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Quick stop Venice Sandeep Mathur, 23-24 October, 2015.

I arrived in Venice in the afternoon from a long but scenic train ride from Munich. Since there were no direct connections between Munich and Venezia St. Lucia, I had to change trains at Verona.

Wonderful scenery through Austria with a sumptuous sausage and sour kraut lunch in the restaurant car on the train - all iPhone shots.

The plan in Venice was simple - catch a Venetian sunset and then a sunrise the next day, before saying goodbye to Venice and moving to the extreme West of Italy - Cinque Terre - better known as the Italian Rivera. Check out my Cinque Terre travel log from the link below. From Venezia St Lucia, the train station, I took a vaporette (waterbus) to my stop San Stae, which was just about 4 or 5 stops away. Found my hotel - the Ca Del Tentor, thanks to the excellent directions provided by the hotel owner Papa Maurizio. The hotel was a quiet B&B in an old building which is typical of Venice but newly done up with psychedelic lighting. But on the way, my camera was already clicking away merrily.

A look in the mirror at the Vaporette stop outside the Stazione Di Venezia Santa Lucia, the train station for Venice.

The Ponte degli Scalzi literally, "bridge of the barefoot monks", is one of only four bridges in Venice, Italy, to span the Grand Canal.

The bridge connects the sestieri of Santa Croce and Cannaregio.

Designed by Eugenio Miozzi, it was completed in 1934, replacing an Austrian iron bridge. It is a stone arch bridge.

A typical alley in Venice

After a quick wash, I was off to San Marco better known as St. Mark's Square. Papa Maurizio here gave me some sound advice - instead of taking the Vaporette as I was planning initially, he suggested walking. The walking route would take me past the Rialto Bridge which was also on my bucket list and it would take less time to walk rather than take the Vaporette.

The walking route to St. Mark's Square

Quintessentially Venice .... Only an iPhone shot but so typical of a Venezian sunset... The golden hues, the gondola....

San Giacomo Di Rialto known as the oldest church in Venice having been consecrated in 421 AD. It was rebuilt in the year 1071 leading to the establishment of Rialto Mercato with bankers and money changers in front of the Church. It is said that the system of Bill of Exchange was introduced here. The clock on the church has always been a bit of a laughing matter as it is said that the clock never keeps the right time.

All roads lead to St. Mark's Square ? Not an uncommon sign in Venice, left or right both turns would eventually lead to San Marco. Don't miss the Bata sign below.

A Glorious sunset from Rialto Bridge ....

A typical Venezian scene, a gondola and lovers out for a romantic evening.

Piazza San Marco

The St. Mark's Basilica overlooks one of the most beautiful squares in the world, built almost entirely from marble, the Centro - city center for centuries. Next to both the Basilica and the Doges' Palace, all the most important religious and civil ceremonies have always been held there and now the Piazza San Marco is considered the city's main symbol and tourist attraction.

ST. Mark's square
Torre dell'orologia, the clock tower on the north side of the piazza.

Basilica Di San Marco

The mightiest of Venetian monuments, the one that really shows the greatness of Venice is undoubtedly the Basilica of San Marco. It was built over several centuries, frequently transformed and enriched with precious treasures, often from the Far East. Its architecture, a mixture of Byzantine, Roman and Venetian, is the work of artists and craftsmen coming from all over. Like Rome, it wasn't built in a day. The basilica has undergone many transformations, additions and improvements over the centuries.

St. Mark's Basilica

The story goes that Mark, one the four Evangelists together with Luke, Mathew and John, was given the task of writing his Gospel by Peter himself and did so in Rome. The Venetians chose him as their patron saint because of his ties with Rome thus declaring their independence of the Byzantine Church.

The famous horses of the St. Mark's Basilica, plundered by Napolean as spoils of war and taken away to Paris, were recovered back later. The originals are preserved inside the Basilica.

Venetian merchants, along the Eastern routes, often stopped at Alexandria to pray on the saint's tomb. And it was in 828 A.D. that two Venetian merchants stole his yremains and brought them back to Venice by ship, after hiding them in a chest full of vegetables and pork to avoid strict Muslim control. When the saint's body reached Venice it was welcomed in triumph and the Doge had a new church built as his tomb.

Near full moon night, the gondolas, the Venetian lamps and a view of the San Giorgio Maggiore across the lagoon, can it get any more romantic ?

View of the the St. Mark's Campanile, the imposing 16th century cathedral tower from the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.

San Giorgio Maggiore is a 16th-century Benedictine church on the island of the same name in Venice, northern Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio, and built between 1566 and 1610. The church is a basilica in the classical renaissance style and its brilliant white marble gleams above the blue water of the lagoon opposite the Piazzetta and forms the focal point of the view from every part of the Riva degli Schiavoni.

Even though it was late, but before turning in for the night I wanted to check the location for my sunrise shot the next morning, from the Ponte dell'Accademia. What I found was a city soaked in gold.

View of the Basilica Santa Maria Della Salute from Ponte dell'Accademia

The next morning I took the Vaporette to the Ponte dell'Accademia to catch the sunrise.

On the waterbus , the Vaporette.

And it was a glorious sunrise that awaited me

A View of the Basilica Santa Maria Della Salute from Ponte dell'Accademia at Sunrise.
Santa maria della salute

From the Ponte dell'Accademia, the next stop was San Marco.

The Bridge of Sighs, which got its name because it was used to transport sentenced prisoners from the Doge Palace to the state prison. These windows in the bridge were literally the last look to the outside world for most of these prisoners and would lead to an involuntary sigh as they saw the sea, sky, freedom for the very last time.

A white wedding in Venice ? Can it get any more perfect ?

Palazzo Ducale (Doges' Palace)

The Doges' Palace was the official residence of each Venetian ruler, founded in the 9th century. The present facade was created in the 14th and early 15th century.

St. Theodore's column and the Jacopo Sansavino library.

The Loggetta and Jacopo Sansavino library

The loggetta under the St. Mark's Campanile.

St. Mark's Lion, a symbol of the great city.

One of the two columns that welcome you to San Marco. Saint Theodore is represented on this one while the other represents St. Mark's.

Rialto bridge, one of Venice's most famous sites, the bridge is the heart of the city and offers one of the most spectacular views of the city. Unfortunately the bridge was under renovation on the other side.

Arrivederci, Venice. Next stop Cinque Terre !

About the Author - Sandeep Mathur

I'm a photography enthusiast. I love to travel to new places and take pictures that tell stories of the place, its history and its people. I live in the ancient and colourful city of Delhi in India. You can find me at :

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SANDEEP MATHUR
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