Travel to Venice | Italy
Hello everyone from Venice. We are staying here for two days. We arrived to Venice last night and rented a car at the airport. We came to our hotel in Mestre region. This hotel consists of this kind of tiny houses and we are staying here.
Now we will drive to Venice island. The district of Mestre is the mainland part of the historical island city of Venice. Mestre is connected to Venice by road and rail. This entire region is in the Veneto region of Italy. We parked our car in the multi-storey car park here because it is not possible to drive in Venice. Transportation is provided by foot or by sea. We walk towards the Piazzale Roma city entrance, which is the closest point we can reach by car, and our trip to Venice starts from here. Venice is located in northeastern Italy on 118 islands separated by canals and connected by bridges.
Historically, the Republic of Venice was a city-state and maritime republic that ruled around the present-day city of Venice on the Italian Peninsula between the 7th and 18th centuries. The city is located in the Venetian Lagoon, which runs along the coastline, between the deltas of the Po and Piave rivers, and is famous for its natural beauty, architecture and works of art. This city is on the World Heritage list in its entirety. At this point, on our left is the railway terminal, which serves as the entry point to the city, and on our right is the Grand Canal, the largest canal of Venice and connected to other smaller canals. On the opposite side of the canal, we see the San Simeone Piccolo church, built in 1738.
Today is February 4th and we coincided with the Venice carnival. The Venice Carnival takes place every year between February 4 and 21. People celebrate the festival by wearing interesting masks, which we will see here often during the trip. The church of Santa Maria di Nazareth is a Catholic church built in the Baroque Architecture style, dating back to 1680. Venice is one of the cities with the narrowest streets in the World, as it was established in the focus of maritime transportation. Transportation in daily life such as ambulance, police, construction equipment is provided entirely by channels. The continuous rise of the mean sea level in the World poses a threat to Venice.
Although continuous efforts are made to prevent floods, floods can occur throughout the year. Founded in 1261, San Giovanni Evangelista is the second oldest school in Venice. The basilica of Frari Santa Maria Gloriosa, built of brick and dating back to 1338, is one of the three most important churches built in the Italian Gothic architectural style. It has the second tallest bell tower after the belfry of San Marco. The Saint Roch church, built with Renaissance architecture, was built in 1508. The Scuola Grande di San Rocco museum was built with Renaissance architecture and dates back to 1478.
The museum is known for its collection of paintings by the famous painter Tintoretto. We came to Dolce Vita to have breakfast. After breakfast, a ferry cruise awaits us on the Grand Canal. Public transport tickets can be purchased from cashiers or vending machines. The small ferries that we have just bought tickets for are called Vaporetto. Vaporetto is a public water bus belonging to Venice, it has many yellow stops in Venice and also has regular services from Venice to many nearby islands.
The Grand Canal (Canal Grande) is the largest canal in Venice, approximately 4 km long, 30 to 70 m wide, up to 5 meters deep, and 45 other smaller canals are connected. Punta della Dogana is an art museum located in Dogana da Mar, dated 1682, one of Venice's oldest customs buildings. It is located at the confluence of the Grand Canal with the Giudecca Canal.
The Duca's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), built in the 14th century, is a Gothic style palace used by the Venetian duchies. Besides being a ducal palace, it was the political center of the Republic of Venice. It also hosted political institutions until the Napoleonic occupation. Built in 1602, the Bridge of Sighs was built over the canal of Rio di Palazzo. Formerly used to take prisoners to the interrogation rooms in the Venetian Genoa palace, this bridge was where the prisoners saw Venice for the last time before going to their cells, and was named after him. The San Marco bell tower is 98.6 meters high, standing at the corner of San Marco square in front of the Basilica. St. Mark's Square, the most visited square in Venice by tourists, has been called "Europe's Hall" and "Europe's most beautiful festival area" throughout history.
