Bryce & Damon in Europe
by Pertinax Carrus
Chapter 14, Venice
After their lunch, Bryce and Damon departed Padua heading east. It took only a little over a half hour to arrive at Mestre on the mainland across from Venice. Parking near the train station, they took a taxi to the vaporetto (water bus) stop, and loaded their gear. While awaiting the vaporetto, Bryce purchased two three-day passes, as they would be using these water busses off and on throughout their stay in the city of canals. For a cost of only 35 Euros each, they could now get around the entire city as much as they wanted. Their vaporetto deposited them, after an exciting ride along the Grand Canal, at the stop at Saint Mark’s Square. Their hotel, called Ca’ dei Dogi, one of Bryce’s selections, was located on the Corte Santa Scholastica, almost directly behind the Doge’s Palace, a distance they could easily walk with the luggage they had accumulated, especially as Bryce had phoned ahead, and they were met by a bell hop with something like a wheelbarrow for the transport of their heavier items.
As they made their way past the Doge’s Palace, they noticed a bridge leading from the palace over the canal behind to the next building. That, Bryce informed Damon, is called the Bridge of Sighs. The building to which it leads was the prison, and condemned prisoners are said to sigh as they crossed, knowing their freedom has ended.
It was still fairly early in the afternoon, but they were able to check in, obtaining the keys to a very well situated room, with a view into the courtyard. As they registered, the clerk behind the counter, noting Damon’s name, exclaimed, “Ah, Signore Watson. We have here a package for you.”
Bryce looked surprised at that, but Damon merely smiled, thanked the clerk, and received a package wrapped in brown paper. After glancing at the return address, Damon asked the clerk to keep the package for him for now, which was readily agreed.
“What’s that?” Bryce asked.
“Don’t be nosy,” Damon responded.
Perplexed, and just a little miffed at Damon’s secretiveness, Bryce turned back to complete his registration.
Having done so, the two young men and the bell hop carried everything to their room. Bryce rewarded the boy who trucked their luggage with a generous tip. It was then that, looking out the window, Damon observed the delightful view. He hugged himself, happy that all was going as planned. He was enjoying the trip. He was enjoying Bryce. He was enjoying absorbing so very much. And, not incidentally, he was enjoying having the upper hand on Bryce for once. That package would come in very handy on Sunday. Feeling really good, he laughed aloud.
Bryce came up behind him, and put his arms around his partner. “You,” he said, “are getting entirely too sneaky.”
“Who, me?” Damon clowned.
“Yes, you. You know I’m dying of curiosity to know what’s in that package you left with the desk clerk,” Bryce admitted.
“Well, you’re just going to have to suffer a little longer. I have my private affairs, you know,” Damon taunted him.
“You won’t tell me, even if I do this?” Bryce asked, as he ran his hand down his partner’s taut body, and between his legs.
Damon laughed, and turned around, kissing Bryce. They ended up breaking in the bed, but it did Bryce no good as far as the package was concerned. Damon remained tight lipped.
After that very agreeable introduction to Venice, they left the hotel to take in more conventional sights. Returning to St. Mark’s Square, they began their visit to the city with a tour of the Palace of the Doges, or Palazzo Ducale. Doge is merely a Venetian dialect term for “duke.” They were taken through the magnificent rooms where the business of the Venetian Republic, called “La Serenissima,” were carried out during its days of glory. During the medieval period and into the sixteenth century, Venice was a major naval and commercial power, dominating the Mediterranean. The Venetians defied Byzantine and Holy Roman emperors, as well as lesser potentates on the neighboring mainland, from the security of the islands which make up the city. Having purchased the tickets for the so-called “secret tour,” they were also shown some of the prison cells and hidden offices, but most spectacularly the roof of the palace, from which breathtaking views of the city were on every side. It was every bit as impressive as the view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, even though not as high. Both Bryce and Damon were kept busy snapping pictures for as long as they were allowed to remain up there.
From the Palazzo Ducale they made their way to the Campanile di San Marco, or bell tower, from the heights of which even more impressive views were available. The present bell tower dates only from 1912, but it is said to be an exact replica of the one which collapsed ten years previously.
