Framedlight

Venice has a lot of churches, arguably too many. Santa Maria Gloriosa del Frari is one of the major ones and so we wended our way down from the Mercato di Rialto to the San Polo district to see it. There were other churches on the way. Being just after Christmas they still had their cribs in place, and there may have been a crib competition going on as each one was bigger and better than the last, sometimes occupying a whole room with waterwheels spinning, donkeys braying and a whole tableau vivant going on. We went by tiny streets, over small bridges with glimpses over even smaller bridges down narrow canals. Campo San Giacomo dell 'Orio San Giacomo dell 'Orio San Giacomo dell 'Orio We made a diversion to see the Natural History Museum as it is housed in a 13th century palazzo, the Fontego del Turchi. Unfortunately we could not get to the canal side of the museum which would had been more interesting, although the displays were ...

After breakfast we walked up to the Rialto Bridge which was rife with selfies. The citizens of Venice were dragging their wheeled baskets and cases around and we were amused to see the rubbish being collected and placed in a municipal barge. The Mercato de Rialto lies just north west of the bridge. It has been on this spot since 1097 and is the reason for the bridge being the first permanent crossing over the Grand Canal. The stone version of the bridge was completed in 1591, and it was then thought that it would not last the test of time. The market was in full swim when we got there. It is the place to buy fresh fruit and fish. Feeding the seagulls seems a more acceptable sport in Italy than in the UK.

We dropped our shopping off at the apartment and walked back to Piazza San Marco. It was January and the sun was retreating quite early in the day. I had wanted to see the lagoon in it's sunset colours and it seemed only right to make some pictures of the bobbing gondolas. Well everyone else has done it!! Next we walked across to the Accademia Bridge and looked at Santa Maria Della Salute before we crossed over for a closer inspection. The bridge was full of people and bounced a lot. The Santa Maria side was quiet and a little eerie. Fortunately on the way back the crowds had thinned out and I was able to use a tripod to take some pictures down the Grand Canal. Santa Maria Della Salute Santa Maria Della Salute