This is the second in our series on Uniworld’s Gems of Northern Italy river cruise. Here we focus on St Mark's square.
After a great breakfast, our day starts early with an 8:30 am tour of the Doge’s Palace. We leave early to beat the crowds. The Doge’s Palace is on on St Mark’s square and is truly impressive. The palace, which dates back to the 14th and 15th century was the political center of power for the Venetian government - housing the Doge (head of state), the “assembly” and the “courts” of their day. This was no democracy, rather an oligopoly with the merchants of Venice in true power.
The palace houses gold gilded staircases and ceilings as well as monumentally sized artwork to create an atmosphere of grandeur and greatness. There’s three large ornately decorated waiting rooms - foreign ambassadors had to wait for days on end in each room before seeing the Doge. By the time they got to a meeting with Doge, they must have been feeling very inferior indeed. This was the age when Venice controlled much of the seas and most of the spice trade and money was no object.
The “assembly” room is extremely large but has no internal structural supports. It was designed by the same architect that designed large ships and the Rialto bridge. So it’s basically a ship's hull upside down. Art covers every square inch of ceiling and walls. There’s pictures of every Doge - including a blacked out one that said, in effect “this Doge decided to usurp too much power so we cut off his head, so there’s no portrait to show.” There’s a gigantic painting covering one wall made by stitching 120 huge canvas’ together.
We pass through the so called Bridge of Sighs which connects the Doge’s Palace (where justice was arbitrated) to the prison (where justice was served). The prison cells had some fresh air but also “room service” holes to clear out bedpans and bring in the day’s food.
An easy 20 minute walk from St Mark's Square back (with tour guide explaining along the way) brought us to the ship. She pointed out that the stones we walked on are a modern convenience. Back in the 14- 16th centuries the paths were dirt which mean they were dusty in the summer and muddy in the winter. The rich traveled exclusively by boat - hence their front doors face the canals. I kind of like the 21st century.
We arrived just in time for lunch. The fish stew was especially good.
In the afternoon, we took a water taxi across the canal to a Murano glass factory on Giudecca. After a brief demonstration of glassblowing where we watched a vase and a horse being made, we had time to look / shop. They use only fine French sand and fire the glass to 2200 F. Some beautiful items - some costing over 5000 Euros were on display so it was much like being in a museum. Every item is hand made. This particular factory employed 23 glass masters, each with their own style. The Murano name is licensed and carefully controlled and distributed to only qualified (and local) glass masters.
We had an early light dinner so that we could go to what will likely be a highlight of the trip. Uniworld bills this as an exclusive after hour visit of St. Mark’s Basilica. Basically the 1000 yr old basilica was opened only for us and we were guided through by an art historian. It dominates St. Mark's Square.
Upon entering, you’re immediately struck by the tile patterns on the floor and the gold leaf mosaics on the ceiling. The ceiling tells the several bible stories in pictures including the Adam and Eve story. We are told this story’s end is depicted inside the church. Once seated in the main sanctuary, spotlights gradually reveal an incredible mosaic artistry. Lots of audible gasps when the mosaics can be fully seen. Clearly the most elaborate and oldest work of architecture we’ve seen. Mosaics cover almost every interior surface.
We tour the crypt where St. Michael's remains are presumably preserved - though because of flooding, they were moved a few feet higher a few hundred years ago. We also tour the back of the altar where we saw a huge 15th century painting (the alter background) rotate around so we could see a priceless gem studded depiction of bible scenes. We got to see it up close and it was indeed fabulous.
And if you somehow forget your geography, the building is a stark reminder of how close we are to Turkey / the Ottoman empire. This very Roman Catholic building would not be out of place in Eastern Orthodox regions much to the east.
Here's a good website with more information on the Basilica.
We met up with some folks we had met on the ship and they asked if we wanted to share a gondola ride with them. It’s the same price for 1 or for 6 so sharing made the price more reasonable (after 7 pm it's 120 euros). After a few steps from the St Mark's square we found a waiting gondola. It was a peaceful, easy ride offering nice views. After the ride, we took a 20 minute stroll along the canal to the ship.
The three separate excursions made for a long day. As magnificent as the Doge’s Palace was, the Basilica was even more awesome. The power and significance of St Mark’s square specifically and Venice as a whole was really on display today. Once back on the ship, we had a few drinks with some other folks from Canada we had previously met. As we discussed the day’s sights and sounds, our discussion of politics somehow seemed less relevant. After all, what happens in 4 years during a presidential election is of no consequence in comparison to the 1000+ years of history we had just seen.
Nothing like travel to put things into perspective.