VENICE
is situated just 40 minutes by boat from here (vaporetto
Line 14, time table at the reception). THE LAGOON ISLANDS: (between 10 and 100
minutes by boat from here) some of the itineraries on
offer, which we highly recommend to be included on the
visitor's list, are trips to the islands scattered around
the lagoon which can be reached at Treporti on ferry boat
nr. 12 (time table available at Reception) or with organized
tours from P. Sabbioni. Lio Piccolo and Mesole: a pleasant 3
hour excursion on the Venetian lagoon. If you leave from
our Center by car, or better by bike, you will admire
the true lagoon's colour in a world of silence and fish
valleys. Murano: it has many churches worth visiting.
Santi Maria e Donato church, one of the oldest in the
lagoon, is particularly interesting. Torcello: anyone particularly interested
in its origins should pay a visit to the island of Torcello
towards the northern end of the lagoon. It was once an
important centre although there are only a few houses
scattered around the green orchards and fields along with
incredible churches - Santa Fosca and the cathedral of
Santa Maria Assunta. Burano: also dominated by a large church
and tall bell tower, Burano lives principally by its fishing
and embroidery industries. It is one of the main centers
of old fashioned lace making techniques, yet another of
the skills in which Venetian craftsmen excel. S Lazzaro degli Armeni: the isle where
the Armenian fathers settled at the beginning of the seventeenth
century. It became a very successful cultural centre,
housing many works of art and a flourishing bookbinder's
establishment, still operative today. Boatsline 20 from
S .Zaccaria. San Francesco del Deserto: its past is
connected, as the name suggests, to that of the famous
monk. It is said that he stopped here in 1220 on his return
from an attempt to reach Palestine. How could the peacefulness,
charm and poverty of the island not find its namesake
in this saint? Lido: past destination of the Dogal procession
in the annual symbolic celebration of the marriage of
Venice with the sea. The municipal Casino stays open from
April to October, and is also responsible for artistic
and theatrical exhibitions and shows. Each year the International
Film Festival is held in the Palazzo del Cinema here.
This excursion can be done by bike too, crossing by ferry
from Lido to Pellestrina and from there to Chioggia. At
the Lido there's also a very good golfcourse (information
and reservation at the reception).
CHIOGGIAon the furthest edge is the
opening where the lagoon joins the sea through which the
fishing boats pass when they leave its port. Chioggia's
apparent links with Venice, made obvious through its vast
cathedral along with all the other churches and many "palazzi",
suggest a predomination of Venetian tastes and styles,
although, in other ways, it is very diverse and unique.
This similarity no doubt derives from its close ties with
Venice leading to the same architects and painters working
in both places.
THE BRENTA RIVIERAthe
Venetians also often chose to spend their holidays in
the much-loved tranquility of the countryside, already
familiar to them through the farming activity to which
many aristocrats had turned. The land giving onto the
Brenta was the most popular area on account of its being
the closest and most easily accessible place from Venice
- the river itself having been suitably canalized to enable
easy transportation. During the eighteenth century, when
country holidays were particularly fashionable, a boat
called Burchiello traveled regularly up and down the Brenta
from Venice to Padua, and vice versa. This same itinerary
is still followed today by a boat, and the same villas
are still visitable.
