Venezia, Italia (Venice)

09.04.2008

Venice, Italy

So Venice is basically everything you’d think it would be. Crowded, lots of Italian, touristy shops, good food, beautiful setting…generally just awesome. We all got really used to the lifestyle (“We have to cross the street and deal with cars now? What?”) and felt like we knew our way around by the time we left, which was a bit sad, but impressive after only being there for 2.5 days.

My flight out of Frankfurt left quite early Sunday morning. Jeff and I had to wake up at 4:00 and haul our suitcases to the train station, which sucked, but was manageable. I did, however, lose a wheel off my suitcase. It just kinda…popped off on the walk over. Oh well. Anyway, I was on the same flight as another kid in our program, which was handy, and we got into Venice just fine and slept the whole way. We figured out how to take the train over to the island, since the airport isn’t actually in Venice, and ran into another girl from the program and found the hotel pretty easily. Once we got settled into our rooms, Liz and I decided to go explore the city and get some food. We found a cute little place past one of the canals that served delicious pizza. I got a huge pizza I couldn’t finish with artichoke hearts for 6 €. I also discovered the European version of Moxie (which is a soda only found in Maine…it tastes a bit like root beer with a birch bark aftertaste) called chinotto. Afterwards we got back and took well-deserved naps.

We had a studio meeting that night then went out for dinner in the Jewish Ghetto. We pretty much just wandered around the canals out there until we found a good looking restaurant that could seat all of us (22 students, 2 professors, and our professor’s wife). It was primarily seafood, so I just had pasta with tomato sauce and a salad, but still, it was all delicious. We split up into groups and explored the town at night and pretty much just had a good time hanging out.

The next morning, we woke up and set of as a studio for a ride along the canal. Venice has a “waterbus” system, which is pretty much just like normal busses except on water: they have a schedule with various lines and you wait at the waterbus stop until your boat comes. There are many side canals in Venice, but one main canal that winds its way through the city. We began our day with a general tour of Venice by just boating through the whole city, which was lovely. The buildings are all squashed together and crumbly and variously colored and styled. It was a great way to start the day to be able to just look around and still sit!

We got off the waterbus at St. Mark’s square and got a bit of a history lesson from Cinzia (our Italian professor) about the buildings on the square and the square itself. Afterwards, we went up into the tower located there. I was prepared to climb stairs to the top, but luckily they had an elevator. The view at the top was magnificent. We had a 360 degree panoramic of the city, and everywhere we looked were red tile roofs. The buildings were so dense that in most places, you couldn’t even see the water. After ogling for a while, we went back down and went to a store in the square called Olivetti’s, which was designed by Carlo Scarpa, a famous architect. We visited another project of his recently, and it’s quickly become evident how attentive to detail he is. I feel like that phrase can get thrown around pretty easily, but it really is the best way to describe him. He specified everything and would not let the workers rest until all was perfect: from the stone surface to the intricate detailing of the window frames, from the covers for the heating vents inside to the simple yet ornate entryway. We went inside and were able to snap some photos before we got chastised, since the shop is now an art gallery (oops! All in the name of architecture, though!).

We milled about the square and decided not to try to visit the basilica, because the line was ridiculous and we were all getting hungry at this point in the day. Instead, we meandered through the city towards an area Cinzia knew to be good for lunch. Along the way, I just took in the sites. Most of the streets are quite narrow, since there’s no need to accommodate cars. Tiny crowded streets weave in and around old buildings selling everything from sandwiches right down to masquerade masks. We stopped in a square and were given free time for lunch on our own. I had brought a focacia pizza from the local coop supermarket that morning (for 1,61 €, what a steal) and bought a drink in town. After eating, most people were sitting on the shady side of a monument, but we had passed a church a little ways back and I decided to go explore it.

The church was Santo Stefano, and it was beautiful. I’m so glad I went in, because it was unlike any church I’ve seen before (although I’ve since then seen quite a few): the ceiling was a series of stacked barrel vaults, but the amazing part was that everything was tiled. All of the curves of the vaults, all of the cross beams supporting the walls, and all of the window cutouts were all tiled. I couldn’t believe it. The altar itself was ornate and there was nice vaulting in the choir space. The side aisles were roofed in flat wood beams, which was something you see less commonly. The main walls were pattered brick, and the columns alternated in both color and style. Such a fantastic church! I went outside and tried to convince my classmates to go visit it, but they were all too hot and tired. I have a feeling I may be one of the more motivated students this semester as far as visiting old architecture goes…oh well! I had a little more time to kill, so I went down a side alley to a pastry shop someone had mentioned and bought the tiniest cannoli for 0,80 €. Those of you who know of my obsession with mini things will understand my excitement, because the pastry was probably about 1.5” long! So cute, and so tasty.

