Fondaco dei Tedeschi Platform

In Venice, on top of the old German Warehouse, which is now an upscale shopping center, is a terrace on the roof. From it, there are outstanding views of Venice. Unfortunately, when we visited, there was still quite a bit of fog, but the views were still lovely.

Looking southwest along Canal Grande with Rialto Bridge in foreground
Looking west along Canal Grande
Looking southwest along Canal Grande
Looking northwest along Canal Grande
Looking south to San Marco Basilico

Venice: All the boats

I am somewhat obsessed with the infrastructure of Venice, including transport. There are no cars, nor any other powered land-based vehicles. Everything is transported by land on foot or water by a boat of some type. Everyone gets around by foot or boat. I am unclear how the firefighters get the hoses to a fire. However, I was lucky enough to see the garbage boat in action taking a garbage basket that a garbage worker had brought to the canal.

Police boat
Police boat
Fire boat
Fire station boat entrance is to the left, and this is the only street light I saw in Venice.
Ambulance boat
Garbage boat picking up garbage basket
Garbage boat picking up garbage basket
Garbage boat bringing garbage basket over boat
Garbage boat emptying garbage basket into holding
Package delivery
DHL
Supply delivery with refrigerator or freezer
Crane boat and ferry boat to the right. The Vaporetto is the Venetian mass public transport.
Supply delivery boat entering narrow channel

Venice: Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco is the big tourist area in Venice. It is where the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) and Basilica di San Marco are among other photogenic spots. It is also the spot that is always photographed when Venice floods. They have the parts for the platforms for people to walk on placed strategically around Venice for when acqua alta arrives. The basilica is one of the lowest parts of Venice, and some tiny amount of water was present around the basilica when I was there. [The flooding essentially comes from below the buildings. It does not come from shores exactly.] I was able to wander around the area on two different days, which is why differing weather conditioning can be seen in the photos below.

Palazzo Ducale as seen from near the water
Palazzo Ducale
Palazzo Ducale, in the afternoon, the light hits it just right to cause the lovely shadows and light from the cross-shaped openings.
Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) that connects the Palazzo Ducale and the prison. So named as the bridge was how a prisoner entered the prison after judgement.
Looking toward Piazza San Marco with Saint Mark and Saint Theodore Columns in foreground
Saint Mark and Saint Theodore Columns (looking toward water)
Platform parts in the piazza in case of acqua alta
A small amount of acqua alta forming around the basilica. It later subsided.
Basilica San Marco from side near Palazzo Ducale
Basilica San Marco
Basilica San Marco, front side from Piazza San Marco
Procuratie Vecchie
Campanile di San Marco
Torre dell’Orologio
Woman dressed up for carnival. (I think it is only for carnival.) The were nicely posing for photos and didn’t seem to be taking tips. Nice change from in New York where people dress up in bad super hero and puppet characters for tips.

Venice: Gondolas

Today in Venice was Gondola Day. We started the day by going to a place where they make gondolas, restore old ones, and do maintenance on them. Then we went to a shop where they make certain pieces for the gondolas. We followed it up with a gondola ride through some canal with musicians.

First, we went to Squero Tramontin (Domenico Tramontin e Figli) where they make new gondolas, restore old ones, and do maintenance on currently used ones. The company is currently owned by two sisters, who inherited it from their father. It has been a family business for five generations, since 1884. Elena Tramontin explained to us how they make a gondola and the history of them. Originally gondolas were used for everything in Venice including police, ambulance, etc. They were also originally operated by two gondoliers, but the shape was changed so that one gondolier can operate it. All gondolas are completely flat bottom, and in fact all boats that operate in Venice’s lagoon are flat bottom. The gondolas only need 10 cm of water depth. They are made of mahogany, cherry, and oak. The wood is dried naturally and needs about a year too dry. The wood is bent with water and fire. They are coated with six coats of paint, and finished with 24 carat gold leaf accents. It takes about five to six months to complete one. The government decreed that all gondolas be black centuries ago. The edging was brass, but now steel is used. The counterweight at the front is iron and has symbolic meaning (see photo below). The gondolas are built to last 30 years, but they need maintenance every 50 days or so to remove barnacles and such. However, in the shop when we visited were much older gondolas.

