A Wedding in Venice: Arrival Pt 1
We arrive in the train station, Venice, Santa Lucia, and pull our bags the short distance to the boat station. Here we board the sea bus for San Marco. The sun is shining and the sea is as blue as the sky above and it is with anticipation that we travel towards our destination. As we approach the islands, we see elegant buildings, and magnificent church towers and domes. They appear to be rising out of the sea. And indeed they are.
In the beginning, buildings were built on numerous low islands in what was a swampy lagoon. They were built on closely packed pilings of pine, driven into the layer of compressed clay at the bottom of the lagoon. On top of the pilings,larchwood rafts topped with bricks were built to hold the Istrian stone building material, a type of marble which is impermeable to the water. Most of these edifices have survived for more than 400 years. Because, the wooden piles driven into the watery subsoil are closely packed, there is no free oxygen, to support microbes that cause rot. Therefore the wood does not decay. This type of imaginative construction is unique to this area.
We arrive at our sea bus station at the siestiere (borough) of San Marco and with the help of a porter carrying our luggage, walk towards our hotel. The pretty tiled sea walk is crowded with tourists and vendors and as we continue towards the famous square we are in awe of the monuments, statues and beauty of the sea view.
We approach a small tiled square or piazzetta. There are two columns, made of red and gray granite. We are told that they are the monoliths of St Mark and St Teodoro. On top of the capital on one, is the bronze Lion of St Mark, on the other a marble statue of San Teodoro, a Greek and first patron saint of the Veneto people. This statue is a copy of the original that is now in the Pink Ducal Palace, also is situated in this square.
The Ducal Palace was an important building throughout the history of the area. It was the seat of government, palace of Justice and the Doge’s residence, to name just a few. It was partially destroyed, rebuilt and renovated many times. Despite this, the interiors have original paintings, furniture and frescos.
As we approach famous St Mark’s square, the sounds of classical music reaches our ears. As we enter the square we see it is coming from the orchestras playing at the elegant sidewalk café’s, with names like Café Florian and Cafe Quadri. They surround the square, sharing space with expensive shops in front of and under the arcades of the elegant Procuratie buildings. In earlier times powerful magistrates and representatives, almost as powerful as the Doges inhabited these buildings.
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