The Wykehamist
and scenes from the history of the church. Some chose to go up into the upper room, that offered a view over the inside of the church and the square outside. Despite the crowd of nattering tourists, of which we were a part, in a side chapel a priest was celebrating a communion service to a group of about 30 worshippers. If anywhere in Venice most embodies Capote’ s statement, surely it must be San Marco. Another candidate, however, would be its direct neighbour, the Palazzo Ducale. After some confusion about which queue was the correct one to wait in, we were eventually able to make our way into the palace. In there, everyone had some time to their selves, letting each choose what was most important to them. For me, already being in agony while waiting for our entrance, it was the toilet that appealed most. Having left the dark corner that contained them, I was able to make my way around the rest. All around there was so much to take in, where that be the woodcarving, or the paintings, or even the armour room. One part of the circuit around the rooms was a walk across the Bridge of Sighs, a symbol so iconic from the outside, yet with such an anonymous interior. Having made our way through, we reached the gift shop at the exit. Sadly for his wallet, Thomas Dunn( H, 2021-) succumbed to the propaganda that he needed to buy a water bottle for € 30(!), though most of the rest were able to hold themselves off from buying Doge branded merchandise. Once out of the relative cold of the palace into the warmth of the city, some made a dash for the gelato. While others, better able to restrain themselves, observed the exterior of the Basilica before going for a
walk around the piazza. Released for lunch and with the set meeting place of the Museo Correr in mind for later, groups of three or more made their way towards food. For me, pizza called again and my group of three or more made its way to a chain pizza that served a surprisingly delicious Margherita, living almost up to the standard set the night before. On reaching the meeting point( and waiting for the stragglers) we entered the museum and learnt about the diverse history of Venice through its artefacts and artworks. To many of us, it was the first time in this museum and even to Venice, so the hour and a half we spent in there proved very valuable for our understanding of the things we were going to see in further churches and museum. We then moved away from the piazza for the first time in the day, walking to the vaporetto that would take us to the Giudecca and San Giorgio Maggiore: two separate islands across a little stretch of water. Here, it was time for us to see two more churches, both different in nature from the one we had seen that morning. Made of white Istrian stone and marble, these two buildings designed by Andrea Palladio are beautifully serene. San Giorgio Maggiore, the first we visited and built on the island of the same name, is built to mimic two temple reliefs overlayed on one another. It’ s inside is several staps plainer than the San Marco: brilliant white all around rather than gold, giving it a beautiful, open feel. The limited windows throw light around the church in harsh lines, highlighting different elements and different times of day. The next, this time on the Giudecca itself, was Il Redontore. Rather than two temple reliefs, it had three,
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