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Tuesday 30th April, 2013. Venice, Veneto, Italy (Day 2)
We disembarked the ship and walked to Piazzale Roma. We went to the same cafe as yesterday and posted our blog for Split.
We then embarked on a walking tour of the nearby locale using the guide and map we bought yesterday. D put his tour guide hat on once again. First we went to St Rocco Church and the Guildhall of St Rocco. The church was founded at the beginning of the 15th century and was rebuilt in the 18th century. The church contains works by G Marchiori, S Ricci and numerous works by J Tintoretto. Next to the church is the Scuola Grande di San Rocco (the Guildhall of St Rocco). This was built in the first half of the 16th century and is the home of an extraordinary cycle of canvases by J Tintoretto. Some of these portray scenes from the New Testament. Tintoretto used scenes from the Old Testament on the ceiling of the Upper Hall. We did not go inside the Guildhall as we were short of time. We took a picture from the outside.
Next we walked on to the church of Sta
Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Once known as Ca'Grande erected between 1236 and 1338 this was replaced in the 14th century with a grandiose Gothic Franciscan style edifice with a nave, two aisles and 7 chapels. The 14th century bell tower is one of the highest in Venice. The Basilica is one of the most important sacred buildings because of the artworks that it houses including Titian's 'The Altarpiece of the Assumption' (1516-18) intended by the artist for the high alter. Other works are the 'Triptych of the Virgin' by Giovanni Bellini which is considered one of the masterpieces of 15th century Venetian Art and the wooden statue of St John the Baptist, a superb piece of work by Donatello. Again we did not go inside because we were very short of time.
Then we went to the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista. This is the Guildhall of St John the Evangelist dating from the 14th Century. Although work started in the 14th century the building was not finished for another two centuries so features elements of both Gothic and Renaissance art. The grand staircase in the interior, designed by M Codussi, leads to the Great Salon where you
can see more paintings by Tintoretto. The ceiling is beautifully frescoed by Angeli, Guarana, Tiepolo and Marieschi.
We strolled along the canals where we watched the Gondoliers transporting the tourists around the city. We headed to the 9th century church of San Giacomo dell'Orio. Successive alterations were made during the 13th and 14th centuries. Beside the church stands the bell tower which is a Veneto-Byzantine construction from the 12th century. This building was very disappointing so we didn't even bother to take a photo.
We then returned to Piazzale Roma via Corte Canal and Campo della Lana where we picked up a few more supplies before returning to the ship. We had a curry lunch and a couple of glasses of Italian red wine with some cheese and watched Venice go by again (in the rain) as we set sail for our next stop. We went to the quiz and finished second so no snazzy lapel pins today. We had team mates this time from the USA.
In the evening we were joined again by our Canadian friends Bill (Clark Kent) and Jennifer. It was a formal night so we had our 'glad rags' on again (thanks
Trish for the loan of the outfit!) There was no show tonight and the clocks are going forward an hour again so we retired to our cabin. We are both looking forward to a sea day tomorrow as we are absolutely shattered!
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Church of San Rocco
