Today we have a full day planned and with the Islands tour to start at 9:30 we felt we needed to get an early start. As it turned out we had extra time to walk along the pier and enjoy the views of buildings and the water while we waited for the tour to begin.
We got into a tour boat which actually was quite large. We headed out into the Venian Lagoon. The Venetian Lagoon is the enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Venetian language, Laguna Veneta— cognate of Latin lacus, "lake"— has provided the international name for an enclosed, shallow embayment of saltwater, a lagoon.
The Venetian Lagoon stretches from the River Sile in the north to the Brenta in the south, with a surface area of around 550 km² (212 sq. miles). It is around 8% land, including Venice itself and many smaller islands. About 11% is permanently covered by open water, or canal, as the network of dredged channels are called, while around 80% consists of mud flats, tidal shallows and salt marshes. The lagoon is the largest wetland in the Mediterranean Basin.
It is connected to the Adriatic Sea by three inlets. Sited at the end of a largely enclosed sea, the lagoon is subject to high variations in water level, the most extreme being the spring tides known as the acqua alta (Italian for "high waters"), which regularly flood much of Venice. Currently there is a breakwater dam being built to provide protection.
The Lagoon of Venice is the most important survivor of a system of estuarine lagoons that in Roman times extended from Ravenna north to Trieste. In the sixth century, the Lagoon gave security to Romanised people fleeing invaders (mostly the Huns). Later, it provided naturally protected conditions for the growth of the Venetian Republic and its maritime empire. It still provides a base for a seaport, the Venetian Arsenal, and for fishing, as well as a limited amount of hunting and the newer industry of fish farming.
Our first stop on the tour was Murano. Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about 1.5 km (1 mile) across with a population of just over 5,000. It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking. At first, the island prospered as a fishing port and through production of salt. In 1291, all the glassmakers in Venice were forced to move to Murano due to the risk of fires. In the following century, exports began, and the island became famous, initially for glass beads and mirrors. Aventurine glass was invented on the island, and for a while Murano was the main producer of glass in Europe. The island later became known for chandeliers. We had a tour of a glass making factory where we watch a couple of demonstrations of glass pulling to create shapes and glass blowing to create a vase.
Our next stop was Burano. Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, although like Venice itself it could more correctly be called an archipelago of four islands linked by bridges. It lies near Torcello at the northern end of the Lagoon, and is known for its lacework. Burano is also known for its small, brightly-painted houses, popular with artists. The colours of the houses follow a specific system originating from the golden age of its development; if someone wishes to paint their home, one must send a request to the government, who will respond by making notice of the certain colours permitted for that lot. This practice has resulted in the myriad of warm, pastel colours that characterises the island today. When asked about the history for these colors we were told that it was a way for fishermen to locate and landmark home base.
Last Island on the tour is the Torcello Island. Torcello is a quiet and sparsely populated island at the northern end of the Venetian Lagoon. It is considered the oldest continuously populated region of Venice, and once held the largest population of the Republic of Venice. After the downfall of the Roman Empire, Torcello was one of the first lagoon islands to be successively populated by those Veneti who fled the terra firma (mainland) to take shelter from the recurring barbarian invasions, especially after Attila the Hun had destroyed the city of Altinum and all of the surrounding settlements in 452. Torcello rapidly grew in importance as a political and trading centre: In the 10th century it had a population of at least 10,000 people and was much more powerful than Venice. The lagoon around the island of Torcello gradually became a swamp from the 12th century onwards and Torcello’s heyday came to an end a navigation in the dead lagoon was impossible before long and the growing swamps seriously aggravated the malaria situation. As a result the population abandoned the worthless island bit by bit and left for Murano, Burano or Venice. It now has a population of around 8 people. Today's main attraction is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, founded in 639. Other attractions include the 11th and 12th century Church of Santa Fosca, which is surrounded by a porticus in form of a Greek cross, and a museum housed in two fourteenth century palaces.
Everywhere we went we say masks on sale. Of course this raised a question for us and we learned about The Carnival of Venice. This is an annual festival, held in Venice. The Carnival starts around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. Carnival started as a time for celebration and expression throughout the classes, as wearing masks hid any form of identity between social classes.
We are leaving tomorrow and started to consider the issue of getting to the railway station in time for the bus. Since breakfast is served at 8 and the bus leaves at 9:20 we decided we needed to check out the time the water ferry leaves from Plazza S. Marco. It was a shock to learn that the ferry does not leave until 9:01 and they told us to allow up to 40 minutes for the canal journey. We had talked to a fellow traveller on the tour today who told us she walked from the railway station in about 40 minutes so we decided that we should plan to walk in the morning. However, if you have ever been to Venice, you will learn that walking the lanes can be like walking a maze. So we got out our map and decided to make the walk to today and back to be sure we knew that way.
We headed out and actually did really well navigating the narrow lanes and bridges over canals by getting off track only once. (not lost since we simply realized we missed a turn and back tracked until we found it) About half way we met a couple also on their way to the railway station and they were totally lost. They decided to follow us since they had more confidence in our skills than their own (silly people). However, we took about 45 minutes and arrived at the railway station. Then we discovered that the bus station was not at the railway station as we had been told, but actually about 5 minutes walk away. So we figured out where the bus would be in the morning and studied the map again. From this location we decided that a more direct route back to Plazza S. Marco was possible and it was different than the one we just discovered. Oh well, we can learn this one on the way back and it was actually very straight forward. It took us about 35 minutes to walk back. Now you may wonder about all this traipsing around would be a waste of time, but really this was a fantastic way to explore the streets of Venice.
I am sure someone is wondering why we are taking a bus but there is no train from Venice directly to Salzburg. However the train company runs the bus from Venice to connect to the train on to Salzburg.
When we got back to Plazza S. Marco we still had the passes to attend the rest of the museums in the plaza. So we tracked down the entrance which is entered by the ceremonial stairway in the Ala Napoleonica (Napoleonic Wing) at the western end of the Plazza. The three museums we walked through are: Museo Correr, Museo Archaelogico, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.
The Museo Correr is the civic museum of Venice, located in the Piazza San Marco, and the museum extends along the south side of the Piazza (the left side of the picture on the right) on the upper floors of the Procuratorie Nuove. The museum holds art, documents, artifacts, and maps that chart the history and daily life of Venice across the centuries. The Napoleonic Wing has sumptuous Neoclassical decoration and houses a noteworthy collection of works by Antonio Canova.
Museo Archeologico was not that impressive as far as we were concerned since we had just been in Rome. The collection offers a unique opportunity to compare Classical archeological finds with "modern" Renaissance art.
The National Library of St Mark's is a library and Renaissance building in Venice, northern Italy It is one of the earliest surviving public manuscript depositories in the country, holding one of the greatest classical texts collections in the world. The library is named after St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice.
By this time we have had a full day and we are ready for a break. Once again we walked until our feet were really trying to tell us to lay off for a bit. I think that walking is easier than moving through a gallery or museum but regardless 8 hours on our feet is a lot of time. Tomorrow we head out to Salzburg, Austria.
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