VENICE
Here is our trip to wonderful Venice . Had not been back for over twenty years so we were excited.
Leave Bergamo by train 08.06 change Brecia Arrive Venice 11.05
cost 60€ each [not cheap but really worth it].
We arrive at Santa Lucia Railway station bang on time.
Brecia Santa Lucia station
The Santa Lucia Train Station is located on an island that is connected to the Italian mainland by a 4 km long causeway. A shuttle train service operates between Santa Lucia and Venice's other train station (Venezia Mestre) which is located on the mainland.
First stop lunch . We decided to have a snack as far away from Saint Marks square as possible. We head for a cafe not far from the station. It`s was on the side of the Grand Canal . It was a sunny day so we decide to sit outside.
A Coke,Cappuccino and two toasties €18.30 Venice is not cheap where ever you go. The only cheap place to eat was McDonalds .
View on the Rialto looking Southwest down the Grand Canal
The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Many gondolas are lushly appointed with crushed velvet seats and Persian rugs. Gondoliers typically charge between 80 and 100 euros for a 35 minute "giro" or excursion around some canals. To be a Gondolier you must be an Italian or E.U. Citizen. Most Venetians now travel by motorised waterbuses which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city's islands. The city also has many private boats. The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. Visitors can also take the water taxis between areas of the city.
The Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto) is one of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It is the oldest bridge across the canal.
The present stone bridge, a single span designed by Antonio da Ponte, was finally completed in 1591. It is remarkably similar to the wooden bridge it succeeded. Two inclined ramps lead up to a central portico. On either side of the portico the covered ramps carry rows of shops. The engineering of the bridge was considered so audacious that architect Vincenzo Scamozzi predicted future ruin. The bridge has defied its critics to become one of the architectural icons of Venice.
Piazza San Marco (often known in English as Saint Mark's Square), is the principal square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as "the Piazza". All other urban spaces in the city (except the Piazzetta) are called campi. The Piazzetta (the 'little Piazza') is an extension of the Piazza towards the lagoon in its south east corner (see plan). The two spaces together form the social religious and political centre of Venice and are commonly both considered together. This article relates to both of them.
Due to cost we moved away from St Marks sq. Enjoyed a few beers and watching the tourists get wet from the flooding . Every time a ferry pasted
the Lagoon the over spill would flood the seating Area .
Beer and flooding in the bar
The Piazza San Marco is the lowest point in Venice, and as a result during the Acqua Alta the "high water" from storm surges from the Adriatic, or even heavy rain, it is the first to flood. Water pouring into the drains in the Piazza runs directly into the Grand Canal. This is ideal during heavy rain, but during the acqua alta it has the reverse effect, with water from the canal surging up into the Square.
The island was probably occupied in the Roman period; after the foundation of Venice it was called Insula Memmia after the Memmo family who owned it. By 829 it had a church consecrated to St George; thus it was designated as San Giorgio Maggiore to be distinguished from San Giorgio in Alga.
The Benedictine Monastery of San Giorgio was established in 982, when the doge Tribuno Memmo donated the whole island to a monk, Giovanni Morosini. The monks drained the island's marshes next to the church to get the ground for building.
Back to the station and home to Bergamo . What a superb daytrip.