Cruising around and through Europe Part 44: More of our wander around Venice
Apr 16, 2024 10:51:26 #
At this point in our wander around Venice we have left the Rialto vaporetto stop on our way toward the Cannaregio area for dinner.
See the third photo. Here is a partial excerpt from our August 7, 1973 Diary Entry:
“Rome to Venice. Got up early and left Rome at 8:00 for Venice. Arrived at 3:00. A very pleasant ride on the nicest train so far. As we came into the part of Venice not on the islands, all we saw was oil refineries and pollution – we were tempted to stay on the train and go to Vienna. We’re glad we didn’t. You walk out of the station and are right on the Grand Canal. We spent about an hour getting sorted out and getting a room – the first one we tried in our book. We slept for a couple of hours, got up and did some shopping for food. We walked around for a while then had dinner at a restaurant outside by a canal, very romantic. Had a bottle of wine and got a little mellow. Stopped on the Rialto Bridge and watched the gondolas and tourists. Most of the tourists here seem foreign and there are more here than any city so far. Got back to the room about 11:30 and crashed.”
We had already been to London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Monaco, Florence and Rome at that point, as well as other places; we even saw the running of the bulls in Pamplona Spain. As previously noted, we were both finishing at the university, had been married for two years and were riding the trains all over Europe for 11 weeks. We got as far south as Potenza Italy and as far north as Bergen Norway on that amazing trip.
Cannaregio is the northernmost of the six historic sestieri (districts) of Venice. It is the second largest sestiere by land area and the largest by population, with 13,169 people as of 2007.
The Cannaregio Canal, which was the main route into the city until the construction of a railway link to the mainland, gave the district its name (Canal Regio is Italian for Royal Canal). Development began in the eleventh century as the area was drained and parallel canals were dredged. Although elegant palazzos were built facing the Grand Canal, the area grew primarily with working class housing and manufacturing. Beginning in 1516, Jews were restricted to living in the Venetian Ghetto. It was enclosed by guarded gates and no one was allowed to leave from sunset to dawn. However, Jews held successful positions in the city such as merchants, physicians, money lenders, and other trades. Restrictions on daily Jewish life continued for more than 270 years, until Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the Venetian Republic in 1797. He removed the gates and gave all residents the freedom to live where they chose.
In the 19th century, civil engineers built a street named Strada Nuova through Cannaregio, and a railway bridge and road bridge were constructed to connect Venice directly to Mestre. Today, the areas of the district along the Grand Canal from the train station to the Rialto Bridge are packed with tourists, but the rest of Cannaregio is residential and relatively peaceful, with morning markets, neighborhood shops, and small cafés.
Our waiter the previous evening at our hotel (the JW Marriott) recommended Al Timon for dinner. The restaurant was way out of the primary tourist area of Venice and we seemed to be among the few non-Italians. The dinner was excellent, and you can’t do much better for atmosphere than a table next to a canal in Venice as the sun starts to set!
My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-804834-1.html, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html
Next up: The final post of Venice
See the third photo. Here is a partial excerpt from our August 7, 1973 Diary Entry:
“Rome to Venice. Got up early and left Rome at 8:00 for Venice. Arrived at 3:00. A very pleasant ride on the nicest train so far. As we came into the part of Venice not on the islands, all we saw was oil refineries and pollution – we were tempted to stay on the train and go to Vienna. We’re glad we didn’t. You walk out of the station and are right on the Grand Canal. We spent about an hour getting sorted out and getting a room – the first one we tried in our book. We slept for a couple of hours, got up and did some shopping for food. We walked around for a while then had dinner at a restaurant outside by a canal, very romantic. Had a bottle of wine and got a little mellow. Stopped on the Rialto Bridge and watched the gondolas and tourists. Most of the tourists here seem foreign and there are more here than any city so far. Got back to the room about 11:30 and crashed.”
We had already been to London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Monaco, Florence and Rome at that point, as well as other places; we even saw the running of the bulls in Pamplona Spain. As previously noted, we were both finishing at the university, had been married for two years and were riding the trains all over Europe for 11 weeks. We got as far south as Potenza Italy and as far north as Bergen Norway on that amazing trip.
Cannaregio is the northernmost of the six historic sestieri (districts) of Venice. It is the second largest sestiere by land area and the largest by population, with 13,169 people as of 2007.
The Cannaregio Canal, which was the main route into the city until the construction of a railway link to the mainland, gave the district its name (Canal Regio is Italian for Royal Canal). Development began in the eleventh century as the area was drained and parallel canals were dredged. Although elegant palazzos were built facing the Grand Canal, the area grew primarily with working class housing and manufacturing. Beginning in 1516, Jews were restricted to living in the Venetian Ghetto. It was enclosed by guarded gates and no one was allowed to leave from sunset to dawn. However, Jews held successful positions in the city such as merchants, physicians, money lenders, and other trades. Restrictions on daily Jewish life continued for more than 270 years, until Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the Venetian Republic in 1797. He removed the gates and gave all residents the freedom to live where they chose.
In the 19th century, civil engineers built a street named Strada Nuova through Cannaregio, and a railway bridge and road bridge were constructed to connect Venice directly to Mestre. Today, the areas of the district along the Grand Canal from the train station to the Rialto Bridge are packed with tourists, but the rest of Cannaregio is residential and relatively peaceful, with morning markets, neighborhood shops, and small cafés.
Our waiter the previous evening at our hotel (the JW Marriott) recommended Al Timon for dinner. The restaurant was way out of the primary tourist area of Venice and we seemed to be among the few non-Italians. The dinner was excellent, and you can’t do much better for atmosphere than a table next to a canal in Venice as the sun starts to set!
My previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-804834-1.html, while the first post of this series (that includes a map of all of the places where we stopped) can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html
Next up: The final post of Venice
On the Grand Canal
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The train station; oops, we missed our stop
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After a short vaporetto ride to two stops back to where we should have gotten off
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Walking through Cannaregio on our way to dinner
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From our table at Al Timon
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From our table at Al Timon
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Apr 16, 2024 12:07:50 #
Apr 16, 2024 13:00:29 #
Apr 16, 2024 14:53:45 #
Apr 16, 2024 14:58:01 #
Apr 16, 2024 17:23:09 #
Apr 16, 2024 17:34:21 #
Apr 16, 2024 19:29:28 #
Another great set Dennis. Always hearing about the water rise in Venice and flooding. Did you experience any flooding on this trip?
Don
Don
Apr 17, 2024 01:35:30 #
Apr 17, 2024 01:36:18 #
UTMike wrote:
Your wonderful wander keeps getting better, Dennis.
Thank you Mike, I'm glad you are enjoying it.
Apr 17, 2024 01:36:56 #
Apr 17, 2024 01:37:52 #
srfmhg wrote:
Fantastic set Dennis which really pictures the city perfectly!
Thanks Mark, I really appreciate your comments.
Apr 17, 2024 01:39:49 #
Earnest Botello wrote:
Great street and water series, Dennis.
Thank you Earnest, Venice is truly unique and I did my best to capture it.
Apr 17, 2024 01:40:24 #
Apr 17, 2024 01:50:07 #
PAR4DCR wrote:
Another great set Dennis. Always hearing about the water rise in Venice and flooding. Did you experience any flooding on this trip?
Don
Don
I appreciate your comment Don. We did not experience any flooding. They have built retractable barriers to prevent flooding in the future, a massive project: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/mose-flood-barrier-venice-storm-alex-10-05-2020/
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