of Venice will definitely be the Piazza San Marco, or better known as the St Mark's Square... St Mark's Square is called a piazza and not a campo, in order to distinguish it from the other squares and to emphasize its singular beauty... it is quite unique as a place for strolling about in and as a gathering place... occupying the present area since the 12th century, in 1264 the square was paved in herringbone pattern bricks; which is in fact the original paving style that used to line the streets and squares of Venice... the present-day Euganean trachyte paving stones date from 1723... and there are just so many pigeons...

the Basilica di San Marco (St Mark's Basilica) is a superb example of the Romanesque-Byzantine style with 5 cupolas... it was built in the 10th century to house the body of the St Mark the Evangelist... on the terrace stand 4 Horses of glided copper (the original ones are now preserved inside the Basilica) that were sent from Constantinople to Doge Enrico Dandolo in 1204... and the Bell Tower adjacent to the basilica was once a lighthouse for ships...

the Piazzetta San Macro is bordered by the Sansovino Library and the Ducal Palace and overlooks the Basin of St Mark and this is a most fascinating square...

Ponte dei Sospiri (bridge) was constructed in the 17th century with 2 internal passageways. the bridge leads to the New and Old Prisons, the latter called pozzi (wells)... a little window looks out over the Basin of St Mark, offering a picturesque view of the island of San Giorgio... legend has it that if you pass under this bridge on a gondola at sunset, and you kiss your lover, the 2 of you will be together for the rest of your lives...

Ponte di Rialto was completed in the 16th century; the stone bridge on wood piling was built to replace a wooden bridge and an earlier pontoon bridge that once was the only link between the 2 banks of the Grand Canal... the shops lining the central passageway make it particularly picturesque... really nice...see the shots taken from the bridge...

of course, there are lots more historical buildings... but we shall just stop here and the rest of the pics are just shots of everything interesting...

A gòndola is a traditional Venetian rowing boat... Gondolas were for centuries the chief means of transportation within Venice and still have a role in public transport, serving as traghètti (ferries) over major canals... however, taking one will set one back by a minimum of 80 euros... better stick to a poor man's "gondola"- the ferry...=p

the foodies all over the streets.... and of course, gelatto...=)

various shots of us... 3 singaporeans + 1 mexican...

oh, did i mention that this can of coke cost me 4 euros... that's 8 singapore dollars!!!! if i had known the price beforehand, i would NEVER drank it... =(

and there is a yearly festival whereby people will gather in the streets of venice (during the month of Feburary) and all of them will put on these masks...

and the street artist is sooo good...