1000 Places to See Before You Die 16 - Venice, Italy

I love Italy. Back in 2005 I spent 4 weeks Interrailing down the country with a good friend of mine. I remember that time as filled with sunshine, amazing sights and lots of gelato. I also remember long train rides, sweating profusely in the summer heat and constantly being stressed out about finding the next hostel. But let’s not dwell on that bit!

During this epic trip we went to Venice for a day. We squeezed it in between an early morning train from Milan and a late train to Bologna. We decided to do it like this because we had heard that Venice would be quite expensive, but we didn’t want to miss it. And I do feel like we made the most of our day there. 

We went to Piazza San Marco to look at St Mark’s Basilica. This cathedral was first built in 828 AD to house the supposed relics of Mark the Evangelist. In 978 the church was restored or rebuilt after a fire, but the oldest parts of the present church probably date to 1063. The building style is Byzantine with features that resemble those of mosques. Outside are copies of the Quadriga, four antique horse sculptures looted from Constantinople in 1204 AD. The originals are now kept in the museum inside the cathedral. Inside the cathedral are a number of treasures stemming from the time when Venice was a world player in international trade. Byzantine mosaics cover the ceilings, St Mark’s sarcophagus is placed under 4 pillars and behind the alter you can see the Pala d'Oro, one of the biggest treasure of the church; an alterpiece consisting of gold with more than 2000 jewels and panels of enamel. This is a Catholic church, so beware that you will need to cover your shoulders and knees to enter. 

Piazza San Marco, or St Mark’s Square in English, is the main square of Venice. The basilica is placed at one end along with the bell tower (campanile). This tower is the highest building in the Venice skyline and you can enter and climb to the top for a spectacular view of the city and its surroundings. The tower is a replica from the 1900s, as the original tower dating from the 8th century, suddenly and inexplicably toppled over in 1902. 

Close by the Piazza you can find the Museo Correr. This museum houses a vast collection of everything from icons, Roman statues, old paintings and modern art. My diary says it was very interesting but quite exhausting, as it continued on and on. 

After a gelato we tackled another museum; Palazzo Ducale. This used to be the official residence of the doges (the leaders of the time), the seat of government and it also housed the prisons. It was established in the 9th century, but the present form probably stems from around 500 years later. We spent most of our time looking for the two “gigantic” statues of Mars and Neptune flanking the stairs by the former main entrance (this is now the exit), and once we found them we were slightly disappointed, as they turned out to be only slightly larger than life-size. The highlights of the museum are considered to be the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) leading to the prisons, the private chambers of the doge and the meeting hall. The museum is noted as “very interesting” in my diary from the day, but I must confess that all the guilt interiors, paintings and mosaics blend together for me now. 

Venice houses a number of museums, so be sure to do your research as to which ones you want to see, if you only have limited time. I felt like we did pretty good with these two museums, but other options are the Galleria dell'Accademia, the biggest museum in Venice housing a vast collection of Venetian masters from the 13th to the 18th centuries, Chiesa dei Frari, a Franciscan church from the 13th and 14th centuries housing a number of masterpieces from among others Titian and Donatello, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, one of the finest collections of modern art in the world. There are even more than these, so again, do your research, so you spend your time wisely here. 

We tried finding our way on foot through the city, but that turned out to be virtually impossible. We kept hitting dead ends and circling around ourselves. In the end we decided to take the taxi ferry. This is the less romantic, but more affordable version of taking a gondola. You get to experience a canal ride, but rather than floating along peacefully you need to use your elbows a bit to get a good view of the city as you amble along. If you have time and money, by all means treat yourself to a gondola ride. It will definitely be more relaxing than the public taxi ferries. 

Crowds on the taxi ferry

Gondola riders

Venice is defintely a place to see before you die and I wouldn't even mind going for a second time and spending a bit more time here. 

All facts are from "1000 Places to See Before You Die" by Patricia Schultz, Wikipedia and the Lonely Planet guide book on Italy.