Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games - Venice Day 1

February 23

We have read somewhere that Venice has been voted one of the top 5 least authentic cities in the world. Out of a total population of about 250,000, only about 50,000 actually live on the island of Venice with the rest either living on the mainland or on other nearby islands. This means that tourists greatly outnumber the locals. Today, we are going to visit two of the sites that draw all of these tourists, St. Mark's basilica and the Doge Palace. But first, a little history.

We had wondered what on earth possessed people to build a major city on a bunch of swampy islands. It turns out that post-Roman northern Italy was not a particularly safe location. In the 5th and 6th centuries, this area was overrun by invaders from Germany (the Visigoths) and Atilla the Hun so the refugees from nearby Roman cities like Patavium (Padua), Tarvisium (Treviso), Aquileia, Altinum and Concordia (Portogruaro) likely settled on these islands to get away from the barbarians. The city was established in 421 CE with the dedication of the church of Saint Giacomo in the Rialto section of town. The first leader (doge) was elected at the end of the 7th century, and the doges ruled Venice for about 1,100 years until Venice was conquered by Napoleon in 1797. Because of its location on the Adriatic Sea, Venice became a major sea power and was highly connected with major trade routes to the Middle East and even as far as China.

The current Saint Mark's basilica is actually the 3rd church dedicated to Mark on the same site. The first was built to house the relics of Saint Mark, basically his body with the exception of his head, which were removed from Alexandria in the early 9th century by two Venetian merchants. Because of Venice's close ties with the Byzantine empire, the original church was modeled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). The current church was begun in 1063 and incorporated many of the elements of the previous two versions and has the general interior layout of a Greek cross. 

It is about a 45 min walk from our hotel to St. Mark's square (Piazza San Marco). There are signs on many of the buildings with arrows pointing to Piazza San Marco, but honestly, it is pretty easy to follow the crowds of tourists going in the same direction. Along the way, many of the shops are still filled with masks for Carnivale, which ended the week before we arrived. This goes well with our collection of masks, and we decide that we will see if we can find a nice mask that is made locally (as opposed to the cheap ones from China) for our collection.

When we get to the piazza, the place is already packed. Entry to the basilica is timed so we have a little time to kill. This gives Steve a chance to take some exterior pictures:

The original church had a brick facade, but after the pillage of Constantinople following the 4th Crusade, a lot of marble columns were brought back to Venice, sliced up and used as veneer on the outside of the church. But for us, the key is the mosaics, which were likely started by mosaicists from Constantinople and which were supported by the glass industry in Venice (more on that tomorrow). Here are some interior pictures:

There is a museum upstairs in the Church which shows some of the older mosaics, sculptures and tapestries that were recovered during renovations. It also helps us get a nice view of the Piazza San Marco:

We've got some time before our tour of the Doge Palace next door begins so we grab a couple of panini for lunch and then walk around. Here are a couple of pictures:

The bottom left of these four pictures is the outside of the Doge Palace. The lines to get in don't seem too long in the early afternoon so Beth asks if we can go into the Palace early and they agree. 

The Palace was built originally in the early 9th century and rebuilt in 1340. It was the residence of the Doge and the administrative center of the Republic of Venice for nearly one thousand years. Besides having the dominant navy in this part of the world and the riches arriving through their trade networks, one of the reasons for the long success of Venice was that their leadership believed in the rule of law and treated their populations fairly well. Here is an example:

The mouth is actually a mail slot, and the wording says that anyone can submit secret information about people who abuse their offices or who collude to hide their true income and the authorities will investigate. Here are some pictures of the Palace and the museum attached to it:

A lot of the artwork shows the leaders of Venice getting divine instruction (translation: God is on our side!). During one of the expansions, a prison was added nearby. People convicted in the courtroom in the Palace were escorted over the Bridge of Sighs where they would see their last views of Venice before being placed in a cell (bottom right picture).

On our way back to the hotel, we accidentally walk into the Rialto neighborhood where the main market area of Venice. The crowds make the area around the train station look like an uncrowded plaza! We immediately detour to find a less crowded path back. Here are some pictures:

Along the way, we come across what we were looking for, a family-owned business that makes their own Carnevale masks. They are basically constructed as with paper mache - a plaster called gesso, which is a mixture of chalk, gypsum and pigment is applied to a base along with gold leaf. We are a little worried that one won't survive being packed in our suitcases, but the cost is low enough that we are willing to risk it. We get a small ceramic one for Sean that we are sure will survive and then go for a larger one for our collection:

Carnevale is to Venice as Mardi Gras is to New Orleans. It began in Venice as early as the 13th century and was seen as a way to temporarily avoid the very rigid class hierarchies of Venice because for the Carnivale period, anyone could appear and act to be in any social class that they wished. Carnevale was banned by Napoleon and was only legally reintroduced in 1979. This style of mask is called a Volto and is the most common of the modern types of Carnevale mask. It is secured in the back with a ribbon, is typically worn by women and often combined with a headdress, scarf and/or veil. 

With our purchase in hand, we head back to the hotel. We ate too much last night so tonight we go to a trattoria. Inside, they have a bunch of quite different masks on the wall. When we ask the owner if these are a type of Carnevale mask, he says yes, but that they are from Romania. And yes, we have gelato for dessert!

For our last full day in Venice, we've planned a visit to a museum with early Renaissance paintings and a trip to the island of Murano to learn more about Venice's glass industry. Enjoy!