A Bellini Day

Sunday morning broke in full sunshine and with it, color—a Bellini morning in the city of canals. We headed out early to the Basilica of San Marco and entered soon after the basilica museum opened. Viewing this church was the highlight of our Venetian weekend. The mosaics, the gold, the adornments…were all remarkable. Mass was being celebrated in the basilica while we were upstairs in the museum. We passed through the transept and were able to listen to the choir sing the Gloria while we gazed at mosaic depictions of the Ascension. Our word for the Basilica of San Marco was “radiant.” Just imagining the handwork necessary to complete the mosaics virtually covering all ceiling space was astounding. The tapestries and vestments on display all echoed the gold theme, over the top, and incredibly beautiful. The golden horses here were amazing too. We spent nearly two hours there and all of us found it inspirational. As we left the basilica, the line was out around the building again so we were very glad we went early.

We were so absorbed in the experience at The Basilica San Marco, we nearly forgot we had tickets for a tour at the Doges Palace. We raced over and actually made it on time. We walked through but none of us were really able to absorb a lot of it because we’d spent our energy at the Basilica. We were glad we saw it and wouldn’t bother again.

Our day was just beginning. We headed next to Murano Island via water taxi. It was great to get out on the water; that really is the way to see Venice. After seeing the glass factory we headed to Burano, the lace capital of the area. It was a lovely day to be in this charming tourist trap. We bought a few souvenirs, had lunch, and took the water bus back to Venice.