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Sunday morning we rose early and had a delicious breakfast on the outside patio of the Cucina Restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel..

A sailing boat in Venice harbour

We went down to the hotel dock and had to wait about 20mins for the shuttle to arrive and take us across the lagoon to a dock right outside St Mark’s Square. It was our plan to go into the Basilica and the Doges Palace but the Square was already crowded by 10:00. There were queues outside both of the buildings and we joined the one at the Basilica. We then discovered that it was only opening at 13:00, three hours away. As we only had the one day to do some exploring of the city we decided to do that and come back at a later time.

The City of Venice is the capital and the administrative centre of the Veneto region in north-eastern Italy. It consists of 118 small islands in a shallow lagoon between the Po and the Piave rivers and accessing anywhere is by boat. As said in the blog on Murano and Burano, this includes all the emergency services. It is known for its beautiful architecture and ancient artworks which are eye-catching. We walked up and down narrow lanes looking in shops and eating places. The most interesting shop we saw was one filled with costumes and masks and we learnt that they are examples of what is worn during the Venetian Carnival. It is believed to have begun after the victory of the Venetian Republic over the Patriarch of Aquiliea in 1162. People began to gather and dance in St Mark’s Square. It was held annually until 1797 when it was outlawed entirely by the Holy Roman Empire and the Emperor of Austria. Masks were banned altogether. Since the late 19th Century it has been held occasionally to celebrate private feasts. We purchased 2 masks which would be described as bling these days and they have made 2 teenage girls very happy.

The mask and costume shop

We returned to the Square just after 13:00 where we were reminded that St Mark’s Basilica is a stunning building but there was quite a bit of updating reconstruction taking place. It was built in the 9th Century to house the rescued remains of St Mark which were going to be destroyed in Algeria. There are over 500 columns and about 43 000 sq ft of gold mosaics so we were really keen to see these which were inside the building. We were saddened to see that the queue to get into the Basilica had been cut off as it was only open until 16:45 on Sundays. Similarly with Doges Palace. Visiting the Square on a Sunday is not recommended unless you like standing in queues and doing little else. We decided to do more back-lane exploring which we always enjoy.

The front entrance to the Basilica

The Tower, which is the Bell Tower or Campanile of the Basilica but on the opposite side of the Square, stands 98.6m high, has a permanent queue of people waiting to take the lift to the top. The views across the city from up there are said to be really beautiful.

The Bell Tower

The Doges Palace, probably built in the 10th or 11th Century, was built on the basis of a fortified central core. Many believe that a Doge was a Duke but that is incorrect. A Doge was the most senior of elected officials in the Republics of Genoa and Venice. It was here that the Doge of Venice resided for his term of office. The Palace has been extended and decorated over the centuries, the first extension being in 1424, creating a large and beautiful building. It is on the same side as the Basilica and, with the extensions, is almost attached to it.

Side view of Doges Palace

Directly opposite the Palace is the Biblioteca Marciana or Library of St Mark. It was first planned in 1498 when Bishop Bessarion donated his vast collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts and said that a public library was to be built to house the collection. Government offices have been housed there but, today, the building is mainly a museum but also has the largest collection of ancient manuscripts anywhere and is frequently used by researchers.

The Library and shops on the ground floor

The Clock Tower, also known as Torre dell’Orologio, is on the North side of the Square close to the Basilica. It is part of a Renaissance Building and is one of the most famous landmarks in Venice. It is over and arch which links St Mark’s Square with the main shopping street of Venice. The idea of building this clock as a replacement for an old one was taken in 1493 but it was only finally unveiled on 1 February 1499.

The Clock Tower

There is just one statue in the Square, that of Marco Polo, a merchant, explorer and writer who was born in Venice in about 1254. He is most famous for his travels on the Silk Road to Asia in the late 13th Century. He was not the only explorer to reach China but Marco Polo was the first to chronicle his travels there and his book inspired many other explorers, including Christopher Columbus. He died in 1324, leaving a lasting mark on the world of travel and trade.

Marco Polo

Although we hadn’t managed to see inside the Basilica and Doges Palace, we did have a lovely day seeing other parts of Venice. We saw lots of gondolas travelling up and down the canals but the cost of a 10minute ride was ridiculous – 85 Euros per person (over R1500 in SA money). Other interesting vehicles we saw were Water Buses which stopped at allocated bus stops on the canals.

Visitors taking a gondola ride

Early in the evening we had a light supper at one of the eateries and made our way back to the hotel to prepare to leave for Genoa by train the following day.