To complete their introduction to the highlights of Venice, they next visited the Basilica of St. Mark. Entrance to the church is free, but there is a charge for visits to the cathedral treasury. There, in the magnificent Byzantine/Gothic amalgam, they viewed the ecclesiastical treasures of Venice, fully equivalent to the secular ones next door. It surprises most visitors to learn that, until after the demise of the Venetian Republic, the Basilica was technically only the chapel of the Doge’s Palace. Now, of course, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Venice, who had the honorific title of Patriarch. The present building dates to the eleventh century.
In a mosaic over the entrance on the left side of the façade is depicted the story of the transfer of the relics of St. Mark, so they paused there and Bryce related the story. St. Mark, the author of one of the Gospels and one of the original seventy disciples of Jesus, was a companion of St. Peter, and reflects his viewpoint. He was sent by Peter from their Roman headquarters to Alexandria in Egypt in 49 A.D., thus becoming the founder of the Church in Africa, something of interest to Damon. Mark headed the Christian community in Alexandria for the next fourteen years, but then resigned due to ill health. He was martyred in 68 A.D. by having a rope tied around his neck and being dragged through the streets. His relics were honored by the Christians of Alexandria for over seven centuries, but the Moslem conquest in the seventh century introduced problems which threatened their continued safety. In response to this perceived threat to the remains of the Evangelist, Venetian merchants stole the body in the year 828, reportedly hiding it in a barrel of pork to discourage attention from the Moslem authorities. Brought back to Venice, St. Mark became the patron saint of the city. The winged lion of St. Mark presides over every corner of the city, along with the motto Pax tibi Marce Evangelista meus (Peace to you, Mark, my evangelist).
The church itself is modeled on Constantine’s Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, which no longer exists. A mosque now stands on the site. The floor plan is that of a Greek cross, that is, a cross with all four arms of equal size. Inside, just about every bit of wall space is covered with mosaics, most depicting the stories surrounding the life of St. Mark. Over the high altar is the famed Pala d’Oro, or Golden Pall, a masterwork of Byzantine goldsmiths commissioned in 976 and encrusted with precious stones. After his conquest of Venice in 1797, Napoleon Bonaparte stole some of the gems, but most remain. Bonaparte also stole the famed horses of St. Mark. These four life-size bronze sculptures originally adorned the Hippodrome, or race course, in Constantinople, but were stolen by the Venetians under Doge Enrico Dandolo, a truly vicious leader, during the disgraceful Fourth Crusade. Dandolo was in the same category as the so-called “robber barons” of later nineteenth century America, dedicated to nothing except making a profit. However, after the defeat of Bonaparte at Waterloo, the horses were returned to Venice. The treasury, located to the right of the high altar, has additional items plundered from Constantinople, as well as additional church treasures accumulated over the centuries.
By the time the two adventurers left San Marco, they decided it was time for dinner. Only a short distance away, Bryce had reservations at a restaurant called Al Vecio Canton, which served a wonderful seafood pasta at a reasonable price, unlike the tourist traps on the Piazza San Marco itself. Bryce and Damon not only found the food good, but the service excellent and the staff friendly. At the end, a small, but free, digestive was served, which they found interesting, but quite strong. Later, Damon identified it as made up primarily of vodka.
After dinner, the duo walked to the famed Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal, designed appropriately enough by Antonio da Ponte (“ponte” being Italian for “bridge”) and completed in 1591, replacing several earlier structures in wood. Neither lad was interested in the markets of the area, but just in visiting the famed structure. Never again would the line, “many a time and oft in the Rialto you have rated me” from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice have the same meaning for Damon. He initially thought the line was “you have spurned me,” but found that he was conflating two lines. It was a beautiful sight in the evening, subject of several photographs. A slow walk across it gave the partners an opportunity to steal a kiss in the very center of the bridge.
Then, after wandering the city some more, and stopping at a delightful little establishment for a late drink, they returned to their hotel for the night.
The next day, a Saturday, after breakfasting at the hotel, Bryce and Damon set out once again for St. Mark’s Square. While waiting for the main event, they visited the Correr Museum located on St. Mark’s Square, where there was an interesting collection of Roman antiquities and some great paintings of the Venetian school.
