As
the bright sunshine greeted us, we bid goodbye to Florence, which had
mesmerised every one of us with sheer beauty and nostalgia. The roads,
surroundings, and beautiful cars once again began to fill our minds with their magnificence.
We crossed a number of tunnels, some short, some of them very long. The
maintenance of the tunnels was thorough. Picturesque surroundings did not let
us feel tired even as we travelled for nearly four hours. We had our lunch in
an Indian restaurant in Mestre, a beautiful place on our way. Post lunch we reached
Tronchetto, from where we boarded a ‘Vaporetto’, a steamer boat (water
bus). We could see major settings during the half-an-hour ride, which took us
to Venice island. Venice is built on more than 120 islands, separated by water
canals. Portions of the city are linked by nearly 400 bridges. A city of canals
and bridges, Venice is a part of the metropolitan area, which includes other
cities too. A major centre of commerce during and after the Renaissance, Venice
is also called queen of the Adriatic Sea. But the water canals and lagoons of
Venice are under constant threat of floods due to their peculiar ecology.
As we stepped out of the Vaporetto,
Venezia (Venice) gave us a graceful welcome. The hustle and bustle of the place
gave it the look of a fair. Out of the small and large shops, the most striking
were those of masks worn during the Carnival of Venice. We crossed a few
bridges and reached the ‘Bridge of Sighs’. It’s a corridor which links the ‘Doge’s
Palace’ to the ‘New Prison’. Built in the Venetian style, the Doge’s Palace was
the residence of ‘Doge’, the head of the former republic of Venice. During the initial
phase, there were holding cells within the palace, but later more prisons were
created, collectively called New Prison. During that era, the Bridge of Sighs
used to be the last sight of Venice for the convicts before commencement of
their imprisonment. The Bridge of Sighs has been featured in many movies as
well as song albums. The bridge has many fascinating anecdotes to it too.
Inspired by the interesting background and the architecture, a number of
imitations of the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs were made all over the
world, including Oxford and Cambridge. Going further, after crossing a couple
of more bridges, we took a right turn, came St. Mark square. It is the
principal public square, dominated by St. Mark Basilica, Column of the Lion of
Venice, Column of Theodore, and Bell tower. St. Mark Basilica is the former
political and religious centre of the Republic of Venice, and is attached to
the Doge’s Palace. Although the architecture is Italian, it is different from
the Roman style. While the arches display a Roman impact, the domes tell about Islamic
influence. Together they make a beautiful combination called the Venetian
(Gothic) style. The bell tower (St. Mark’s Campanile) stands out majestically.
Just like the Bridge of Sighs, the Campanile also inspired the designs of
various towers worldwide. The columns are again a marvellous piece of art. Going
further ahead, we saw a long arcade lined by shops and restaurants at ground
level, with offices above. Each restaurant had laid tables in the designated open
space and each one had its own small live band- a violin, a piano, a saxophone,
a clarinet, and a cello; wow, enough to hold me. I have been intermittently
listening to Jazz or Western classical music since class 12 and like it. I
could listen to three bands, each one playing a different piece, and all were
equally mellow. A couple of pieces sounded familiar. Although I did not know the details of the composition or the
composer, I got completely absorbed by the soothing melody. Apart from being
known for beautiful architectural settings, Venice has been an eminent place
for instrumental music for a long time. Known for operatic music, Venice is the
birthplace of many great composers like Vivaldi.
Having witnessed architecture and music,
it was now time to explore the Romanza di Venezia (Romance of Venice). Venice
still maintains the traditional set-up of the Gondola- elegant body painted in shimmering
black, golden artwork, rich upholstery, and the iconic metal hood! Gondolas
have been a favourite worldwide, and can be seen in umpteen movies, songs, and
many other art forms. Our Gondolier helped us board the Gondola. We were
already inside a narrow lane when we heard someone singing a song. It was the
Gondolier who was following us, singing a Venetian song to the people
seated in his Gondola. The Gondolier continued his singing, which made our ride
livelier. All along the way, we saw shops and homes on both sides, all of them
reflecting beautiful Venetian patterns of doors, windows, and colours. People
sat and relaxed in their homes, some of them gladly waving at us. The skill of
the Gondolier was evident when he promptly bent to negotiate some of the
bridges we crossed, which were at much less height than others. The entire ride
was calm. The waters were peaceful. The quietness was peculiar and tranquil;
the only sound played was that of the splashing of water created by the oar.
Again, the constraint of time upset me.
There was so much to see inside the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark Basilica, but could
not be explored. However, I managed to have a glimpse of some of the narrow
lanes, lined by small outlets, reminding me of the lively markets of Chaandni
Chowk, Ameena Baagh, and Chaar Meenaar. Various glassware shops displayed
beautifully made Venetian glass products, for which Venice is eminent. Our tour
manager took us to a shop for the much-awaited topping of the day. Every
evening he used to take us promptly to a unique eating outlet and offer coffee
or delicious toppings. Today, it was ‘Italian Gelato ice cream’, and was a
delight, especially after a mesmerising Gondola ride.
As we boarded our coach, I took my pen and
notebook to scribble down the memories of the day. It was a day with diverse
affairs. Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs narrated a fascinating history,
St. Mark Basilica displayed majestic architecture, the bands took me on an
opulent tour of music, and the Gondola ride was a serene finale.
1 comment:
You recreated the scenes of our journey by nice description 👌
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