A Venetian Morning

With a full nights worth of rest, I woke up at about 6 am and made it out into Venice before the town was overrun with tourists. I took the slow Vapporetto down the canal and then made my way to the Rialto Bridge before walking back to the hotel to get breakfast. After breakfast, we went to Frari church and then made it back to the buses to head to Verona.

A full nights rest is definitely something that is underrated. Most people, myself included, tend to stay up too late then sleep away the day as our bodies try to catch up on sleep so when I made it back to the hotel and got into bed at a reasonable hour, I found myself awake at about 6am, leaving me with even more time to explore Venice and get some pictures that I had missed the day before.

First, I hopped on a Vapporetto at the train station, Vapporetto 1 (the slow Vapporetto that stops at every stop on the canal) and, with nobody to block my view, I sat in the very front and took pictures of the canal as we drifted down the canal.

I was amazed at how peaceful the canal was in the morning. The cool, crisp air seemed to bring the town to life. I found myself enjoying the peace and quiet, the sights of Venice slowly drifting by… it was a wonderful way to start the morning. I found myself only wishing I had Molly beside me to share the moment with but beyond that, it was a great morning.  Knowing the crowds were going to be light, I took the faster Vapporetto back up the canal to the Rialto Bridge where I got a few more pictures.

With the time having expired on my Vapporetto pass, I walked back to the hotel but was in no great hurry. On my way back, I found my favorite canal in Venice.

That picture is taken from Ponte Bernardo and was one of the only canals I found that had a good view of a campanile while looking down a canal from a bridge.

I made my way back to the hotel, made the most out of the free buffet breakfast and headed to Frari church with my roommate.

Frari church is a wildly impressive church that finds itself off the beaten path of common tourists in Venice. Typically, day trippers skip the lesser known Frari church for the likes of St. Mark's Basilica and other tourist staples in Venice. I likely would have also skipped Frari church if it weren't for my art loving roommate and the general closeness of Frari church to the hotel. Friars got permission to construct a church in 1250 and weren't the quickest of moving to actually get a church constructed. By the time the first Frari church was completed in 1338, plans were already in the works to build a far grander church that they would not outgrow (especially before its completion, as had happened with the first church). Work commenced on the new Frari church and it was constructed entirely of brick in a Gothic style, one of only three churches in Venice. The campanile that accompanies the Frari church is the second largest in Venice (second to St. Mark's Campanile).

The church itself has become somewhat of an icon to those more art minded than myself. Works by Titian and Donatello adorn the inside, still in their original places with everything unchanged (lighting, framing and things of that nature) which is apparently extremely rare. Titian was one of the greatest Venetian painters from the renaissance and one of his more famous works lies at the high alter of this church. The Assumption is the largest altar piece in Venice and was completed in 1518

Another Titian work finds itself inside the Frari church. Pesaro Madonna is on the north wall of the nave of the church.

 

Titian became so influential in this church that he found himself interred in the church. His tomb is fairly impressive in the church and dominates a good chunk of part of the church.

Canova was a great Renaissance architect and finds his heart in a tomb opposite that of Titian, though I couldn't help but find the symbols and designs interesting.

There are a great number of other important people with funerary monuments in the church, including a handful of Doges, a bishop, a composer, a general and a senator or two. Overall, the entire church was very interesting to get to walk around. The size was impressive and things like the Choir stalls done by Marco Cozzi were incredibly detailed.

With time running low, we headed out of the church, got a few more parting shots of Venice and made our way back to the hotel to catch the bus to Verona. That is where I will meet you guys from next time!

Amy- this is for you- Good ole' American pizza!

 I also forgot to put these pictures in the last blog so they get tossed on the bottom of this one...