Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Return To The Dolomites

Enough cities, museums, cathedrals, crowds, tour buses, admission fees...and 90 degree heat. The Dolomites are just an hour's drive from Venice, so we headed back there for relief. We visited the Dolomites just last summer, and loved what we saw. So it seemed a fitting time to see more, including some of the more principal sights. The Dolomites, for those of you who don't remember, are the third part of Italy's mountains: the Alps in the northwest, the Appennines, which run the length of the peninsula, and the Dolomites in the northeast. Though much lower than the Alps (Italy owns half of Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn, and all of Monte Rosa, the three tallest in the Alps), the Dolomites are no less scenic and are far more approachable.

So after finishing Venice, we drove on up north and stopped
at a rest area just at the gateway to the Dolomites; after a quiet
evening we awoke to find ourselves surrounded by four
tour buses, all of them unloading strange people with alpine
hats and big feathers, setting up for breakfast, band playing,
singing; it was apparently Old Home Week (-end) for
Italians born in the Alpine regions; seriously



















I kid you not; the group on the left are singing "O Solo
Mio" to accordion accompaniment; on the right they are
fixing a bread and sausage and wine breakfast, after which
I would be singing "O Solo Mio" too










Anyhow, thus enlightened, we drove on,
admiring the scenery




















Thus















Wildflowers everywhere















And still some snow in the higher peaks



















Lunch break















It is  a beautiful weekend and the motorcycles and sports
cars are out in force; we have just been passed by 4 Lotus 7s















Crebain from Dunland!















Hairpin turns: the price of great mountain scenery















We spent the night at Sella Pass, a tad over 7,000 ft., at the
foot of the Sasso Lungo group, which would figure in the next
couple days, and with views of Marmolada, highest of the
Dolomites; alas, we have been in warm weather sufficiently
long to have forgotten the perils of 7,000 feet in June...the
overnight low was 32 degrees--we had left most of our winter
gear back in the States--but nothing froze



















Our neighbors were a young German couple who rock-
climbed in the morning and para-sailed in the afternoon
c

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Venice: The Frari

If you don't have time for museums and art in Venice, at least go see the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari church. It is a vast and beautiful Gothic church, Venice's only Gothic, and it contains in a nutshell the best of Venetian art. It was our last stop and a fitting and positive end to our 3rd visit to the Wet City.
A huge old brick church in a square; no way to
see the whole thing




















Looking up the nave, through the choir, to
Titian's great masterpiece




















Titian's Assumption; I don't much care for this
stuff, nor for Venetian painting generally (too
over the top), but this one is pretty compelling





















Titian's tomb



















Detail



















Bellini's great altarpiece; enlarge and look at the guy on the
right















Donatello's St. John



















Canova's tomb, modeled supposedly on the
Piramide in Rome




















The exquisitely carved choir

Venice: Museo Corrrer

We also visited the lesser known Correr Museum, mostly about Venice history, also in St. Mark's Square.

Canova's Deadalus and Icarus



















Veronese's Two Ladies Waiting (or maybe it
was Tintoretto or Bellini, or Norman
Rockwell)





















The outstanding piece, for us, was Breughel's Adoration of
the Magi; almost any Breughel for us is a treat; or Bosch; etc;
actually this piece should be called Winter Scene with a
Superfluous Reference to the Adoration of the Magi; which is
fine 



















Fortunately, the Florian is nearby; I did enjoy
the Correr, especially its paintings of the naval
battle of Lepanto (The Naval); but it was too
dark for pix and the guards were hovering...


Venice: San Giorgio

So one day we took the slow vaporetti around the big island and down to San Giorgio, the scenic little island with the big Palladio church and campanile that is one of Venice's more prominent sights.

San Giorgio from the campanile in St Mark's Square















Another relatively austere church interior, but
this time with one of the strangest--no, the
strangest--item of religious art we have seen
yet; the basin at the bottom blows holy vapor
which rises to the suck-tube in the dome






















The suck job in action; seems particularly
appropriate when you're relying on smoke and
mirrors anyway; besides, this "artistic"
installation has appeared already in South
America and Russia, which, I assume, makes
it OK, or at least ecumenical; seems to me it
would work for (Tibetan) Buddhism, Hinduism,
and others
























Alas, the Tintoretto Penultimate Supper had moved on (no
explanation given); this is a strange church















But there was at least this fine statue of St.
Gabby, patron saint of hustlers, rustlers, and
tusslers; "you're dern tootin'"




















And, on the same island, but closed when
we got there, was this interesting and
interestingly titled exhibit; we stop for
anything named "Penelope"; details at
http://www.cini.it/en/event/detail/1/544;
especially relevant for a child born on
Shakespeare's birthday

Monday, June 27, 2011

Venice: Murano

One of our excursions took us to the island of Murano, famous for its Venetian glass.
An entire symphony orchestra in glass















Murano centro, glass sculpture



















In an artisan's shop (we bought a Christmas ornament)















In the Glass Museum; a table setting in Murano glass (evidently
for royalty)















More traditional Murano glass in the museum















We have seen every manner of chesst set: Greeks vs. Persians,
Athenians vs. Spartans, Romans vs. Carthaginians, Romans
vs. Whomever, Christians vs. Moors...but here is the one I
would want (if I played chess): angels and devils; I have not
played chess since c. 1968, when Mel Ulm performed fool's
mate on me three times in a row; remember that, Mel?
c

Venice: Cruisin'

Some say Venice is best seen from the water. We did that, buying a 48 hour vaporetti (water bus) pass after wearing our legs out the first day. (Vaporetti = "your money vaporizes"; but just about anything in Venice is expensive). Here are some canal scenes.

A flotilla of gondoliers, one playing accordion, one singing; fortunately, we did 
that when it was much cheaper















The Palazzo Vendramin, where Wagner died in 1883; big plaque on the left















Grand Canal again















Venice ground zero















The Bridge of Huhs and beyond it, in the blue grotto, the Bridge of Sighs















Garbage truck; I will admit that it is nice to be in a place, however crowded, 
and not have to dodge cars, trucks, scooters, bicylces, and the like
















In addition to the vaporetti and water taxis, there are also these traghetto, which 
simply cross the Grand Canal here and there for a mere half euro
















We even rode out to boring Lido, using up our last few minutes...

Venice: Gallaerie dell'Academia (2)

[I accidentally deleted this post on January 9, 2021, but have recovered the pix, which are below. I'll add commentary in due course].

Venice has many art museums, of which the Galleries dell'Academia is perhaps most famous. Below are some of the works that most impressed us.












Venice: Campanile

We had never gone up in the Campanile, so we figured why not and it's only 8 euros. The views were spectacular. Plus there was an elevator.

St. Mark's Square















Panning around but avoiding ugly Mestre















San Giorgio island, where we'd go in another day or so















The little piazza off St. Mark's















Looking toward the duomo and beyond