Venice, Day Two - (1)

In my post of December 4, 2012 "Flying to Venice" which you can see by clicking here I related our first afternoon in Venice. The next morning I looked out of our window, which fronted Canal del Gaffano and watched some people walking below.  Gondolas were on the canal already and other people were sitting along it, eating breakfast.  (Click on collage twice to see better.)

It was strange in a way not to hear cars driving by.  All was quiet.  As I mentioned in my post of December, because of my husband's illness we did not think we were going to Venice until six days before our departure so I had not done much planning.  That morning we were not sure where to go and what to see, so we opted to walk around and get a "feel" for the city.  As we walked, I looked at all the buildings, up and down, and realized how old they were.

I had seen pictures of Venice before showing bridges, but you have to be there to fully comprehend how much water there is.  There are no streets really, just a maze of narrow walkways and alleys with many little bridges.  You can suddenly come up to a larger area called "campo" or place, often in front of a church, or you can as well end up at a dead-end looking at a canal, as we did below.

We did not have a map but looked at signs on top of buildings, giving us directions to places we did not know.

Below, we ended up again at a canal.  Actually, many are landing areas where people can board their boats, or get deliveries.  Since there are no roads everything is delivered via the water, goods and services.

The city of Venice is located in the Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea.  It has been inhabited since ancient times but it was during and after the fall of the Roman Empire that many people settled here, seeking protection in the marshlands from the unprotected open countryside and Barbarian invasions.  There, early inhabitants discovered land just above the water line - about 118 small islands which had been made by tree trunks embedded into the silt.  They covered them with stone slabs, planks and millions of Alpine pine wood pilings.  Because they were driven deep into the silt oxygen could not enter the wood bringing microbes and rot.  The foundations petrified into the compressed clay-mud.  Below is a French map of the Venetian Lagoon.

In the 15th and 16th centuries further hydraulic projects were made that stopped the natural evolution of the Lagoon into marsh again.  The network of 160 canals is very vulnerable to changes in the sea and groundwater levels.  Venice is fragile, and sea level rises because of global warming could have a tremendous impact on this city.  As it is, the saltwater from the Adriatic can soak the soft permeable bricks and, with time, destroy them.

It is bewildering in a way to look at all the ancient houses, knowing that they have been unchanged for centuries.  I don't believe that there is another city like this.  There are many cities in the world with "historic district" or historical monuments, but not a whole city which has not been changed or renovated along the way.  I was thinking about the city where I grew up - Paris - well it has been changed many times.  Below is a painting by Hubert Robert showing houses on Pont Notre Dame being razed in 1786.

Demolishing Buildings on Pont Notre Dame in 1786, painted by Hubert Robert, French 1733-1808

The oldest hospital in Paris called "Hotel Dieu" founded in 651 used to be on the southern side of Notre Dame Cathedral, on the island of the Cite (cathedral built in 1160 finished in 1345.) The backside of the hospital faced the left bank of the river Seine- see early 19th century engraving below and 1860 photo.

 When Baron Haussmann renovated Paris between 1866 and 1878 the hospital was remodeled, away from the main "parvis" (courtyard in front of the cathedral) - this gave a better view of Notre Dame from the Seine, as can be seen in the painting below.  The Paris of Les Miserables is not the Paris we know in 2013.

 Notre Dame de Paris 1888, painted by Frederick Childe Hassam, American 1859-1935

I found some fun old photos taken by Charles Marville (1813-1879.)  The City of Paris commissioned him to take pictures of Paris in the 1860s to document the old streets, avenues, buildings, etc., that were being demolished by Baron Haussmann, the Paris Prefect, to modernize the city.  Below is the Place du Carousel in Paris, before and now

and the Place de l'Opera then and now (old photos courtesy Ministere de la Culture.)

 Actually many people do not know that there was another river in Paris.  It is called "La Bievre."  It still exists but now it runs under Paris, in the sewers.  It runs in several French departments and used to run in the 13th and 5th quarters of Paris, but it was totally covered in 1912.  Below are some vintage postcards showing this river when it could be seen in Paris.

I am getting away from Venice when I talk now about Paris (about 700 miles/1127 kms away) but this was to show how other cities have changed, but not Venice.  We kept walking in the little alleys, as shown below.

We walked along the canals and over the bridges.

It was a lovely, sunny day but not too warm.  Sometimes, we could walk no further as we were facing a larger canal, so we would stop and look at the waterbus going by.

It was more a "stroll" than a real walk as I stopped constantly to take pictures.  At every corner was another canal with a picturesque view.

 Stepping down a small bridge we saw the entrance to a university called "Universita Ca' Foscari."  It is housed in a Gothic palace built in the 15th century by Francesco Foscari.  It offers an international program to the PhD level.  We walked inside the entrance courtyard as I could see a bench - and we sat a few minutes.

 It was getting warmer and we stopped when we passed by fountains.

As you walk you have to watch where you step as the old stones are uneven.  I also like to look up to see all the diverse windows.

 We had a good breakfast at our inn that morning but after all that walking we were tempted by some luscious looking gelato.  So we stopped and bought some.  More to come after this little stop...