In the museum are portraits of many of the Doges, and tapestries, and magnificent old terrestrial and celestial globes — most people were looking on them for the Americas, but we (for some strange reason) were more interested in New Holland! In the Library there are many old documents — legal and diplomatic documents documenting the history of Venice's place in the world, as well as precious old manuscript and printed books important in the wider world history. There are wonderful examples of old maps, including a magnificent copy of a famous 15th century world map. We saw a handsome illuminated copy of the Benedictine Rule, and a printed work containing hand-coloured woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer. And in the Archaeological Museum are antiquities going way back, including a statue from Egypt's XXIV Dynasty (7th century BC) that could well have been carved by a 20th century modernist! We were taken by a simply-decorated Etruscan container — again, it resonated well with the 20th century! There is a room full of paintings by the various members of the Bellini family in the middle of an art gallery containing medieval icons as well as paintings by Pieter Breugel the younger, and by Hieronymous Bosch. There were also samples of nineteenth century Venetian velvet, and of the embossed leather used within the palace.
Lazzaro Bastiani Doge Francesco Foscari ca. 1460
A religious tapestry
An illuminated copy of the Benedictine Rule
Ceiling painting, 'Wisdom' by Titian
Ceiling painting, Music by Veronese
XXVI Dynasty Egyptian statue (7th Century BC)
An Etruscan container
The Adoration of the Magi by Pieter Breugel the younger
The Temptation of Saint Anthony by Hieronymous Bosch
The Doge Giovanni Mecenigo by Gentile Bellini
Nineteenth century Venetian cut velvet
Embossed leather
On Murano there is a museum of the history of Murano glassmaking, and it is truly mind-blowing. There is over 400 years of glass history there, including a glass trumpet, and some of the modern pieces stand as striking statues in their own right!
While on Murano we watched as a four-person gondola powered its way past - these boats take part in a huge regatta in September, and their crews obviously like to keep in trim throughout the year!
On the way back to the main island, we heard the insistent siren of an approaching ambulance, which was powering its way across the water at high speed. Our own vaporetto was making good speed back towards Piazza San Marco.
From the Piazza, we made our way home, getting off at the Ca' d'Oro stop, which took us to the supermarket to get a few goodies before bidding a fond farewell to Venice.
Distance driven — today, nil; 16,786 miles ( 27,015 km )
Just as stunning as yesterday. The glass trumpet is intriguing. Is it playable? The scenery on the canals only needed a Tintoretto . You certainly had wonderful weather. There is some island there where women do fantastic embroidery and lacemaking. Pauline bought me a lovely cloth done by them when she was there , oh probably fifteen years' ago. We are still lumbered with Mt Bryan but the car can't do long trips any more, so we rely on a friend from Mt Bryan who David pays to keep the grass and weeds off the 4 blocks. He has a few friends with a few goats or a few sheep so they help with that too-a worry off our backs especially during summer. I feel sure the house will still be waiting to be sold when we are both gone, but that will not be our worry. PhD starting to come together in my mind now so am into the lit review with a vengeance, starting with the 2 Government Standards docos for maternal and neonatal health care delivery. I have a lot of issues with both. Any way enough. your travels look magnificent. The pics are magic and the text better and better. Love to both, Cathy J.
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