Then they made their way to the quayside, where they found awaiting them a gondola. You can’t really visit Venice without taking a ride in a gondola, even though it is expensive (but not as expensive as the dinner on the baton mouche on the Seine in Paris, Bryce comforted himself). He had negotiated a price of eighty Euros each for a lengthy tour which covered all the important sights, and they had the gondola to themselves (except for the gondoliere, of course). As they were carried through the canals of Venice, their gondoliere, who was named Marco appropriately enough, gave them a running commentary on the sights they passed, and answered questions. He was obviously proud of his native city, and spoke of the past glories and traditions of the place. They went under the Bridge of Sights and the Rialto. They passed the palazzi of the Venetian nobility dating from medieval times through the eighteenth century, with a few remaining in residence even today, or so Marco claimed. He spoke of the traditional ceremonies, such as the wedding of the sea, and of modern events, such as the film festival out on the Lido. All the attractions of Venice look different from a gondola.
Following the gondola tour, Bryce and Damon visited the Galleria dell’Accademia di Venezia. They were set down by their gondoliere near the Ponte dell’Accademia, from which they had a marvelous view down the Grand Canal, which takes a major turn at this point. The church of Santa Maria della Salute made the vista back towards San Marco special. Inside the museum, originally in a Dominican convent, is the greatest collection of Venetian paintings anywhere. Bryce and Damon spent several hours, and yet were able to take in only a part of the collection. The booted footsteps of Bonaparte are seen here as well as elsewhere, as the collection was initially established to house the works pilfered by the French conqueror from the churches and monasteries of the city. Of particular interest to the pair were Giorgione’s “Tempest,” “The Creation of the Animals” by Tintoretto, and Titian’s “Presentation of the Virgin.” In one room was a painting by Tintoretto depicting the “Theft of the Body of St. Mark from Alexandria,” evoking the mosaic seen the previous day at the basilica. Of special interest for some reason was Lorenzo Lotto’s “Young Man in His Study.” Perhaps it simply appealed to them because they were students. Damon pointed out the little triangular markers used by the careful scholar rather than dog-ear a page. While compelling, there is nothing erotic about the image. Lotto was quite religious all his life, in contrast with many Renaissance and Mannerist artists, such as Damon’s favorite from the Louvre, Caravaggio.
After the Galleria dell’Accademia the two travelers took the vaporetto out to Murano, famous for its glass works. They had been warned by Bryce’s mother to beware all the fakes sold as “genuine” Murano glassware. Murano is another island in the Venetian archipelago. There, they visited the Museo Vetrario, or Glass Museum, which traces the development of Murano glass century by century. Then they went to a “fornaco” or glass factory, to witness a demonstration of glass blowing. Having been forewarned, they checked for the official government seal indicating a shop was “vetro Murano artistico” before entering. Despite the high prices, the glass was so beautiful each had to have something, even if only a small item. In the end, they got matching wine glasses, which they promised to use to drink each other’s health back in Clifton. These items they had shipped directly home, rather than chance breakage by carrying them around with them from place to place.
Back in the main parts of Venice, Bryce and Damon decided to spend the evening in the area around the Rialto. They located a reasonably priced restaurant where they could sit outside by the Grand Canal. Flies and mosquitos were a problem, but Bryce came prepared with a bug spray, having been bitten on a previous visit. They spent well over an hour enjoying their evening meal and the passing populace. When it got to be nearer two hours, they were “encouraged” to move on by hovering waiters, and so they wandered the streets for a time, then retired to their hotel for the night.
As they arose the next morning, Damon kissed Bryce, and handed him the parcel wrapped in brown paper, which he had surreptitiously retrieved from the desk clerk the evening before.
“Happy birthday, Boyfriend,” Damon announced. On July 4, Bryce turned nineteen. He and the American Republic share a birthday.
Truly surprised, Bryce returned the kiss, then opened the package. In it, he found an original printing of the History of Ecclesiastical Benefices (1609) by the Venetian cleric and historian Paolo Sarpi (1552-1623). While Sarpi was a strident critic of clerical abuses of the times, he had as his goal a genuine reform of the Church. This work, one of his less known ones, illustrates that quite well. Venice was an early center of printing, and this first edition was a valuable item.
