Venice, Italy

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Sophomore year I signed up for a May term in Europe and what an experience it was! I spent almost three weeks traveling to four different countries and being a total tourist, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. My professor took us around going to many museums, churches and a handful of other extremely interesting places.

We prepared ourselves for a few months and then in May it was time to head out. From New Jersey the flight was nearly seven hours long and not very enjoyable, but besides that the trip is certainly worth it. We landed in Frankfurt and then took another hour long flight to Venice.

Since there are no streets in Venice, the Grand Canal takes you throughout the city. It is the major water traffic corridor in the city so spend some time looking at the gorgeous architecture throughout the city. Make sure you take a ride at night and enjoy the beauty. Running through the city is tricky to do with all your luggage so make sure after your drop off all you luggage to take a more leisurely stroll. Jet lag was a major factor, making my whole group exhausted and slightly cranky. Although we all insisted on taking a quick nap after running throughout the city trying to find our hotel, jet lag did not keep us down!

We headed out into the heart of Venice. Our first stop was the Basilica Di San Marco. The basilica has an interesting history; it was built for St. Mark’s final resting place after his body was smuggled out of Alexandria in 828. The byzantine structure has replicas of the four famous horsed looted in 1204 from Constantinople. The Roman Catholic Church is one of the most richly embellished churches throughout the world, so stop by and take a look at all the great treasures. (Some times it benefits taking a trip with a History Professor)

The next spot we went to was the San Giorgio Maggiore, Another church built in the 8-9th century. The church is nice but head up to the bell tower which gives you a stunning view of Venice. To get to the top you must take an elevator that only allows eight people making it an extremely tight fit. Pictures were a must up there, but try and plan to make sure the bells don’t go off while you are up there. The bells are extremely loud and go on forever so make sure you are prepared for it (Professor thought it was hilarious to NOT prepare us for the bells).

After some genuine Italian food (which is an absolute must!) we headed to the Doge’s Palace. The palace use to be the residence of the Doge of Venice, but now it is more of a museum. You can walk through the palace and look at all the amazing paintings done by famous Venetian painters. The pink and white marble structure is meant to impress visitors arriving by ship, and it certainly does just that. Make sure you walk through the Bridge of Sighs which connects the palace with the Palazzo delle Prigioni. The Palazzo delle Prigioni is where the prisoners were held after being judged. Look out the tiny windows and you can get the same view as those convicted so many years ago.

After hanging out in the Doge’s Palace we headed to the heart of Venice, Piazza San Marco. Shopping and eating is great in this area. I spent time getting bombarded with pigeons which land on you and just hang out on your arm or head. Walk around and enjoy yourself, but don’t sit down at the tables unless you plan to buy something otherwise they will kick you out!

Murano is were we spent the rest of the day. The boat ride there took a good amount of time, but it was completely worth it. Murano is famous for the glass making that goes on, which is really fascinating to watch. (While watching, the announcer states that this is a tradition that is passed down from generation to generation and only those in the family know the secret to it. My group leader said that the man doing the glass making was as much Italian as he was Japanese, he is French). You can walk around and shop a little for some great souvenirs and enjoy your time, but don’t miss the boat!

My last day of Venice we went to the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, say that name five times fast! This church is one of the greatest churches in Venice with gorgeous Italian Gothic style that features a plain exterior but an impressive interior. Make sure you were appropriate clothing for your church excursions otherwise you may not be allowed inside.

The first of many museums on this trip was the Gallerie Dell’Accademia. Venice’s largest museum contains art from the 13th century with art from famous painters Bellini and Carpaccio. Although some paintings were interesting, I found the museum to be a little on the boring side with a lot of similar paintings. Don’t get me wrong though, I would still recommend going.

Venice all together is an interesting city, filled with history, but I probably wouldn’t return to it. The water in the canal is rather gross and the city has more tourist then Venetians due to how expensive it is to live there. I did not get to do a gondola ride which I do regret, but it was to expensive and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be that close to the water. Try not to get lost, it is very easy to realize you don’t recognize anything around you so good luck!


"My favorite thing is to go where I have never gone." ~ Diane Arbus

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Photos

Pretty
View from San Giorgio Maggiore