Domenico Tramontin e Figli, one of two squeros where they make gondolas completely by hand.
A 70 year old gondola in the squero being rehabbed.
Tools in the shop
A 60 year old gondola in for maintenance
The forcula is what the oar is placed against, and the shape of the forcula allows the gondolier to “change gears” including stopping, starting, going fast, reverse.
The counterweight at the front of the gondola. Otherwise known as the fero de prora. The shape has symbolic meaning. The round top represents the Doge’s hat (the Doge was the ruler of the Republic of Venice). The curve under the Doge’s hat is the Rialto Bridge. The six straight pieces to the front represent the six areas of Venice: San Marco, San Polo, Santa Croce, Castello, Dorsoduro, and Cannaregio. The piece that sticks out opposite the six represents the separate island from the main part of Venice, Giudecca. The shape of the piece from the Doge’s hat to the end represents the shape of Canal Grande.

After visiting the squero, we then visited an artisan who makes some of the special wooden pieces for the gondola including the all important forcula. They are made by hand. He now sells more of them around the world as art pieces than as their historical use in gondolas. He has another shop on the mainland, where once he acquires wood, he cuts it into smaller pieces and allows it to dry naturally. Each forcula is built specific to the customer, based on customer height and such. The pieces are finished with oil. The bottom part of the forcula is finished last once the gondola is built, so that is fits securely into the gondola.

Oars hang on the walls.
He demostrares how he outlines the shape.
All pieces are carved by hand.
A finished forcula.

We then went for a gondola ride, and I started paying attention to how it was operated. The gondola ride was quite nice and relaxing.

The gondolier is the oar in the forcula to reverse the gondola and change direction..
Oar in the normal position to go forward.

A few final notes. There are 433 licenses for gondoliers, and only one is held by a woman. There is a waiting list to get one. We were told there are about 500 gondolas working now, which numerically doesn’t add up. We were told there are extra for loaners during maintenance. However, since we were told they are made specific to the gondolier, I am not sure how loaners work.

Gondolas lined up near San Marco waiting for riders.
Gondoliers in traditional dress near Piazzo San Marco waiting for customers.

Venice

Today was my first full day in Venice for this trip. The day started with a walking tour by a local guide, who lives in Venice. We wondered through streets that I would have gotten completely lost in by myself. The guide pointed out not just how confusing the streets were in terms of layout, but also how they were named so unhelpfully. There are many streets who are named “field by the church” or “way to the sacristy”, but the streets never clarify which church they are near. The afternoon included a glass making demonstration and a walking tour near and including the Jewish ghetto. The original ghetto is in Venice. According to our guide the name comes from “ghèto“, which means foundry in Venetian, because the ghetto was founded near a foundry because when they decided to segregate the Jewish people in the 1500s, they forced them to live near land no one wanted live by. The tour that included the history of the ghetto, was perhaps the most fascinating part of today.

Another small church in Venice
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, now a museum, the spiral staircase used to be part of a family’s house. The family made money in the edible snail industry, so the spiral staircase is supposed to resemble the spiral in a snail’s shell.
Crossing yet another canal
Teatro la Fenice, Phoenix Theater
Ca’ d’ Oro on the Canal Grande
Walking along the main street which connects the train station and Piazzo San Marco
Entrance to the Jewish ghetto
The Jewish ghetto

Venice

I arrived in Venice, Italy for the start of my vacation in Italy and Croatia. After my plane landed at Marco Polo Venice airport, we were taken by van to essentially the other side fo the airport by the tour group with which we are traveling. From there, we boarded a small boat that is one of many that operate as water taxis. The boat took us directly to our hotel. Not a bad way to travel.

I am completely jet-lagged, but I walked around a bit to try to stay awake and get more tired, so I can get a really good night’s sleep tonight. I once read that you have not really been to Venice, until you have gotten lost there. I did not in fact get lost today, but there were a couple of times where I could have easily gotten lost. Venice is a series of twisting, narrow and wide, alleys and streets that intersect constantly in non-uniform manners. However, it is lovely here and so unique.

Church along the Canal Grande
Houses with pretty window boxes line small canals
Doorway that opens to a canal
Church along Canal Grande
Houses line a small canal
Church in a small square
Canal Grande