Above and Around Venice

I arrived in Venice in the evening and wandered through the city following the signs and instinct as to where I should want to go. This was what I saw as I crossed the Accademia Bridge. What a welcome to the city.

In the Venetian lagoon, there are many small islands. A quick vaporetto ride takes you to places like Lido, Murano, Burano and Torcello. Along the way, you can see the remnants of what was.

The island of Burano, with the beautiful pastel houses, is known for its lacemaking. Those of you who know me should guess that I skipped it and was only there to transfer to a boat to take me to Torcello.

At one time, the most developed island, Torcello now has few residents, but a few great Byzantine churches and one great campanile from which to see the islands as what they were before being built up.

The Venetian cemetery. It’s actually GORGEOUS.

The Arsenale, what looks to be a body of water within the city, is a ship building area, which now, I believe, part of the Italian Navy complex.

At the mouth of the Grand Canal is the Customs House. In the days gone by, ships would have to sop and pay taxes and customs, the source of Venetian wealth.