We had accumulated a lot of photos from our explorations in Venice, but didn't have the time to process them. Now that we have a little more time, I've decided to show you a few of the aspects of the city that fascinated us.
Gondolas and squeraroli
Venice's gondolas continue to be handcrafted by the "squeraroli", the craftsmen who own “squeri”, the small shipyards still present in Venice's historic center.
The squero of San Trovaso dates back to before the 17th century. It has been family-run for generations. Like all squeri, the buildings are made of wood, reminiscent of the carpenter's trade from which the squeri originated.
It takes 10 years to master the construction of a gondola. Building a gondola require's 280 pieces of wood from eight different species. It measures 10.8 meters, is 1.38 m wide and weighs 600 kg. Gondolas are flat bottom and asymmetrical to compensate for the weight of the gondolier, who stands on the left, rowing on the right. The Indonesian wooden oar is 4.2 m long. The gondolier handles it using the “fórcola”, a kind of walnut oarlock with 8 positions for different maneuvers.
Trade beads, Murano
In the post of the earlier visit to Venice, I mentioned the trade beads from Murano and the fact that I came up with such trade beads when working in Western Africa in the early 2000 years. Here are the pictures of the beads I found there and how they relate to what I discovered while visiting the Venetian lagoon and Murano.
 Rosetta beads necklace, one of the most famous Venetian beads, in a Venetian shop, 2024.
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 Rosetta beads bought in Benin in the early 2000 |
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 Trade bead neckless bought in Ivory Coast in 2000 |
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection features a large number of works of modern art, including works by artists such as Magritte, Chagall, Dalí, Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Brancusi, to name but a few. You could spend hours here! Here are just a few examples:
Vasily Kandinsky, White Cross, 1922
Vasily Kandinsky, Landscape with Red Spots, No. 2, 1913
Vasily Kandinsky, Upward, 1929
Marc Chagall, Rain, 1911
René Magritte, Empire of Light, 1953–54
Other pieces of arts in Churches and museum
To start with, the lion of Saint Marc flanked by saints John the baptist, John the evangelist, Mary Magdalene, and Jerome, at the Gallery dell' Academia di Venezia. Saint Mark is the patron saint of Venice and the winged lion is associated with him.
Giambattista Cima, Saint Marc Lion
In the same gallery, is the Madona col Bambino, XIV century. When I trained as a leprologist at Hôpital Saint-Louis in the early '80s, Professor Cottenot began his first lecture by asking us who the most famous leper was... A few names came up, which he brushed aside by telling us it was Jesus. He was referring to the ulnar claw (the last two fingers of the hand are curled up) which is a very suggestive sign of leprosy! Jesus, and the Saints! Since then, I can't look at these icons without thinking of leprosy!
Then, the Triumph of Hercules by Antonio Buttafogo in Ca' Pesaro – International Gallery of Modern Art.
Triumph of Hercules, Ca' Pesaro – International Gallery of Modern Art, Antonio Buttafogo
Next, a famous Titian, Assumption of the Virgin Mary in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.
Titian, Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Below is a detail of Titian Pala Pesaro in the Frari church. Note how the young girl is breaking the fourth wall, which was rare at the time.
Detail of the Titian Pesaro Madona
Redentore
By chance, we happened to be in Venice on the third weekend of July, when Venetians are celebrating the Redentore, the most beloved Venice event. It celebrates the end of the plague of 1576 that killed 50,000 people. To ask for god intervention, the Senat decided in 1576 to built a small wooden "Redentore" church on Giudecca Island. On 20th July 1577 the end of the plague was celebrated, thanking the redeemer Christ for the grace received, through a procession. To cross the Giudecca Canal and reach the Redentore Church on foot, a bridge of barges was created. From 5 centuries, tradition is still alive and a temporary bridge allow to reach the church.
Boats on Grand Canal heading for the Redentore fireworks celebration
The Retentore celebration concludes with the largest fireworks on earth every year. It is almost impossible to access the area along the canal where one can see the fireworks. You have to buy tickets in advance, and tourists are only allowed to buy tickets, if any left, in the last days before the fireworks. So no chance for us, but still impressive experience from behind the scene!
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