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Italy - Venice and Veneto
Venice's first impact is sure to be visual – immediate and almost overpowering in its allure – since no other place in the world sees so may changes of mood: even in the day, golden light turns to silver and, as evening approaches, to a deep blue. The first thing a visitor always wants to do is to get out to see the city: in this latticework of canals, the best way of moving around is using water taxis, vaporetti, or—for those more romantic excursions—a gondola.
In fact, a gondola ride down the Grand Canal is the finest Venice introduction: one gently glides by ornate, marble Renaissance palaces, like the Venetian-Gothic Palazzo Ca'd'Oro with its collection of bronzes, tapestries and paintings; amongst the elegant bridges spanning the canal are the Rialto and, noted for a bustling market, the Bridge of Sighs, joining the Palazzo Ducale, the Doge's Palace, with its prisons; and, at the canal mouth, the Piazza san Marco with its Basilica' and Campanile, once the seat of Venetian government, buzzes with life.
A short vaporetti ride will transport you to the very lovely San Giorgio Maggiore with its beautiful Palladium church, to Murano for Venetian glass, over to la Giudecca island to meet up with friends for an afternoon swim at the Hotel Cipriano or over to the Lido with its remarkably vibrant cafés and nec plus ultra, exotic nightlife.
However, the best way to really get to live Venice – to see the people and feel the life of the city – is on foot: even in the high season, one can find deserted piazzas and streets.
In fact, a gondola ride down the Grand Canal is the finest Venice introduction: one gently glides by ornate, marble Renaissance palaces, like the Venetian-Gothic Palazzo Ca'd'Oro with its collection of bronzes, tapestries and paintings; amongst the elegant bridges spanning the canal are the Rialto and, noted for a bustling market, the Bridge of Sighs, joining the Palazzo Ducale, the Doge's Palace, with its prisons; and, at the canal mouth, the Piazza san Marco with its Basilica' and Campanile, once the seat of Venetian government, buzzes with life.
A short vaporetti ride will transport you to the very lovely San Giorgio Maggiore with its beautiful Palladium church, to Murano for Venetian glass, over to la Giudecca island to meet up with friends for an afternoon swim at the Hotel Cipriano or over to the Lido with its remarkably vibrant cafés and nec plus ultra, exotic nightlife.
However, the best way to really get to live Venice – to see the people and feel the life of the city – is on foot: even in the high season, one can find deserted piazzas and streets.
For the cooking enthusiast, the joys of shopping for food in Venice cannot be exaggerated, and one of the greatest pleasures is surely the way the men servers take it all so seriously. Never has the purchase of a piece of mozzarella or an eto of olives been filled with such gravitas as in one of the Venetian alimentari.
Imagine stopping on the way home at a vegetable stall in a quiet square and filling your basket with plump tomatoes and endives; the grocers for a chunk of parmesan olive oil for your own insalata creation; the local enoteca for a Brunella di Montalcino; staggering back to assemble the goodies into a superb meal. Or if your enthusiasm is not unlimited, having the cook do the whole job for you.
Imagine stopping on the way home at a vegetable stall in a quiet square and filling your basket with plump tomatoes and endives; the grocers for a chunk of parmesan olive oil for your own insalata creation; the local enoteca for a Brunella di Montalcino; staggering back to assemble the goodies into a superb meal. Or if your enthusiasm is not unlimited, having the cook do the whole job for you.
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