The history of the square dates back to the 9th century. Back then, the square was a place where dukes announced their decisions. St. Mark's Basilica is the most famous cathedral built with Byzantine architecture, located in St. Mark's Square. The building is adjacent and connected to the Duke's Palace. Since 1807 it has been the residence of the Patriarch of Venice. The Rialto bridge over the Grand Canal is the oldest bridge connecting the two sides of the city and is also a shopping center. Cannoli, a dessert unique to the island of Sicily, is made from fried dough. Cannoli means 'small pipe' and is prepared by putting cream or chocolate in a tube-shaped dough. Teatro La Fenice is an opera house and it is one of the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre and in the history of opera as a whole.
Venice has been one of the most important centers of glass art since the 1200s. Glass is still produced here by hand and it is transformed into a work of art. Tourists are very interested in these beautiful souvenirs. Italian glassmaking, which became integrated with Venice when Venetian glass masters established a guild in 1224, was gathered entirely on the island of Murano in 1291.
Gondolas, the symbol of Venice, have been produced by hand since the 14th century, and these gondolas, all black in color, have a special structure that can be controlled with a single oar. In the evening, Venice becomes even more beautiful with the reflections of light falling on the water. After this first day in Venice, which fascinates us with its history, we pass under the Rialto bridge and return to our hotel.
On our trip tomorrow, we will visit island of Murano, which can be reached by a 20-minute ferry ride from Venice. Parking fees in the Mestre area are more affordable than on the island of Venice. We will leave our car here today and go to Venice island by tram and then to Murano island by ferry.
When we set foot on the island, the inscription "cam, which means glass" welcomes us. While wandering the streets of the island, which has been an elite settlement with the factories and houses of wealthy glass merchants for years, the crowded view we encountered in Venice leaves its place to a calm here. After breakfast in Murano, our tour on the island continues. We have said that construction machines also provide transportation through channels in this way.
As we continue our walk, I take a short break from the narration and leave you alone with this calmness. Here we see a historical stone-built church. Since it is Sunday today, worship is done inside. We complete our tour in Murano by passing through the stone roads and set off for Venice again. The island of Isola di San Michele in the Venetian Lagoon was originally created by combining the islands of San Michele and San Cristoforo and was used as a city cemetery.
Venice was an independent republic for over 1,000 years, between 727 and 1797, and an organized healthcare system developed very early on. In 1224, a Leper hospital was established on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio and was probably the first place where quarantine was imposed in Italy. In 1478, the plague had devastated Venice. This St. John and Paul hospital built in those years is still actively used and ambulance sea buses are in operation as you can see here. The Scuola Grande di San Marco was founded as a hospital in 1260 by the Fellowship of San Marco, but was destroyed by a great fire in 1485 and was rebuilt over the next two decades with a fund established by the members. Now it is a medical museum.
Located right next to the building, Santi Giovanni e Paolo, also known as San Zanipolo, is a large gothic church with the tombs of the Venetian dukes. It is called the Pantheon, the largest temple of Venice. There is also a large equestrian statue in this wide square, which houses the famous Gothic church. Parrocchiale di Santa Maria Formosa Church was designed by Renaissance architect Mauro Codussi in 1492. We mentioned that the Venice carnival, which will last about 1 month, started yesterday. As you can see here, people celebrate this carnival with various costumes and masks.
According to one view, it is stated that the tradition of celebration began with the celebration of the victory over Ulrich II in 1162. That day was celebrated with street celebrations, games, dancing people, and bonfires. According to another view, the basis of the Venetian carnival is based on Pagan culture.
In addition to the masks, which was the concept of that year, various mask-clothing combinations are also preferred at this carnival. The beaked plague doctor masks, designed during the plague epidemic, also known as the Black Death, which took place in Europe in the 14th century, continue to be popular at this carnival. Fondaco dei Turchi is a palace built in the 13th century by Cakomo Palmier and located on the grand canal. It started to be called the Turkish Inn, especially with the use of Turkish merchants who came to Venice. On the opposite bank of its location is the San Marcuola Station. Today it houses the Natural History Museum of Venice. We come to Rossopomodoro restaurant to have our last lunch in Venice. The name of this place means red tomato.
It is said that the best pizza in Venice is made here. Let's try this. Our trip ends here. Thank you for watching. See you on the next trip, goodbye.
2023-03-24 22:56
