A Day in Venice

Yesterday Dana and I hopped aboard Tren Italia to spend a day in Venice.





As many times as we have visited Venice, I had never been inside any of the museums. So Dana and I decided to spend a day "inside" Venice.




Our first stop was the Doge's Palace. The palace housed government rooms as well as serving as home for the Venetian ruler (at the time) known as the Doge or Duke. For four centuries (about 1150 to 1550) this was the most powerful half acre in Europe. The Doges wanted it to reflect the wealth of the Republic, impressing visitors and serving as a reminder that the Venetians were number on one in Europe. It was beautiful inside.




This is a picture taken from inside the Bridge of Sighs. People found to be guilty of crimes were taken from the Doge's Palace to the prisons by way of the Bridge of Sighs. It's said that they would look out the window to catch one last glance of beautiful Venice, and they would sigh. We went into the prison cells, they were pretty dark and horrible, they had reason to sigh.




Here is a picture of Dana standing in front of the Bridge of Sighs.




Next we went into St. Mark's Cathedral. I had been inside a few times, but Dana had not, I was able to enjoy it this time without my darling children at my side. It is a beautiful cathedral with gold mosaics all over. The floor is marble mosaics, also beautiful.





We were also able to visit the Accademia Gallery, which houses some very big, very beautiful art. If I had to choose a favorite piece inside the Accademia, it would probably be the Procession in Piazza San Marco. Although I really enjoyed seeing all of the pieces.






We had a pretty good pizza at an outdoor cafe. And we enjoyed a gelato while standing on the Rialto Bridge watching the gondolas and boats down below. We had a great day, I really am grateful for this time we have had to live in Italy!