“How in the world ....?” Bryce began.
“I admit, I had some help from your mother, but the idea was mine,” Damon insisted.
They delayed breakfast as they expressed their love for each other. On the way to breakfast, Bryce was hailed by the clerk, who handed him several items which he had been instructed to retain until that morning. There were birthday cards from the members of his family, including even his obnoxious brother Chip. He was especially pleased with a teasing card from his sister, which pretended that he had fled to the ends of the earth in order to avoid having anyone recognize that he was aging.
Sunday implied Mass. As they had visited the Basilica of St. Mark on Friday, for Sunday Mass they returned to the Rialto district for Mass at San Giacomo, a church which in its core dates to the year 421, although much altered over time. The sense of continuity was extremely important to Bryce, something which his partner was beginning to appreciate. Bryce thought about visiting the newest church in Venice, San Simeone Piccolo, because it offered a Latin language Mass following the pre-Vatican II rubrics, but he decided he would not subject his partner to that. Damon was being very cooperative, but Bryce did not wish to place too heavy a burden on him.
Mass was followed by something to eat, again in the general Rialto neighborhood, but then they took the vaporetto out to the Lido. The Lido is a large sand bar stretching across the bay, separating the lagoon on which Venice is located from the Adriatic Sea. From the vaporetto stop they walked down the Gran Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta, which actually bisects the island. Along the way are touristy shops, restaurants and hotels, as much of the Lido, like Venice itself, is geared to the tourist trade. On the Adriatic side were beaches and grand hotels, including the Des Bains, scene of Thomas Mann’s Tod in Venedig (Death in Venice), published in 1912. As they walked towards the public beaches in the southern part of the island, Bryce again discoursed on history, in this case a not very pleasant episode. In 1202 a crusade was launched with the intention of attacking Egypt, the strongest of the Moslem powers in the eastern Mediterranean, and attempting to force thereby the restoration of Jerusalem to Christian hands. The leaders of the crusade had an arrangement with Venice under the leadership of the wily Doge Enrico Dandolo for transportation to the East, but when they gathered there were significantly fewer of them than anticipated, and they could not raise the agreed upon price for transportation. Dandolo had the crusaders marooned on the Lido without supplies until they agreed to a deal. The Lido then was a largely barren sandbar. The deal was that the crusade would capture the city of Zara for Venice before proceeding on to the East. Venice had a nebulous claim to suzerainty over Zara, located across the Adriatic in what is now Croatia, but it was a Christian city, in the hands of the Christian King of Hungary, who had himself promised to go on the crusade. Venetian guile and hunger won out over crusading zeal, and the crusade was diverted for the first time. Pope Innocent III was furious, and excommunicated the entire crusade. So, having already violated their vows and been excommunicated, the crusaders allowed themselves to be diverted a second time, and attacked Constantinople, the greatest city in the Christian East. Neither the Byzantine Empire nor the City of Constantinople ever recovered, so that, in a very real way, the Fourth Crusade is responsible for the eventual conquest of Constantinople by the Moslem Turks in 1453. Another of the many lessons from history of the stupidity of mankind.
By the time Bryce had completed his narration they had arrived at a perfectly wonderful beach, where they spent the entire afternoon. This formed a most welcome and relaxing change from their usual activities while on this tour. Their evening was a little different than the previous two, as Bryce had planned a birthday present for himself in the form of a concert featuring the music of the famed Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), performed in one of the churches back in the main part of town. Although a priest, and called il prete rosso – the red priest, because of his flaming red hair, Vivaldi was basically a musician, employed for most of his career by the Ospedale della Pietà, an institution for orphaned children. While Vivaldi is best known for his violin concerti, this concert featured his sacred music, chief among which was his “Gloria,” but also including his “Magnificat” and “Stabat Mater.” Bryce thought it a fitting conclusion to his birthday.
The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast, they checked out of their hotel and caught the vaporetto back to the pier at Mestre. There, they got a taxi back to the parking facility by the train station, and reloaded the car with their goods. Then, they were off on their way to another great Italian city, Florence.