A love/hate relationship

St. Marks Basilica

Yesterday I hated Venice! We woke up to a violent rain storm - cold and windy. I could feel I was getting a cold and the last thing I wanted to do was go out - but we did! We took the vaporetto to San Marco (St. Mark's Square) to attend 10:30 mass at St. Mark's Basilica. What a fantastic church, covered in gold mosaics with lots of columns, arches, and naves. Mass was interesting and the music sounded just like the choir at St. Monica! Some of it was in Latin and I could almost sing along.

A ceiling in the Ducal Palace

Grand staircase of the Ducal Palace

We also struggled over to the Ducal Palace. Luckily, we had our city pass and did not have to wait in line. (Why do people come out in the rain to stand in line?) It was another beautiful building - the home of many doges from 1150 to 1550. The doge was the elected (by the Senate) head of state during the primacy of Venetian rule. They had to leave their homes to live in the palace where they could hold state and meet with the several governing bodies of Venice. The palace is attached to the church and the prison was attached to the palace. Some symbolism there! We saw it all and were impressed, as I am sure the palace visitors were in those days.

However, today, I am back in love with Venice! We woke up to a lovely, cool, sunny day and have just returned from an almost 3 mile walking excursion. We started out by going to Ca' Rezzonico. This was the palatial home of the Rezzonico family in the 1700's. However, it could not be called a palace because that term was reserved for the house of the doge. All others are called Ca for casa. So, this ca has a grand staircase leading to 3 floors above a ground floor (all ground floors are zero in Italy). We started at the top which consists of many rooms featuring over 300 paintings by many Venetian painters. What a treasure trove for someone interested in art history (not us, unfortunately). The best parts were the two floors featuring paintings and also superlative wood carved furniture - chairs, tables, cabinets, beds, etc. The chandeliers and picture frames were also much to be admired.

Furniture in Ca Rezzonico

We finished the day by exploring 2 churches - San Maria del Giglio and San Stephan. They were not as spectacular as some we have seen, but we had fun trying to find them and admiring a new part of Venice with its small canals, bridges, and brick and stucco homes.

Unusual ceiling of St. Stephan