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This is the blog of Steve Burkett of Italy, Our Italy

And now for something entirely different!

“The other significant difference between this church and others? It’s that the...well, I’ll tell you the difference below in a bit...see if you can tell before you get there!”

In last weeks blog we visited a fabulous off-the-beaten-path, seldom-visited church in Albogasio, Italy. With its clean lines and beautiful painted art works, it couldn't be more dissimilar to the church I will show you today -- the Basilica San Marco. San Marco is the antithesis of that little Albogasio church in so many ways.

One way is that the Basilica sits right-smack-dab in Piazza San Marco in Venice and has hundreds-of-thousands of visitors each year. This photo which shows the exterior was taken in January, 2004, on a cold and dreary day.

[click an image to see a larger view]

Notice the exterior embellishments, like these protected saints enclosed in their spires, visible in this more recent photo.

The other significant difference between this church and others? It's that the...well, I'll tell you the difference below in a bit...see if you can tell before you get there!

This church's embellishments date from the 11th century. In the crypt you will find the bones of Venice's patron saint, St Mark, whose body was whisked away from the Muslim authorities in a daring raid in Alexandria, Egypt in the year 828.

Before you even enter the church, you are treated to magnificent Biblical scenes like this one above the entrance to the church.

In the portico before entering the church, you can see art works depicting Old and New Testament Biblical stories, one of which includes, among other stories, the Genesis story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Can you identify any of the other Biblical stories?

We are now inside the church.

This photo from the left transept shows a bit of the art work and the scale of the church, which was originally designated as the Doge's private chapel. The Doge was the elected leader of Venice -- no monarchy in Venice!

Here you can see the Pala d'Oro, which is gold altar screen embellished with precious jewels.

Can't see the jewels? Here is a more detailed view.

Another interior photo showing religious scenes. Have you figured out what makes this church so unique?

Ready for the big reveal that I promised earlier?

Every art work -- inside and out -- that you've seen in the photos above is composed of mosaics, like these. That's about 90,000 square feet of colorful mosaic tiles.

Here you can see just how colorful these mosaic art works are as Solomon and David have a bit of father and son time to sit and talk about their trials and tribulations.

Here is another masterpiece with some rather rough-looking angels meting out justice.

Not convinced that all you see is mosaic? Here is a detailed view of the photo above.

I was fortunate to capture the morning sun streaming through upper windows for this award-winning photo.

Is this is still a functioning church? It sure is. Below you see prayer candles and a liturgical chant awaiting the Bishop of this Archdiocese.

I'll close with more interior photos from this gorgeous church. Remember that you can click on a photo to see a larger view.

So, now you have seen two very distinctly different churches of Italy. The simple, yet elegantly refined church at Albogasio and the more famous Basilica San Marco of Venice. Both are testaments to the faithful artisans who embellished them as a way to glorify their Lord and Saviour.

Ciao for now,

Steve

p.s. feel free to leave a comment in the box below.

Stumbling Upon Something Magnificent

During our travels, we've had occasion to stumble upon some great things. When I think of stumbling upon something great, I immediately think of an absolutely beautiful day while visiting Bellagio.

“We still find it hard to believe what we stumbled upon that day, and I think you will, too.”

We still find it difficult to believe what we stumbled upon that day, and I think you will, too.

We were traveling with our friends Debbie and Scott (see last week's blog) and they decided to spend a day boating on Lake Como while we rented a car to drive into Switzerland.

Bellagio is not a large town and we were surprised to find a small garage that had rental cars. Here is our nice rental, complete with stick shift (do you remember how?).

[click on an image to get a larger view]

We got up extra early and we were just able to catch the last ferry of the day to travel from Bellagio to Menaggio, on the west side of the lake. Why would an early-morning ferry be the last of the day, you ask? A general transportation strike was set to start at 9:00am today, of course! It is Italy, you know.

With Bellagio receding in the distance, we made it to beautiful lakeside Menaggio, with its ubiquitous geraniums.

We took some time to have a light breakfast con Coca Cola Lite, of course...

...and for co-pilot Ellen to check the map for our route into Switzerland.

