Day 260 - Venice Day 1

Breakfast for two.

What do you do first when you wake up knowing that the maze of streets, sights, aromas and sounds of Venice await? You open the windows in your room, take a seat at the lovely table in your room laid out with breakfast and inhale the aroma of bread and cappuccino. Once physically energized and mentally relaxed, you pull out the map of Venice and consider the myriad options open to you.

Saint Eustachius Church
(San Stae)

Today we opt to first take a wander around the neighbour in which we're staying. The vaporetto stop closest to us is known as San Stae, an abbreviation for Saint Eustachius, which is the name of the church in the small plaza at the stop. It was founded in the 11th century, but the version you can see to the left was built in the 17th century. The church contains the tomb of the Mocenigo family, seven of whom were doges (the senior-most elected official in Venice which was a republic) between 1414 and 1778.

We love to wander and let the city surprise us with the wonderful things it has to offer. Every nook and cranny, canal, piazza and building is unique.

The portego of
Palazzo Mocenigo.

Curious as to what an original palazzo looked like inside, we decided to take a trip to the nearby Palazzo Mocenigo Museum. This 17th-century gothic palace was the Venice home of the Mocenigo family. In 1945, the family's last decendent, Alvise Nicolò Mocenigo bequeathed the palace to Venice for use as an art Galary to supplement the Museo Correr, the main museum in St. Mark's Square. However, his wife continued to live in it until her death. It became the city's museum of textiles and costume in 1985, and while we were there, was also showcasing a display on the history of perfume making in the city.

The furniture in this room is original to the palace.
The tablecoth is of  handmade lace from Burano
and the glass is from Murano.

You enter the museum from the street entrance (not quite as stunning as the canal-side entrance, but still beautiful), and take the grand staircase up a flight to what is known as the piano nobile -- the noble floor of the house in which the main reception rooms and bedrooms were set. We wandered through about 20 connecting rooms, admiring the art, much of which depicted family members or local dignitaries or battles in which the family had been involved.

The evolution of the waistcoat.

One room contains a vast collection of men's waistcoats from the 17th and 18th centuries. Originally knee length and with sleeves, the front was made of silk and the back of linen or cotton, and was worn under a jacket in order to keep warm. In the 18th century, the waistcoat was shortened reaching just below the waist with two tails. By the end of the century, the sleeves were gone and it sometimes had a collar.

One thing to know about Venice in July, all that stonework turn it into a rather large bread oven, so mid-afternoons are for naps.

Following our rest, we took a vaporetto to Giardini on the southeast side of Venice where there is a large park. The trip takes you along the Grand Canal, so is a great way to tour the city...although you do have to deal with the crowds of tourists and locals trying to make their way home from work.

The area at this end of Venice is far more residential, with lots of trees and few tourists. Families were out playing in the parks, walking dogs, chatting. We had a lovely time meandering the streets. Soon it was time to find a place nearer our hotel for a mid-evening dinner.

Phil outside the stadium where
Venice's soccer team plays.