What city on earth can be more romantic than Venice? (the answer is none, by the way) It is a city compiled of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges, and of course a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This amazing city has many equally amazing nicknames such as “City of Water”, “City of Masks”, “City of Bridges”, and “City of Canals”. It is a city where only ships and gondolas can dominate with no automobiles allowed whatsoever. This city historically was the capital of the Republic of Venice, represented by a lion with wings, which you can observe all throughout the Northern Italy region including Verona. The Republic of Venice was a major hub during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was famous for spices and silk from the East and art from the West. Not to mention the few world renouned archtectures existing on this land such as San Marco Basilica. However, this beautiful city is gradually being lower due to the fact that these islands are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles from a long long time ago, causing the sea water to occasionally flood San Marco Square.
We arrived in Venice early in the morning and stayed all day until late afternoon, plenty of time to roam and get lost in the narrow streets. I had noticed a mask with peacock feathers the day before in Verona, but our tour guide suggested me to wait to buy it until we are in Venice since almost every store is selling masks as souveniers. That was our goal in Venice, to find a mask with peacock feathers as my souvenier, and we tried and failed. Boo! There are tons of luxury stores in the city, but we only visited one and lost interest. We took a gondola ride after lunch, and in the sun, from the water, you can really appreciate the true beauty of Venice.
We also took a tour of the San Marco Basilica, it is the most famous example of Italo-Byzantine architecture. Due to the wealth and power of the city of Venice, San Marco Basilica displays a number of plumdered goods and has been known by the nickname “Church of gold”. What sets San Marco Basilica apart the most, in my opinion, is it’s interior structure based on a Greek Orthodox cross (as suppose to a cross where the vertical arm is longer than the horizontal arm), with each arm divided into 3 naves with a dome of its own as well as the main dome above the crossing. This is based on Constantine’s Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. The inside ceiling are all plastered with gold glass tesserae and has the story of Jesus illustrated in mosaic so the illiterate and also know the Gospel. This Basilica was also recently made famous by Dan Brown‘s Inferno.
The heat from today was very strong, making the experience a little less enjoyable, but I still had fun. I love the fact we had hours to walk/get lost in the beautiful city on water. Please let me visit you again before you disappeared into the water!