Along the way, we were treated to the fantastic Italian lakeside scenery, like these white swans skimming across the lake.

These guys were hoping that we would toss a bit of our croisant to them.

And the sun continued to provide gorgeous views as we drove along the lake.

The lakes in northern Italy are surrounded by mountains like this one.

Oh no! What's that blocking the road? It was the first of three buses traveling together that were making their way through a small town with it's very narrow roadway -- this is the main roadway along the lake, by the way.

They each had to move forward and back a few times to make it around the corner. We had to fold our side mirrors in, and with about 3" to spare the buses made their way past us.

Driving along Lake Lugano, which is half-in Italy and half-in Switzerland, we made a turn and came upon the charming little village of Albogasio..

Ellen suggested that this would be a great place to stop to explore life-on-the-lake in Italy. She saw the church you can see at the very top of the town and she decided that it would be our goal. As there are no auto roads in this town (residents park on the small pier that you can see sitting above the lake on the left), we sought out a way up.

A time worn path made its way up the hillside.

As we worked our way up, we had views like this one, which is Melissa's and Max's favorite.

We loved the rustic nature of Albogasio, with gardens and lovely views of Lake Lugano.

As we continued up, it was obvious to us that this village has been here for a long time.

Ahhh, getting closer.

And now the entrance is in sight.

On the lake-side wall, we found coats of arms painted on the side of the church. Each represents one of the seven archdioceses of Milan.

And finally, the door to the church.

We grasped the latch of this time-worn door, and...

...we were staggered by the inside of this small church sitting high on the side of the hill above Lake Lugano!

We've been in many beautiful churches in Italy, but we were stunned by this dazzling site. We found that this church was built in 1628 and was filled with magnificent 17th century paintings.

The ceiling above the altar has a painting of The Coronation of the Virgin.

The altar was adorned by these four silver bishops.

The two side chapels are also beautifully painted, like the one below. One chapel is dedicated to Saints Gioacchino and Anna, and the other to Saint Giuseppe. Notice that the scene below is all canvas with the exception of the alter with Christ's statue. The columns are not real, nor is the base on which the putti sit.

We were sad to leave, but we had miles to go on our day of adventure. Working our way down through the village, we found our way through the stone labyrinths...

...until we finally made it down to the road where we had parked.

This was just the start of a day of unexpected surprises. I'll tell you about the rest of our day another time. So, stay tuned.

Ciao for now,

Steve

Traveling with Friends

We love to travel with our friends. It's such fun to share experiences we can then talk about forever and ever.

Over the years, we have had the privilege to travel with 10 other loved ones to Italy. We look back on the memories created during these visits and find that each moment connected to these loved ones lives within our hearts.

First, here is a short video that I've put together giving you a whirlwind, 2012 trip through Italy in 3 minutes and 28 seconds. This was a trip with our great friends, Debbie & Scott Kennedy. There is music involved -- I hope you listen with quality computer speakers or ear-buds/headphones.

Below the video you will be able to read a few anecdotes of travels with friends over the years.

Like the time we were having a slice of pizza for lunch from Bar Ducale in Venice with Leslie and Craig on a small calle. A gentleman walked by on the way to the Ristorante Raffaele where he worked carrying a 'bouquet' of basil, wrapped in butcher paper. The aroma was marvelous! Now, every time we smell basil, we think of those moments there with Leslie and Craig where Calle delle Ostreghe crosses the Rio de l'Alboro.

I still remember an evening in Florence, walking toward the Piazza della Signoria. Greg says to me, "Do you know what you call cheese that's not yours?". I said, "No". Greg said, "Nacho cheese!". Hah - a joke indelibly etched in my mind, tied to a place I love, with a guy I love.

Or the time we were taking a romantic gondola ride with the Johnsons and the Ponsfords and as we tried to serenade ourselves with singing, we realized that none of us knew any song for which all of us could sing more than the first line. We settled on 'White Christmas'. Was it in December? No. But isn't October close to Christmas?

