Venice

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http://www.heygo.com 29th January

Venice



We started our virtual tour today with Andrea in the Accademia area in the San Marco district of Venice.

The Accademia Gallery located at the the foot of the Academy Bridge. In the early 18th century, while Venice was a thriving community of artists, painters were members of an artisan union and unlike other large cities there was no art academy. Its foundation was realized in December of 1766 when the Senate ordered the construction of an Academy of sculpture, painting and civil architecture, similar to those of the main cities of Italy and Europe.

The history of grand Venetian art is on display at the Accademia, sadly closed at the moment due to Covid restrictions.



We crossed over the Accademia Bridge but not before pausing to take in two of the best views in Venice, looking along the Grand Canal in each direction. On one side lies the dome of Santa Maria della Salute, and on the other is the quieter bend which eventually takes the canal towards the Rialto Bridge.

The bridge was first erected on this spot in the nineteenth century, providing a useful lower crossing of the Grand Canal. The 1854 iron bridge, commissioned by the Austrians, was replaced in 1932-33 with a wooden design,

A competition had been held to select a new design, but none of the entries were sufficiently convincing: Miozzi's bridge was put up as a temporary solution and has become a favourite landmark. The structure was replaced in 1986, but to the same plans of the 1930’s wooden design.



Several important buildings were pointed out to us by Andrea, one story he told was of Peggy Guggenheims private palazzo & museum, arguably the greatest art collector and patron of the 20th century. She eventually opened her private collection to the public, and it soon became one of the most popular museums in Italy and the most visited in Venice.

After she died in 1979, Peggy Guggenheim’s ashes were interred in her palazzo connected to the museum. Here you can visit & see the stately plaque commemorating the art lover. The plaque next to Peggy’s eulogize those she loved most. It’s not one of her many lovers or her ex-husband but to her beloved “babies,” her 14 Lhasa Apsos - Cappuccino, Peacock, Pegeen, Toro, Foglia, Madam Butterfly, Baby, Emily, White Angel, Sir Herbert, Sable, Gypsy, Hong Kong, and Cellida interred next to her so that they might spend the afterlife together.



We wandered through the narrow alleys as people went about their work.

One of these alleys we visited, tucked away and almost hidden was the rear of Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo

During the late fifteenth century renovation works updated the architecture to meet the modern Renaissance taste by constructing a spiral staircase known as “bovolo” (venetian word that means “snail”).



Another interesting street we passed - Rio Terà belongs to the family of venetian streets with their varied names.

It was a custom in Venice to pave some of the canals that where not in constant use, transforming them into streets secondary small streets, like the Rio Terra dei Assassini that got it’s name from the many robberies and murders that it saw.



An intriguing story how a door of an old armoury was opened from the outside without any visible keyhole. That got everyone guessing for sure.

We passed an area with gondola boats all lined up and I thought it looked familiar, this is where we boarded our gondola ride back in 2008 with our friends Pat & David Deeks on a Titan Tour of Italy.



Eventually we emerged into the iconic San Marco square, I have been to Venice times and visited this square but never are I see it like today, looking quite eerie without tourists.

Andrea will be giving another tour around San Marco so I had better book that up before it gets full.

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