Breakfast at La Villeggiatura is lovely and cozy and formal -- served by the assistant now wearing a white waiter's jacket. We found we were the only non-Italian guests, and it felt like we'd discovered a secret little place to stay where we were treated more like house guests than hotel guests.
We started our day by heading to Piazza San Marco. As it would turn out, we would do a lot of walking today due to the vaporetto strike. First, we entered the Basilica of San Marco and beheld the incredible byzantine architecture and the endless gold mosaics decorating the ceilings and cupolas (can't wait for Josh to catch up and post these photos on the blog as they are incredible). Then we went around the corner to visit the Palazzo Ducale -- the Palace of the Doges. The Doges were the elected rulers of Venice for over 1000 years from 697AD to 1789AD. The magnificence of the current Palazzo really took shape in 1340. It is comprised of the Duke's living quarters as well as the public rooms including the Senate room, the Hall of the Great Council, and the Anticollegio (where the Doges met foreign dignitaries) which is decorated with four Tintorettos. And, let's not forget the prison within the palace on the other side of the "Bridge of Sighs." The Palazzo is beautiful but the audio tour here was not inspirational and seemed rather endless.
By the time we re-emerged in Piazza San Marco, we were ready for lunch. We wandered around a bit looking for a pizza place, but actually ended up in a very nice seafood restaurant called Trattoria da Remigio. We ate well and finally, had a wonderful bottle of house wine -- a pinot blanc.
In the afternoon, because of the vaporetto strike, we walked ( a long way) to the Palazzo Grassi to take in more of Pinault's private contemporary art collection. Pinault purchased this Palazzo in 2006 to house his contemporary art collection. This was then followed by his sponsorship of the Punta della Dogana Museum which we visited yesterday.
The Palazzo Grassi, situated right on the Grand Canal, was originally completed between 1748 and 1772 in a classical Venetian style. Upon entering, the pulsing array of neon colors on an elevated dance floor stands in stark contrast to the classical Palazzo. This dance floor is juxtaposed against a wall with dozens upon dozens of photos of movie actors in war movies playing Nazi characters. This is meant to illustrate our fascination and yearning for both entertainment and death. We toured the galleries in which many of the same artists that were on view at the Punta della Dogana were represented. After spending time in both the contemporary art museums and the Palazzo Ducale, it is clear that Charlotte prefers the humorous, colorful, contemporary art scene over the dark and figurative works of the 16th century!
It was drizzling a bit for our walk back to La Villeggiatura, but it didn't detour us from stopping along the way (near the Rialto Bridge no less) to buy some trinkets. We took an hour or two of repose in our room before venturing out for dinner. We had planned to go fancy tonight, but our mood had changed; it was raining and after such a nice lunch, we felt like having pizza for dinner. Having been so elusive at lunch time, pizza was clearly still on our minds. And, we knew just the place: Muro. The pizza had looked and smelled delicious there the night before, so we headed back tonight. This time, though, we ordered beer and there was nothing disappointing about our meal.
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