The Veneto Revisited – Venezia Day 2

Today, we recover from yesterday's relocation, the art overload (Basilica San Marco), and the (literal) deluge. The weather app reports a decent day, and the sun warms our roof terrace, where shoes are out to dry. But the air is thick with haze, and our view of the Campanile is misty.

The washing machine is humming as we settle into our waterless, roof-top oasis in Venezia (pop 258,685 in 2020).

 

 

The destination of our morning walk is the vaporetto stop at Fondamente Nove. The Ponte di Rialto is on the way, so we stop for some pictures; it is just starting to get crowded. We help a young couple with a baby stroller and wonder how they will manage the alleys and canal crossings. But they exude positive energy and seem excited to enjoy the day ahead.

We cross one of the wider canals, the Rio de Santa Caterina, to the Campo dei Gesuiti, with its tall blocks and the facade of the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta (I Gesuiti, eighteenth century). 

For a day of island-hopping, our first port of call is Murano Faro. But first we need to untangle which of the four stops at Fondamente Nove is correct (it's 'B') and where to buy the tickets. To makes things easy, we purchase the all-day passes. After the acqua alta yesterday, maybe the driest place in Venezia is on a boat.

 

 

The island of Murano is famous for glassmaking, and after seeing the mosaics in San Marco, we understand why – every surface is covered in glass. While waiting at Fondamente Nove, we see the walled island of San Michele, which looks like a fancy estate, but is, in fact, the cimiterio.

Looking back from the vaporetto, we get a view of the towers of Venezia: the elegant campanile of San Francesco della Vigna (facade by Palladio, sixteenth century) near the walls of the Arsenale, the great domes of the Basilica e Santi Giovanni e Paolo (San Zanipolo, fifteenth century) and Santa Maria della Salute (seventeenth century), and the campanile of San Marco.

On Murano, we find a new scale, like a smaller and older Venezia that never grew up. For sure, there is a different energy, the street buskers playing glass goblets instead of guitars. The grand churches are nowhere to be found, and happily, the sidewalks are puddle-free.

 

 

 

 

We have an appointment with Vetreria Artistica Gino Mazzuccato to see a glassmaking demonstration. This area of Murano is centered on the Rio dei Vetrai, a shopping 'street' along the canal with furnaces behind the storefronts. The glassworks on offer are a wild mix of tiny, trinkety figurines (it's almost Halloween) and show-stopping chandeliers.

The demonstration is already underway when we arrive, but the assistant brings us up to speed. Between blasts from the master's blow torch, he explains how the pieces are tinted, formed, and finished. And afterwards, of course, he leads us to the showroom.

 

 

Lunch (remarkably good) is in Mazzorbo, a smaller island in the northeast corner of the lagoon. At the eastern end of the island, the Ponte Longo connects Mazzorbo with Burano. The Map app takes us there, down a dirt path, past a small tower, and through a strange, swampy, walled vineyard (Venissa). We have faith in Siri.

Burano is the famous lace-making island. In contrast to Murano, all the color is on the architecture and the craft pieces are monochromatic. Our walk to the Museo dei Merletto is a joy, and at the end of it, some exceptional gelato.

 

 

 

 

 

Torcello is our last stop, it we continue to go back in time. The vaporetto drops us at the end of a brick road, and it's an unexpectedly long walk to the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta (seventh to eleventh centuries). In between, there's not a lot to see – though there is a park where there seemed to be some dinosaurs (?) near the Ponte del Diavolo. Still the island is flat, lush, uncrowded, and above the waterline.

But Torcello is also threatened by acqua alta. The Basilica is quite old, and the conservation effort there is immense. The Basilica complex includes the Campanile (eleventh century) and the Chiesa di Santa Fosca (ninth to twelfth centuries).

 

 

 

 

Inside, pictures are not allowed. A large and active woman makes sure the rules are followed. So, the images below come from our search of the archive on Wikimedia.

In the east apse is the monumental figure of La Madonna Odigitria (eleventh and twelfth centuries). Madonna stands with the Christ child, and gestures to Him. The iconography ties this early Venetian settlement with Byzantium and Constantinople. Just above the arch, an Annunciazione scene, as the archangel Gabriele calls across to Maria. Below, the Twelve Apostles and a small central mosaic to Sant'Eliodorus, patron saint of Torcello.

On the west wall is the Giudizio Universale (eleventh century), an image very similar to the Cappella degli Scrovegni. Christ sits in the nimbus on Judgement Day, with the Twelve Apostles. A pair of cherubini attend the nimbus and another pair of six-winged serafini lift the cross. Angels left and right separate the worthy from the wicked with their trumpets.

As the beasts begin to feast, Maria holds up her hands and asks, angels or devils? The text over the arch says: "Virgo Di natum prece pulsa terge reatum" [Virgin born of God pray wipe away the guilt]. And San Michele, holding a set of scales, confronts Satan's warriors. The images of the skulls with snakes (the envious), floating heads with jewels (the greedy), and loose body parts (the slothful) are darkly entertaining.

The Anastasi (twelfth century) is in the register above the Giudizio Universale,and is similar to San Marco's. Christ breaks down the doors of Hell, restrains Satan with His foot, and recovers Adam and Eve. His ancestors Kings Davide and Solomone are just behind Him, while San Giovanni Battista (in camel hair robe) gestures and the Apostles applaud.

In the top register, the Crocifissione accompanies the Anastasi, with Maria and San Giovanni Evangelista.

The recently conserved Cristo Pantocratore (twelfth and thirteenth centuries) occupies the half-dome of the lateral chapel. It shows Christ, offering blessing, between the archangels Michele and Gabriele – the same figures on either end of the Anastasi, with similar orbs, sign boards, and patterned robes.

 

Wikimedia Commons: east apse, west wall

 

Wikimedia Commons: west wall left detail, west wall right detail

 

Wikimedia Commons: side chapel, west wall lower detail

Torcello is a surprising pleasure, made better by the thinner crowds and dry conditions. Though we cannot take pictures, we can enjoy the mosaics and artwork without the distraction of other phones and cameras. While Murano and Burano are younger versions of Venezia, Torcello is, by comparison, an infant. If, as Rick Steve describes, Venezia personifies 'elegant decay', Torcello may express a discarded sorrow. And yet, it is no less magnificent.

The vaporetti are fantastic for sightseeing and island hopping. They offer the best views of Venezia, certainly a city best seen from the water (and not in it).