Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral on the Island of Torcello. The superb collection of Tintorettos, Bellinis, and Carpachios - in addition to the Da Vinci drawings - is well worth seeing. We jump back on the tourist circuit for a couple of hours, however, we encounter only small groups of art enthusiasts. The second we hear a language other than Italian, we immediately walk in the opposite direction.Ī banner for a special exhibit of Da Vinci drawings at the Gallerie dell’ Accademia - Venice’s largest art museum - catches our attention and proves to be irresistible. So we leisurely stroll along the walkways of the Dorsoduro, peeking into local shops: pasticcerias filled with heavenly smelling bread and torts enoteches with tasty Veneto wines shoe shops flower shops vegetable stalls - and no tourists! We cross dozens of cute little bridges leading over canals. I’ve decided that the rest of the day will be devoted to il dolce far niente - an Italian phrase famously translated as the sweetness of doing nothing. “No galleries, no museums, no monuments.” I make this pronouncement while soaking my aching feet in our room at the Ca’ Pisani. We check in and congratulate ourselves on escaping the crowds. The Ca’ Pisani sits in a pretty residential area within the Dorsoduro. We’re certain we’ve taken a wrong turn when, suddenly, we spot our hotel. Then something strange happens - it’s quiet. We drag our suitcases a couple of blocks. Photo courtesy of Ca’ Pisani.Įventually we arrive at our stop: Accademia and the Dorsoduro Sestieri, one of the six districts in Venice. The Hotel Ca’ Pisani sits in a quiet residential area within the Dorsoduro. The territory of the mighty Republic of Venice included over 2.1 million inhabitants. At the end of the 15th century, with 180,000 inhabitants, Venice was the wealthiest city in the world and the second most-populated city in Europe - only Paris was larger. More the wonder that this wispy collection of islands has survived for centuries, much less dominated European seas and trade routes for hundreds of years. This gem of the Adriatic is tiny and fragile - resembling an intricately-woven piece of baroque lace floating on the water. By night La Serenissima once again rules the seas in grand fashion.įlying over Venice provides immediate prospective. The decay, so visible a few hours earlier, is replaced with a majestic, graceful presence - some kind of magical revival, whereby the great lady regains her poise, smoothes her elegant gown and descends into her water kingdom. There’s a tranquility and grace about Venice at night. Venice by night is calm, the streets almost deserted.
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