Venice
We went to Venice by train on Thursday 5th June. The day was mixed, some rain in the morning clearing up to a warm sunny afternoon and then clouding over again in the late afternoon. We visited the Museo Storico Navale located on the waterfront by Arsenale. A 3 masted training ship belonging to the Italian Navy was docked there and there were various military personnel wandering about, some in whites, some in khaki and some in blue. Many of them were boarding 3 landing craft and it looked as though they were having a tour of Venice by water.
I did not take any photographs in the museum. The museum was extremely interesting with many models of ships of all ages; there were even several small full sized craft, including an early 2 man guided torpedo which was ridden by 2 frogmen. The Italians were quite successful with them in the Mediterranean during WW2.
We visited the Palazzo Ducale again and marvelled at the paintings, the ceilings, the design. Photography was not allowed inside. but there are some photos in the courtyard and prison areas. We did sneak a couple of photos of Scala d'Oro (the golden staircase)
Coast from Causeway Gondolas Training Ship Arsenale Gateposts - Right & Left
Bridge of Sighs Palazzo Ducale - Old columns etc. End of Courtyard Scala d'Oro
Prison Area Inmate in prison courtyard From inside Bridge of Sighs Bovolo Staircase at Palazzo Contarini
The Bridge of Sighs and the new prison at the Palazzo Ducale were completed in about 1600, the Palazzo was continuously built, added to, rebuilt and renovated from about 1000 and continues. The picture of the old columns was taken in the Palazzo Opera - during the recent and current restorations, any pieces taken out and replaced with new are stored for people to see. The Bovolo staircase was built about 1350.
We also went into the Basilica of St Mark and looked at the wall and ceiling mosaics. St Mark's Square has less pigeons now that selling pigeon food has been banned, but there are still plenty.