Venice in winter

If there are any genuine readers of this blog, you may recall a review of Joseph Brodsky's collection of essays on Venice titled Watermark. What was at the very beginning just another book, quickly turned into an unidentified form of connection with the city of Venice. If travel were a religion, Venice would be the holy city, and Watermark would be the Bible. As it had been done in August, we arrived to the city by train in the early morning hours. The day couldn't have possibly begun without a caffeine fix, thusly the first stop was made in the café closest to the train station. First on the itinierary was Ca' Pesaro - the museum of modern and oriental art, which is situated in Santa Croce. There we took a look at various artworks from various periods such as Picasso, Kandinsky, Mirò, Dalì etc. Besides the permanent collection, there was also an exhibition of Coco Chanel titled The woman who reads. The collection consisted of various books, designs, letters, notes and notebooks. Aside from the art situated inside the palace, Ca' Pesaro could be a museum all on its own. It reminded me of Brodsky's words:

When one strolls through the rooms, they encounter themselves in doubt as to what admire first. The floors are sheathed in somewhat subtle motifs, whereas the ceilings are endowned with depictions of biblical scenes, surrounded with an abundance of gold decorations. Undoubtedly an unmissable experience.

Afterwards, we continued past the Venetian market over Ponte Rialto towards Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, where we purchased tickets to climb the spiral stairs. What makes this palace especially unique is its location, as it is hidden among multiple back alleys. In addition, Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo presents a great alternative for those unwilling to climb to the top of Campanile San Marco, as it offers a beautiful view of Venetian rooftops with various belltowers (along with Basilica San Marco) standing out. After having climbed the stairs and taken a look inside the Tintoretto room, we proceeded towards Piazza San Marco, along with a pit stop at La Fenice. Lastly followed a visit to the Querini Stampalia bookshop and the famous Acqua Alta, which was for me quite a disappointment. Afterwards, all stops we made were souvenir shopping and coffee drinking oriented. At 15.40, we boarded the train back to Trieste and called it a day.

Despite having visited the city of water for the fifth time, it still never ceases to amaze me. Walking through the streets, the traveler is overtaken with a sense of urgency, as it is a well known fact that the city is sinking, and we are thus running out of time to discover all its beauty. Nevertheless, it is foolish to encase oneself in worry, for it is important to enjoy Venice in all its wondrous glory instead.

Is Venice on your bucket list?

x, Valens