And then there was Casa alle Vacche, home of the excellent Cinabro Chianti (such a distinctive taste!). Dale was sitting crossed legged and was telling a story and mimicking a friend when he started giggling so much that he couldn't finish his story. We will always remember that spot, and the view of San Gimignano sitting proud in the distance as we had lunch as Dale giggled uncontrollably. [Editors note: it was the wine!]

It was a nice restaurant in Florence, down in one of those whitewashed medieval basements. Ginger looked lovely in her white blouse. While the waiter was placing appetizers on the table, he tipped over a plate of pate' right onto Ginger's brand new, bought just that day, white blouse. As befits Ginger, she didn't miss a beat as she took to the lady's room, club soda in hand, to resolve the situation with absolutely no fuss. When we think of Florence, or when we think of pate', we think of Ginger and her marvelous spirit.

And, how about the time we were in Venice during a rather loud demonstration as it wound it's way through the calle of Venice. Drums. Flags. Banners. A cacophony of chanting. Mike started to walk along with the group, having no idea what the demonstration was about. As he marched, he tapped a flag-carrying demonstrator on the shoulder and pointed at their flag and then himself -- and off he went over bridge and canal carrying a red flag of protest for who knows what. Yes, he did make it through passport control upon departure from Italy. And yes, we are sure it must have been for a worthy cause.

And there is another Mike story…oh, so many. We were in Venice and about to go into the wonderful Basilica San Marco. Judy didn’t have her shoulders covered, which is required in most active Italian churches. Mike took off his T-shirt and draped it over Judy’s shoulders…all good now, except Mike is now shirtless on Piazza San Marco and certainly cannot go into the church. Judy, Ellen and I did our ground floor tour of the church and went to the second floor. Going out onto the balcony with the Quattro Cavalli (4 bronze horses…reproductions here with originals just inside the church) is always a treat, as you have an elevated panoramic view of the Piazza. Today’s view included Mike, forced up against the wall of the campanile by two carabinieri poliziotti. They were not happy about Mike’s semi-nude condition. Judy shrieked a bit and took off to rescue Mike. She was successful. No harm done, a lesson learned.

We had told Nicole not to worry too much about how she dressed, her makeup and her appearance, as "what are the chances you will see anyone you know in Italy?" Sure enough, while staring at The David statue in the Academia Gallery, she hears, "Nicole, what are you doing here?!". And a few days later she and about 6 other high school friends bumped into each in the Piazza San Marco in Venice. And yes, she looked lovely, by the way!

And then there's the beautiful verdigris bronze lion at the base of the Manin statue in Campo Manin in Venice. Walking back from dinner in the evening, we heard Judy suggest that this fabulous, century-old Lion of St Mark, needed to have it's nose picked...which she proceeded to do! This was from a normally reserved, but obviously fun-loving Judy!

One of our favorite memories is Scott's and Debbie's afternoon adventure in Venice. I had led them around in circles twice in one day and they were not too impressed with my Venetian map-reading skills (no, it wasn't on purpose -- I'm sure the map must have had a weird crease in it, or something) and we all had a good laugh on my account -- well deserved, of course. On our last day in Venice we decided to spend the morning on our own and meet after lunch to see the Frari. They just knew that they could get to the Frari sempre diretto, so with map in hand, they started off to meet us after lunch. After a good while, they learned that it is, indeed, a lot of fun to get lost in Venice. After several texts informing us that they were sure they were almost there, and often stopping for directions with map in hand (all documented by Debbie in the photos, below), they did indeed join us at The Frari. When we next visited the Frari, Ellen and I had that fond memory etched in our memories.

And then there is our latest traveling with friends issue…a bit of a touchy one, but with a good ending. This friend is a patient of my wife Ellen, and has been a friend for three decades. While we were traveling together in Venice, a medical issue required that she be water-ambulanced to the Venice hospital. When the attending physician found out that Ellen was his patient’s physician, he exclaimed, “She must be very wealthy to take her physician with her wherever she travels!” FYI all ended well after a two-day delay in departure back to the USA.

