Saturday morning in Cannaregio

Saturday morning was a bit rainy and there was acqua alta so we put on our boots, went to Tonolo in Dorsoduro for the obligatory caffè e bigne and went for a walk through Cannaregio.  There were heaps of tourists on  Lista di Spagna and  near Strada Nova struggling with suitcases on the wooden acqua alta platforms. We decided to avoid the main drags and wandered around the fondamente nearest Madonna dell'Orte.

 A nonno  going to the market with his grandson - he ended up carrying him when the water got too deep

 Just doing the shopping is hard with acqua alta

The Cannaregio market a messy mixture of water, tourists with suitcases and local people trying to do their shopping

 The statues of the Mori attached to the Osteria dei Mori have been restored. The one at the front looks as though he has a gangrenous nose or his rusty old nose has had antirust liberally applied .

 A great old doors in Campo dei Mori

Venetians must have all been around my height :)

 

We went to the beautiful Chiesa di Madonna Dell'Orto  and were very lucky that the church organ was being played for the whole time that we were there.  The sound was incredible and the organist very competent and he obviously enjoyed playing.  There are many beautiful paintings including many by Tintoretto who is buried in this church.

One sad note was an empty frame in the chapel near the front door of the church. A 1480 Giovanni Bellini painting of "The Madonna with Child" was stolen in 1993 and there is only a photograph of the painting and an empty frame to remind us of the beautiful painting that was there. No doubt it is in some wealthy Bs collection.

Museo Storico Navale di Venezia

Il Museo Storico Navale di Venezia is a very interesting place to visit especially if you are interested in naval battles etc.  We were not so interested in the extensive more recent part of the collection but spent a long time looking at the older pieces and excellent models.

There are some really well-crafted models of old vessels from Roman times to times when the Venetian navies had a powerful influence.  There is a beautiful model of the last Bucintoro -the  ceremonial boat used by the Doges. The last Bucintoro was burnt by the French in the late 1700s - Napoleon wrecking another bit of Venice. 

We have been meaning to visit this museum for years and are glad that we finally did. We were there for a long while but you could spend many hours if you are interested in WW1 and WW2 naval battles and artifacts. It is absolutely worth a visit.

A highly decorated old Venetian cannon. The photos below show some of the detail

 The Venice lion was on everything

There were many old maps and models.  

This was of the city and fortress of Corfu and was dated 1692

Model of the Bucintoro

 If you're really interested, this is the info about the Bucintoro from the museum

There are many fragments and whole carved and gilded figureheads

Decorations on restored panels from the side of a Galley

La Fenice

La Traviata is on at La Fenice a few days after we leave for Rome - bad timing, we loved going to the opera here last year.

 Not far from la Fenice

 This head was above a window - must have been recently cleaned as he is much brighter than his surroundings

Rain and acqua alta

It has been a rainy few days  and we've had acqua alta. It rises and falls pretty quickly and is not too much of a problem for us but it would be terrible for local people trying to go about doing their daily chores and business.  Even something like rubbish collection becomes problematic.

Acqua alta near Ponte dei Pugni yesterday morning

Later in the morning the water had cleared

There are planks on metal frames everywhere that the acqua alta is a problem so you can still get around though boots are still necessary for big puddles which can cover the paths and calli.

In the morning the water was covering the wooden planks in front of the palazzo on the right

By the afternoon the water had dropped

The calm acqua alta resulted in this great reflection.

There were heaps of fish close to the steps which were underwater.  There are always a lot of small fish in the canals

There are fish markets in Campo S. Margherita in the morning and lots of gulls hang around waiting for treats.  The gulls are enormous compared with those in Australia

From time to time we don't eat at restaurants - heaps of great cheese, breads , vegetables etc around.  You'll always find great food whatever your budget.

Venezia in nero, bianco e molto grigio

There was heavy fog (nebbia) today and in the early morning visibility was very low. We wandered around shopping and taking  photos.  I thought it was a black and white day for photos.

 We often sit at this spot near the Rialto for an aperitivo in the evening