A Vision of Venice

"...Thy sun-illumined spires, thy crown and crest!

White phantom city, whose untrodden streets

Are rivers, and whose pavements are the shifting

Shadows of palaces and strips of sky..."

                                                   - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

This weekend was more than fun. It was a dream. To go to Venice, to see the city of canals and Casanova, to tread where artists and artisans found inspiration for some of the world's greatest masterpieces, was mystifying. 

I was dazzled, ok?

We left Thursday evening, taking the train from Arezzo to Mestre and our amazing hotel. I had forgotten what it was like to have simple American comforts like fluffy comforters, big showers, central heating. Truly a vacation, and I enjoyed every minute of it. (Still missing those down pillows.)

Friday we took the bus into Venice and spent the morning strolling through the narrow streets, drinking it all in. Each turned corner brought a new spectacular view, each building more beautiful than the last. True to the experience, we got lost in Venice. More than once. It was perfect.

Hundreds of pictures later, you can see the highlights of the trip on my Facebook page. For your viewing pleasures, here is one of my favorite photos:

 

We got to see all the major sights, including my favorite, the Bridge of Sighs. Legend says that prisoners, after being condemned by the Doge's dreaded Council of Ten, were led across this bridge to the dungeons. As they crossed over, they would take one last look at the beauty of Venice and sigh. I'm not sure why I'm so enchanted with this picture in history - it's pretty morbid when you think about it - but I can so easily imagine the tension and anguish, the despotic aristocracy oppressing the political dissident. It's all very romantic.

If you will, imagine.

The next day, Saturday, we got vaporetto (waterbus) passes and we took a jaunt along the Grand Canal on our way to the islands of Murano and Burano. The boat passed the San Giorgio Maggiore and Santa Maria della Salute, two magnificent churches. 

It was here that I had a moment. 

It was one of those moments in life when a past daydream suddenly becomes a reality, when the castle in the air turns out to be a hazy reflection of the true building at ground level. Three years ago, I spent the summer in Boston taking Art History and Cultural Anthropology classes. That summer is an important milestone in my life, since my experiences in Boston  led me to decide my college major, broadening my vision and effectively influencing the rest of my life as I know it. Anyway, a pivotal point of that summer was when I sat in the Museum of Fine Arts for two hours, studying a painting of the Grand Canal by Claude Monet. I will always remember that day, and the musings of a hopeful teen in a world larger than her imagination. Three years later, I am riding a boat across the very canal that captured my attention so many afternoons ago, and suddenly the castle is real and I'm living the daydream. An unforgettable moment, to be sure.

(To get the full effect, listen to this song as you re-read this blog post. If I'd had theme music, this would have been it. The chorus is especially powerful, so blast it at full volume and imagine me drifting past La Salute with a huge, goofy grin on my face.)