And there is traveling with that special friend, my wife, Ellen. Italy has brought us so many memories that are catalogued and stored away, and then recalled on so many occasions. Sometimes we are stunned that a memory will just pop into our heads unsearched. But we then reminisce about it and put it away to be discovered another day.

We love each of these people dearly. And we dearly love Italy. What fun it is to combine things that we love in our life as we create memories we will cherish always.

Ciao for now,

Steve

The Results Are In: Part 1

The results of the 7th Annual International Pollux Awards are in and I’m happy to say that I received recognition in this prestigious competition! There were entries from 1,000 photographers from 62 countries in the competition, and I had 20 photos selected for recognition.

This is a different kind of photo competition than I’ve entered before. Instead of recognizing winning photos, they recognize winning photographers – a bit confusing, but there is a distinction - they say. They take the body of work submitted and evaluate the photos. They then assemble the best photos in order of preeminence to determine the winning photographer. For instance, in the ‘Nature’ category you will see that I was the Winner, but three photos made up that winning recognition for me, the photographer. Get the difference? I’m a bit hazy on it myself, but it doesn’t really matter as far as I’m concerned.

Recognition Categories

There are several photo categories and three recognition categories for the photographers, as follows:

Nominated: These are the photos selected by the competition’s producers that are passed on the jurors for further evaluation to select the Winner and Runner-Up photographers

Runner-Up: A photographer selected for recognition by the jurors but not the Winner

Winner: The one winning photographer for a category

The Results

Here are my results for the 7th Annual International Pollux Awards, along with the photos involved.

Nature -- Winning Photographer!

Winner: 3 photos

Fine Art

Nominated: 2 photos

Landscapes & Seascapes

Runner Up: 1 photo

Nominated: 2 photos

People, Culture and Daily Life

Nominated: 1 photo

Street Photography & Cityscapes

Nominated: 5 photos

Animals and Wildlife

Nominated: 1 photo

Still Life & Abstractions

Runner Up: 3 photos

Architecture & Bridges

Nominated: 1 photo

Nudes

[Sorry, I was unable to enter that category this year…but I’m working on it!]

Ciao for now,

Steve

Your Venice Arrival

Why Go?

In our opinion, Venice is the most excellent destination in Europe. If you haven’t been, I would suggest you get there! For those who haven’t been to Venice, it’s hard for those who have been there to describe the whole experience.

“If you’ve read a lot, nothing is a great as you imagined. Venice is…Venice is better.””

— Fran Lebowitz

Since Venice is an island in the middle of a lagoon, getting to Venice and getting into Venice are two different things. And then getting to your hotel within Venice is another thing. With these tips, I know your grand entrance into Venice will be fun and easy!

Arrival By Air

If you fly to Venice, you will arrive at Marco Polo International Airport, where you will still be 5 miles from the island as the crow flies. From the airport, your choices are to take a bus, a vaporetto (water bus) or a water taxi.

Bus

This would be my least favorite way to enter Venice. The bus takes about 45 minutes and at the end of the ride, after crossing the causeway to the mainland, you will be deposited at the Piazzale Roma. Now you are within the confines of the city, but you still need to get to your hotel, where you most likely need transportation via vaporetto or water taxi, anyway.

There is absolutely no charm in taking the bus – I’ve done it, and if you are looking for romance, look somewhere besides the bus from the airport into Venice.

Vaporetto

A vaporetto is a water bus. Just like the buses back home, they are slow and very often very, very crowded – and don’t forget that you have your luggage to deal with.

The trip from the airport to the closest vaporetto stop for Venice proper is about 40 minutes (but more than likely you will not be staying in this out-of-the-way area) . To get to a vaporetto stop close to your hotel (let’s assume the San Marco stop) will take about 1 ½ hours.

Now you are at the San Marco stop (or some other stop along the Grand Canal) with your luggage. Do you know that there are 409 bridges in Venice? And that nearly all of the bridges have steps? Begin your journey to your hotel from the closest vaporetto stop and you will more than likely have an adventure to tell your grandchildren about. The ACTV website suggests that only one piece of luggage is included with your ticket, though I have never seen anyone make an issue of it – but be aware that you need to get on and off of the vaporetto quickly – and you are lugging around that luggage (does the word ‘lugging’ relate to ‘luggage’ in some way?).