We walked through town some more until we reached the edge of the main island and took a waterbus over to the next stretch of land, Giudecca (also an island). Here we looked at two fairly recent housing projects. The first one we visited was a low-income complex from the mid 70’s. The architect (forget his name) used a system of light wells, passageways, and an elevated duplex system that was obviously very successful. Just walking around, we could tell that the apartments were lived in, well cared for, and that people felt safe in the area. I’ve become quite interested in low-income housing after designing slum dwelling in Lagos, Nigeria last fall and working with modular (also low income) houses in Holyoke, MA this summer. The project was a great example of how much can be done with so little when a project is simply well thought out.

We then made out way over to the local Hilton Hotel, which used to be an industrial mill that has since then been converted into a five-star hotel. The staff was kind enough to let a huge group of Americans into their swanky hotel, so we went in and had a look around. Although some of the building had been changed and renovated, much of the original structure was visible. Brick barrel vaulted hallways were still used (and beautifully lit), heavy iron columns still supported old refinished wooden beams on the first floor, and much of the roof was kept intact. They advised us that the roof level was most impressive, so we headed up there and found the roof pool, bar, and spa area. The views of the city were, again, stunning, and so much of the original brick was integrated with the current program.

After leaving the hotel, we walked over to the second housing complex, which was designed by Cino Zucchi and wasn’t low-income. The complex was a series of buildings, all differently styled but design by the same architect. We made note of the careful use of material, placement of windows, and the design of openings. There is a big difference in architecture between simply placing a window and really designing it, and this complex was a great example of that.

Next, we visited two Palladio churches. Both were beautiful, and we were instructed to note the use of light, material, and the changes in façade structure and organization. I really don’t feel like going into detail though, because there are so many more churches left to talk about and really only so much you can say (unless talking to a fellow architect and going all out). After the churches, we were done as a group for the day, so we all split up. I went back to the hotel and regrouped for a while, then met up with a bunch of people for dinner (12 of us in total). We ended up having our best dinner yet. Cinzia recommended an area of town for good, cheap food, so we set off for it and wandered around. The first restaurant we went to tried to lure us in by telling us that Brad Pitt and George Clooney had reserved tables and were on their way. Viviane (who is quickly becoming the feisty leader in a big group) responded “I can’t eat Brad Pitt” and turned on her heel. The prices were expensive, so we didn’t mind.

We ended up finding a place with pizzas starting at 5 € and a substantial pasta menu as well. The place was nearly empty, so they were able to easily seat all of us, and even let us rearrange the tables to make one big long table for all of us. Everyone except me ordered pizza (and they all looked fabulous), while I ordered spinach and ricotta tortellini. We ordered two carafes of house wine and quickly needed more; it worked out perfectly for us each to get one glass out of one carafe. We had a ton of fun just bonding and drinking wine all night, and the restaurant loved us because we were giving them business and trying to speak Italian. By the end of the night, we had ordered five carafes and gotten an additional two on the house.

The next morning we were on our own but had a suggested itinerary. Everyone started out on Murano, the island where all of the glass is produced. We found a small factory that gave a brief tour, although most of it was pretty similar to what I’ve seen on Martha’s Vineyard, although this place did use glass sprinkle-like-things to add colored dots. After seeing how everything was made, we walked around the island for a few hours going into shops, marveling especially at the chandeliers, which are huge and absolutely gorgeous. A bit tacky if you consider one in your dining room, but still very cool. We picked up lunch at the grocery store and sat on a building stoop watching the hustle and bustle of the town (I picked up a roll with some artichoke dip and a plum yogurt).

Once we got to the point where the glass got repetitive and boring, we left the island. Everyone was really hot and headed for the beach, but I decided that since we were leaving the city the next morning and we were in freaking EUROPE I was going to go to churches, since I’m a sucker for really old architecture. So I spent the afternoon with a very zoomed out map without street names navigating around and just exploring. Even when I got lost it was fine, because I was still just wandering around Venice! I ended up going to 6 or 7 churches, all of which were quite different and all beautiful. I saw wooden ship hull ceilings, 9^th century art, triple nave churches, trompe l’oeil, beautifully ornate choirs, and just…everything. Among my wanderings I also found a Museum of Music, which had instruments from the 1700s, mostly violins, but also harps, crazy hand piano things, clarinets, weird looking stringed instruments I’ve never even heard of…all very cool.

We regrouped as a studio and went out for dinner…I tried gnocchi for the first time and they were delicious. We went back to our vino restaurant and chatted with the waiters over tiramisu and more wine, then headed back for the night.

We left the following morning for Vicenza but made stops along the way, so that will all be in the next entry.

PICTURES: typical Venetian canalscape, tiled church ceiling at Santo Stefano, a Murano glass chandelier, and the nave of Santo Maria Gloriosa dei Frari