09-18 October 2019

Part 2 of our travels in Venezia includes an opera on our first night, followed by two days at the Biennale, and a boat tour of the quieter parts of the Venice lagoon. Of course, we also fit in museums and a few churches. Sorry to disappoint as this post does not include photos of drinks or food (see Part 1 for that.) But first, the opera!

Opera at Teatro La Fenice

Bonnie is the opera buff, so as we were driving to Venice she explained to Robert the plot of the opera we would be seeing and the various characters. She played a few arias on YouTube and even sang the beginning of one. But as the music for the first act began, she realized she had the wrong opera. It was not The Marriage of Figaro, composed by Mozart, but the prequel, The Barber of Seville, composed by Rossini. Bonnie pointed out that the characters are all the same, just younger in the opera we saw. The upside is that Robert now knows the plots to both operas.

Robert really enjoyed this opera. It is a great comedy. The La Fenice theater is relatively small compared to Palermo or San Francisco. The seats were great—you could see the facial expressions of the cast. But most of all, the cast, especially Julian Kim, were theatrical in all aspects and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was infectious to us and the rest of the audience.

Biennale—Arsenale

We have been to the Biennale before but did not have much time to see the art. Besides some pieces scattered throughout the City of Venice, the main displays are in the Arsenale and the Giardini. We went to the Arsenale, the old ship-building yard, first and a few days later to the Giardini, the lovely park setting.

We found some of the art interesting. Robert thought there was too much reliance on videos that were often too long. Some seemed to be documentaries made for other purposes. Some, conceptually, were one-liners. Although the New York Times critic was disappointed by the number of already known artists, we found their work to be among the highlights of the show.

Biennale—Giardini

Boat Tour

Through Airbnb, Bonnie booked the Venice Tour by Boat with Rachel and Marco. Both from Venice. Both very nice.

The two-hour cruise was delightfully low key. We skirted around the touristy places to see islands way out in the lagoon. Although they offer the tour in English, they obliged us by switching to Italian. When you are in Venice, do a tour with them. Beautiful boat. Reasonable price. Unusual view of Venice.

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

A must for us each time we visit Venice.

Basilica dei Frari
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

This basilica is very close to our Venice apartment. Robert sat across from it many mornings while he had his cappuccino and brioche.

Scuola Grande San Rocco

Scuolas were established by Venetian men, perhaps in the same craft, to promote Christianity and act as a mutual aid society. The Scuola of San Rocco focused on music and painting. It was one of the few that were successful financially and their ornate meeting place contains some of the best works of Tintoretto.

Cimitero di San Michele

For health reasons, the cemetery of Venice was established on a nearby island in 1807 and expanded in 1836 by attaching a second island. The cemetery became the mandatory burial place for Venetians soon after Napoleon occupied Venice. Famous people buried here include Stravinsky, Brodsky, Doppler, Diaghilev (lots os ballet toe shoes left on top of his monument), Ezra Pound, Robert noticed one Russian woman called the Wandering Princess because of her many amorous affairs. Although she was not a resident of Venice, she died and was buried there. You never know what you will run across.

Gallerie dell’ Accademia

Church and Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore

The church, designed by Palladio, is on its own island next to the Giudecca. The campanile offers great views of Venice and, as Bonnie points out, the Cipriani Hotel that George Clooney and his wife Amal frequent.

Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore

Next stop—Cugini del Veneto!