Feelings of the Day: So, Antoni Gaudi, who has designed many fantastic buildings that incorporate the things he saw in the natural world, has been named “venerable” by Pope Francis. This is the second of four steps to becoming a saint. It wasn’t for the incredible buildings that people live in that he has achieved this title, but the Sagrada Familia, a “Wow. Oh, wow!” church in Barcelona. I was there two years ago and it is indeed a place where inside you can let your mind and eye wander to explore the deep interconnectivity of the living world through this structure of contoured concrete and glamoured glass. Something that I revisited today, after 14 years, achieved something near to that sense of wonder in the place where a saint's body lies.
Full Day’s Events: Today I did some shopping at the main market and caught up on some laundry, diary writing and posting. I also stayed in because the UV was going to be quite high today. In the mid-afternoon I ventured out to explore the San Polo district, the one on the West side of the Rialto. There have been people living here since the 800’s CE and is where the city's main market has been since the 1000’s.
So far, I found this the most maze-like of the districts. Besides the one “street” that follows the Grand Canal inland on the South side, Ruga Rialto/Calle dell’Olio/Modonetta/Salliz. S. Polo, the routes often take you to the left and right. You really need a good map and compass or patience with a good app. Alternatively, if you know the campo (open area), you need to get to a local to assist, but directions given will be long. Regardless, there were few tourists away from the main “street”.
Because of the tightness of these streets, it created a strong desire to explore more of the little ways and means to get through this area. Lots of little secrets and gems made me smile. A lovely area for those willing to take a chance of getting lost.
Having the same supper as last night it was time to go to church, or rather the Basilica…of Saint Mark’s. Situated in Saint Mark’s square, the largest paved area in Venice and the only square in the city, there has been a church here since 836 because of a series of events. In 828, long story short, two Venetian brothers were part of a trading fleet accidentally blown into Muslim held Alexandria, in Egypt. They find out, from a church that had the tomb of Saint Mark, that the church will be demolished soon so they should take the body of Saint Mark to their ship in a basket covered in pork. Stuff happens on the way back, like any good adventure story, and the brothers give the remains to the Bishop of Venice. Soon the Venetians accidentally damage the wooden church, by fire, when rioting against a Doge. With increased money and power, Doge Domenico I Contarini had the church rebuilt into the building it is today. It was finished in 1094, but minor changes have been made since.
Fourteen years ago, we went in after a flood and it was…underwhelming. We had to walk on wooden platforms and it took us on a short one-way route with minimal sunlight throughout. I could barely see the mosaics, made with coloured Murano glass backed with gold leaf to shine in the light, then a layer of Murano glass sealing it. I was sad back then because I knew this was a marvel of Byzantium style religious art and it covered the inside of the church from three to twenty-eight meters high, but I couldn’t experience it fully…until tonight with a DEVOUR Saint Mark's night tour.
With explanations given outside, as written above, they pointed out the glass and rubber sealed barrier - recently installed - to prevent flooding of the Basilica. The inside was already an improvement from last time with the muted, but prevalent, lighting and being able to see much more of the interior. After the amuse bouche of the entry hall, we proceeded to the spacious cruciform shaped interior. The chancel, choir chapel, side altars, baptistery, and sacristy were all able to be viewed in their entirety, rather than the dark gloom of overcast daylight from before, and it was overwhelming as the eye bounced from place to place. More than 8000 square metres of shining mosaics and 2000 square meters of floor marble patterns are in here.
Once my eyes and heart started to calm down, we were informed that during this tour we were permitted to take photos, with no flash, which was a change. Looking at websites and the Devour site, they still say that photography is forbidden inside the Basilica. However, others say this policy is sometimes relaxed. Anyways, I started looking and snapping pics like a madman. I knew that my wife would love seeing these pictures, as she too was disappointed with our last visit. I couldn’t take pictures for long, though.
The guide brought us to the centre area, where there were chairs, and asked us to sit. We were given a brief explanation of the figures depicted around the chamber and asked us to stay seated. Soon they would turn off the general safety lighting, only used at night as only daylight illuminates it during the day, and then they would turn on the brighter lights. The tour guides left. The lighting went out one part at a time. We waited in the dark. The silence was heavy with anticipation. Then…
…POW! POW! POW! POW! Supernovae of bright lights shot gunned here and there, making the mosaics of saints and stories shine like dull gold. What was hinted at were manifest above us whole and clear. The lights slowly brightened, as the bulbs warmed up, and made the ceiling radiate like the sun. This was the intended goal of making these mosaics almost a millennia ago. The basilica was a show of wealth for Venice and for telling its parishioners that heaven would glisten and dazzle those who were faithful. For a non-practicing Christian, it was a wonderful display of quality workmanship and skill in designs and patterns made to feel like they are descending from above. Wow. Oh wow. I will remember this for some time.
After an appropriate period, our guides returned and we continued our tour. We went through a route that took us around the side, into the crypt (kept free from water by pumps and made from Roman era bricks, the resting place for some dead bishops and popes, and the original flooded spot where the body of Saint Mark was kept until just over a hundred years ago), the sacristy with Pala d’Oro (Byzantine altarpiece covered in gold and studded with almost 2,000 gems), and the tomb of Saint Mark.
The guide also explained a tidbit about the Basilica: it was for exclusive use for the Doge of Venice, who was elected for life. He even had a personal door between the adjacent Doge’s palace and here as well as a platform to see everything and be seen on the same level as the bishop. The Basilica was open to the public only on special religious and celebratory days.
Walking back my mind was tired after experiencing that place. 9.7 km, 10 flights, 9 previously and 36 new bridges crossed.
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