My suggestion: You will have plenty of opportunity to ride a vaporetto while in Venice, but I wouldn’t suggest that this be your inaugural ride.

Water Taxi

This is the way to go. Yes, it will cost a bit more, but there are some definite advantages.

First is the time advantage. Don’ t you want to get going in Venice to see the sites, have a nice lunch, etc.? I’m thinking that the time from airport to Grand Canal is about 20 minutes.

Our Water Taxi Driver on the Grand Canal -- Heading to Our Hotel

Second, the price of the water taxi will cover your group of two to four persons with several pieces of luggage. If you take the bus or vaporetto, don’t forget to multiply the ticket price by the number of people in your party.

The third advantage is that you will be taken more-or-less directly to your hotel. Yes, many of the hotels have water gates where your water taxi will drop you off right at your hotel, where the hotel bellman helps you and your luggage off of the water taxi. Where a hotel does not have its own water gate, there will be a small canal that will provide very close access to most hotels.

Palazzo Reflections in a Water Taxi's Shiny Deck

Our favorite hotel is the Hotel Flora which is not on a canal. But on our second visit there, we found that there was a narrow passage from a close-by canal that we were not aware of. Our water taxi driver said ‘just go down that passage, take a right and then a left and you will be at your hotel in about 50 feet with no steps to climb”. He had called ahead and our hotel bellman was there to greet us at a side gate.

Finally the cost: expect to pay from 100-120 Euros, depending on whether you have 2 or 4 persons in your group.

So, if you fly to Venice, I suggest that a water taxi be your mode of transportation from the airport, directly to your hotel.

Arrival by Train

When taking a train to Venice, but sure to get your ticket all the way to Venice Santa Lucia station and not just the Venice Maestre station, which is the station just before crossing the causeway to the island of Venice.

After departing the train and exiting the station, you will be in the bustling Campo Ferrovia. What a sight! The Grand Canal is right before you, along with the pretty church of San Simeone Piccolo. Now what!?

Vaporetto

To your left as you come out of the station is the vaporetto stop and ticket kiosk. As previously discussed, there are issues with getting your luggage onto and off of the vaporetto.

And the crowd to get tickets and then get onto the vaporetto? I’d say, “forget it!”. Unless you are arriving in Venice in the off-season, there could be a hundred people waiting on the vaporetto transport experience. And, as none of you will have the benefit of already having your ACTV tickets, plan to stand in line at the ticket kiosk (as you ride the vaporetto later, you can have the advantage of carrying a multi-day or multi-ride ticket so you can bypass the ticket kiosks).

But, depending on your arrival time and the season, you may find very few people awaiting the vaporetto. But again, you will now need to get to your hotel, so the vaporetto information in the ‘Arrival by Air” discussion applies.

Water Taxi

Directly in front of you as your come out of the train station is the water taxi loading area. There is always a taxi or two waiting there to whisk you away to your hotel – luggage included. And as discussed previously, you will more-than-likely be dropped off right at your hotel’s water gate.

Does this water taxi cost more than the vaporetto? Most definitely. Think about spending 60 Euros. Is it worth it? That’s up to you based on your travel style.

Arrival by Rental Car

Hmmmm. Why would you want to do that? You are going to have to park your car in the large parking structure at Piazzale Roma and leave it there for the duration of your time in Venice. You do know that you can’t drive in Venice, right? You walk or take a boat – period. But if you must drive to Venice, just read the ‘Arrival by Air’ ‘Bus’ discussion since you will be at Piazzale Roma. Because of Venice’s location in Italy (kind of at the end-of-the-line, so to speak), we usually begin or end our Italy trips in Venice. So, if we were driving in Italy, we would drop off or pick up our rental car in Milan, Florence, Verona or some other city along the rail system, and then use the train.

Alternate Transport

Now, if you know a guy with a boat...

Summary

Go to Venice by bus, vaporetto, water taxi, or rental car. But go.

Ciao for now!

Steve