October 22, 2012
Reed planned a fabulous vacation to Italy for our family during Turkey's 2nd Bayram Holiday. Tyler and Andrea McPeak, Reed's brother and sister-in-law, joined in with us on this vacation. Reed read many books to learn all the backdoor information about where to go and what to see. SO- Rome and Venice were our stops in Italy.
Venice
Venice is a city in the northern part of Italy. It was apparently built on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals. The origination of Venice is unknown, but historians believe that Venice was originally populated by refugees from close Roman cities and some fishermen. The first identification of Venice occurred with the dedication of the first Church "San Giacomo" in 421.
So Venice was built on small islands and connected, but how? Well, we learned that closely spaced wooden piles were built for the footings of the building. The wood was from Alder trees that were known for its water resistance. The foundation of the buildings and streets consists of brick or stone that sat on the wood footings. Then they built huge grandiose buildings from their wood base and bricks/stones. All I can say is WOW!
Venice, sitting on small islands, is often threatened by flood tides. These floods usually occur between autumn and early spring. Flooding is so common that they have platforms stationed through the city. When floods are predicted, workers place these platforms in the walking areas of the city so that tourism and work on Venice is not disturbed. Note; a significant flood came right after we left. Whew we were lucky!
Two days after we left was one of the worst floods in decades- photo off of the Internet
Venice was the most prosperous in the thirteenth century. It was during that time that such grand palaces were made from very talented artists. As usual, prosperity lasts only so long. So by the 15th century, Venice was in a decline. But such beautiful structures from their prosperous years still remain.
Our stay in Venice;
We flew into Italy and got right on the trains. No problem. The train ride was about 4 hours, but a very easy ride. At the Train Station in Venice, we were loaded on to the water taxi for a short ride to our villa.
The boys on the water taxi... Sun is setting
A water bus shuttling people around Venice
Our first night was about getting unpacked and out for dinner. Oh my gosh.... the lasagna in Italy is incredible. I will never be able to make lasagna like they do in Italy. Our dinner was great and followed up by a friendly family game of Phase Ten.
Our first night out on the town
So the next day was about seeing the sites. The main attraction was St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco). St. Mark's Square is the location of important government buildings, St Mark's Basilica and other facilities including many shops.
A view of St Mark's Square
St Mark's Basilica was originally constructed as a small church in 828AD with the relics of Mark the Evangelist. Who is he? John Mark (along with Peter) was one of the seventy disciples who were sent out by Jesus to saturate Judea with the gospel. After the death of Jesus, Peter was saved by angels and escaped from Herod. At some point in Peter's ministry he went to Rome. Somewhere in Rome he met up with Mark and Mark became Peter's traveling companion and interpreter. Mark is the author of the Gospel according to Mark, in the bible. In the year of 68AD Mark died at the hands of Pagans. His "relics" were stolen by Venetians and brought to the church in Venice in 828, where St. Mark was laid to rest. In the construction of the Basilica, in 1063AD, St Mark's relics could not be located. In 1094AD, during expansion construction, his relics were located in a pillar. His remains were then placed in a sarcophagus in the basilica.
St Mark's Basilica
Inside the Basilica
Apparently Sam was not enthusiastic about being near St Mark's Sarcophagus
St. Mark's Basilica was huge. We were all impressed with all the Mosaic work throughout the Basilica. The domes were huge and decorated as well. The whole Basilica had incredible wood work, marble statues, paintings and mosaic tile decorations. To say we were impressed is an understatement.
Our next destination was to visit the St. Mark's Campanile Bell Tower. This tower is right next to the Basilica. The tower was originally built as a tower/ light house for the docks in the 9th century. Since then it has been rebuilt and restored several times. Some of our best views of Venice were captured from the tower.
One view from the tower
Another view
We enjoyed the incredible view from the bell tower. The ride up and down in the elevator was fun. It was a short stop, but a must!
We walked all around St Mark's square and Venice in general. The street were about as wide as an alley. It was fun to see all the different shops and stores. The restaurants were everywhere and around every corner. Here are a few photos of the rest of our stay;
Finding our way throughout the city
Typical view
A gondola on the canal
Our trip to Venice was fun. We were there for a short time, but it was enough to see the sites and experience great food. We loaded back on to the train and headed back to Rome. Tune in for the next chapter of this trip.
